Axle shaft loose. What happened?

[Kabruta]

Hi. I have a 94 max II with I believe it has the sliined shaft (no inner bearings). On the middle shaft I just noticed that I can move the shaft in and out about an inch on the left side. I noticed a few months ago that the right middle did the same thing, I thought it was the bearing came loose and the shaft just slid out. I just moved in the bearing coupler and I though that was the fix. NOPE. Now that it happened to the opposite side and I cant really see what happened, I was hoping on some help from the professionals here? What hold the axle from sliding out? And I noticed the outer bearing rim is cracked? Thank you for you help and time.

[LarryW]

The on the max i messed with the bearings are eccentric locking collars and the collar holds the axle in. Once collar is loose, the bolted sprocket tubes holds the axle from completely coming out.

[Mike]

To add just a little to what LarryW said, if you are unsure of how to lock the collars take a look in the how-to section. There is a complete Max II Axle and Bearing Replacement How-to Guide

It sounds like the collars perhaps weren't locked properly or they have came loose over the years.

[Kabruta]

thanks for these replies. I can see how the bearings locks not to allow the axle to move in. But how does it lock, not to allow the axle to move out? The collar doesnt lock to the bearing? If I was to pull my axle out to where it is tight and the collar is locked, The chain looks to be out of alignment. I am using Buffalo Bearing P# hc206-20r3 bearings. Thanks again

[Mike]

The collars keep the axle from moving in and out. It cam-locks them to the inner race of the bearing. If you will follow that article I linked to it tells you how to set everything up. You get your axles in place and then lock the collars to the bearings to hold them there.

[Kabruta]

Thanks Mike. I read the whole article. I guess I just dont understand the cam-lock. I replaced all my bearings last year. One thing I do see now is that the outer ring/edge of the bearing, about 1/3 is broken off. I will call Buffalo Bearing monday. They seam to have the best price. 14.00 bucks. Thanks for your help Mike. That split shift mod, is looking pretty cool.

[Mike]

Let me try to explain the cam lock; look on the second page of that article and the next to last picture on that page. It shows a good picture of the bearing's inner race. You will notice that it is not perfectly round. One side of the inner race is very thin while the other side is very thick. The locking collar is the same way (sorry, no picture of it). When you slide the collar up next to this inner race and rotate it, it will get tighter as the thicker side of the collar approaches the thicker side of the inner race. These two pieces squeeze against the axle when they "lock" into place.

Before you order new bearings just make sure that the 1/3 that you see as being broken off isn't just the off-center cam on the inner race. That's how it is supposed to be. Look at the picture I referred to above and double check. Just a thought. You may not actually need any new bearings. Of course if you can definitely tell that something is broken that's a different story.

[Kabruta]

That explains the cam-lock perfectly Mike. I never noticed the offset. Yeah my bearing is cracked off. I found this on eBay, I emailed to see if it is a 62mm, or I will order them from Buffalo monday. Mike you are a asset to this forum. Thank you
New NTN Bearing AL208 with locking collor : eBay Motors (item 270554349357 end time Apr-26-10 16:40:38 PDT)

[Robinhood02]

. Mike you are a asset to this forum. Thank you
]

LOL just in case you didn't notice Kabruta ,Mike is the owner/admin of this site , he has a big heart and seems to be well versed on all makes and models of 6x6s ,but i heard somewhere that he has big teeth too, and uses them once in a while LOL

[Kabruta]

I got my max up and running. Now I understand the locking collars on the bearing. And while I was working on it, I went and did the split shift mod. Dang! That is sweet!! Thanks for all the help guys.