Rear Axle Separating, still drives

[HummerKart]

I've been working on electric club cars for a while, but this is the first time I have seen this. It appears that the right rear axle is separating from the differential (moving outward). But it still runs perfectly. It won't go back in, but it has definitely moved out about 1.5". The brake shoes are barely biting into the drum.

Has anyone ever seen this before? What is causing it?

[scottyb]

The C clip is sheared or has not been properly installed.

[HummerKart]

Is the C-clip accessible through the differential housing? I didn't see anything similar to that in the brake housing. Thanks for the insight!

[scottyb]

It is outside of the outer axle bearing, behind the the flange shown in your picture.
You can see it on the axle in this pic... that is the location you will find it in. You will need to look through the hole in the flange to see it.... access is whole other story, Takes a good pr of 90 degree snap ring pliers to install it.

[HummerKart]

Thank you again for the info and picture. I will take it apart and see if that is it. Based on the mechanic of where that is located, I am not sure why the shaft won't push back in if the C-clip is gone. Maybe it is jammed? I'll have to check. I guess I will also need to buy a good set of 90-pliers and a new C-clip. :-)

[HummerKart]

ScottyB: I just went to your site and there is a TON of good info there. I'll probably be contacting you soon about brakes. I have an electric CC 48V that I have been working on and now that the speed is up past 30 mph and the suspension is stable, I certainly will need better brakes.

[scottyb]

Thank you, jack the wheel up off of the ground to be able to center the axle and slide it back in .. it takes a little fishing and turning to get the splines to line up.

[HummerKart]

Scottyb:

Ok, I was able to get at it closer. The c-clip is still in place and holding the bearing in, so that is not it. The shaft has moved out separately from the axle housing (see picture). Note that the shaft is still connected to the differential because the wheel is still driven under load.

Any ideas or experiece with this? No matter how much I play with it, it will not move back inwards towards the differential.

[Fishing Dude]

Your baearing has slid on the axle, chances are it'e bad. Not sure but know on cars they are pressed on.

[HummerKart]

ScottyB:

Ok, I figured it all out. It was nothing that either of us anticipated, although you might have seen this before. It was really strange but makes perfect sense if you drive a Club Car on uneven terrain.

I use this cart to drive on levees at times, so the cart is tilted, while driving, at about 45 degrees always toward the driver's side. What this did was cause a lot of the weight of the cart to be PULLING on the two passenger-side wheels. Over time, this caused the shaft to actually ride further out past the bearing - which were still being held by the c-clips. Since I assume the shafts are beveled (conical), this was a LOT of pressure to force the shaft outward through the bearing race.

After I took the half-shaft off, I was able to pound the hell out of it to get the shaft back to its original position. Still, I used another half-shaft that I had as a spare instead of reinstalling this one. I want to take it apart further to see if there is a way to stop this from happening.

So lesson learned to Club Car owners: If you ride eneven terrain constantly in ONE direction so as not to allow the shaft to re-seat, there is nothing really from stopping the shaft from slowly squeezing its way outward through the bearing race (see picture above). Just a note!

Thanks for all of the help, and let me know about that question I had if you have any rear-only disc brakes for a Club Car.

Here are pictures of my cart after I got it all back together.