Rear axle housing repair sleeves not hardened

[Joe K]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

I believe the grooves are not there for anything to do with lubrication. It is more to do with the way they were made. A strip of the appropriate alloy steel was twisted into a cylinder, ground and hardened. The grooves are a result of the winding/twisting process.

My memory agrees with this - it gives the bearing some "give." Like the bearing rolls on "springs?"

The fit is a bit "loose" IIRC. Like 0.015? The axle shaft actually hold the drum perpendicular to the backing plate as otherwise a fair amount of tilt of the drum would be possible.

Joe K