<VV> Rear Wheel Hubs

[JVHRoberts@aol.com]

IMHO, even the 1/4" ones are plenty strong enough. 
I think the issue was one of Murphy. 
If some ham handed mechanic lost a bolt, he'd use one of the soft ones, like 
a valve cover bolt. And they MAY have failed. 
Also, those 1/4" bolts, in the hands of a ham handed mechanic, could EASILY 
be overtightened, weakening them. 
Given that the half shafts are an integral part of the rear suspension, ANY 
failure here at speed would have serious consequences. 
If you use Grace 8 bolts, and torque them properly, I can't see how the 65 
setup would EVER fail. Nor can I imagine how a 65 yoke drilled out to 5/16" 
would be weakened enough to fail. I've seen U joints fail, but never the yokes. 

John



In a message dated 1/23/2005 7:57:09 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
emills5@cfl.rr.com writes:
Recent inquiry about the differences in rear wheel hubs on a 65 and a 66 and
later has me asking this question.  Since I have just finished redoing both
sides of a 65 and also a 67, I find absolutely no difference in the two except
the size of the bolts that secure the U-Joints to both the wheel bearing
assembly and also the differential yoke.  The 65 uses 1/4" bolts at both
places, and the 66 and later use 5/16" bolts at both places. I have also
rebuilt a spare set that has the larger bolts, and predrilled the backing
plates so as to usable on either side as spares.
My question is twofold.  The first concerns why the general went from 1/4"
bolts to 5/16" bolts.  Obviously the larger ones on 66 forward are stronger,
but was this done due to failure of the smaller ones, or just a precaution.
Secondly, if one replaces a bearing assembly that had the small bolts with a
spare that has the larger bolts, is it really necessary to also replace the
differential yoke so that both sizes match?  I have never heard it mentioned
that the smaller ones at either end were subject to failure.  ?????

Cecil Mills
Cocoa, Fl.
65 with 1/4" bolts
66 with 5/16" bolts
Spare assemblies with 5/16" bolts, usable on either side.