rear axle clean up - how far to go?

[Bob Culver]

I am not familair with the early ones, but splitting with a different gasket can alter cw position and side bearing settings so is best avoided. The cw teeth can presumably be inspected thru plug hole as on later cars, but the pinion wears more.. If the pinion can be fished out without losing track of settings the cw and pinion can be examined for deep wear, serious pitting etc and, as Tony mentions, the pinion shaft nut checked for tightness. A close study of the cross section diags likely to be useful. To simplify any subsequent attempts to alter adjustment, the wear step on pinion should be ground off, but difficult with the bearing in place. Metal detritus in the oil or casing is an ominous sign. It is diffiult to judge bearings if the tracks and ball surfaces cannot all be viewed.
It should not be possible to move the cw laterally.