Thrust play in my 10 bolt!

[Hubnut]

Okay,
I'm new to Chevys, but have been around 4wds for 20 years. I have a 1991 GMC Jimmy with 10 bolt. Yes it has 35 inch tires on it which are too big for the axle. I will upgrade when it breaks or I win the Lotto. Anyway, I was going through it this weekend and noticed that both rear wheels have what I would call "thrust play" ...in other words, the wheel can be pulled in and out along the axle plane. About 1/8 inch as far as I can tell--maybe more!. Is this bearing pressed onto this axle shaft? I need to repair this before I lose a wheel and axle. No apparent leakage that I can see. I'm assuming this ain't normal.

 

[British Slave]

Normal. The axle is held in by a "C" clip in the differiential.

 

[Hubnut]

You mean that little C clip is the only thing holding the axle in???!!!

 

[George_Pimpdaddy]

yeps

 

[obijuan]

been holding axles in for decades.

 

[iwaxmyjimmy]

omg not a c-clip......... lol dude you sure you been around this for 20 yrs?

 

[British Slave]

I rebuilt my first Chevy rear end in 1966 and all it had was a little "C' clip. That's 43 years!

 

[abig84]

You mean that little C clip is the only thing holding the axle in???!!!

thats why a ton of people swap to a 14bolt axle. no c clips. i have yet to break one even running 38s. if your just doing mild wheeling no rocks or anything 35s and a 10 bolt will be fine

 

[Hubnut]

Yeah Yeah, I knew I'd catch some crap about the 20 years with 4wds and never knew about the C clip. I guess I don't know as much as I thought! Ha ha. Anyway, the good news is that the axle is okay -- I don't mind asking a stupid question. Thank you all for your help.

 

[dyeager535]

C-clips have nothing to do with the strength of the axle. I believe there has been *one* failure of a c-clip documented on here, and the only reason it failed was because the axle sheared there.

Even the 14SF is c-clipped. Urban myth that they are problematic. Think about it...the side load direction required to break a c-clip is AWAY from the centerline of the vehicle. If there was no play there would always be load on the clip, they aren't designed that way.

Getting rid of a potential problem (c-clip) is certainly valid when you can't afford to get stranded.