I have six B-body rear axle shafts from two ’69s and one ’70 8¾˝ rears. They all look the same length but have different style bearings. The axles out of one ’69 rear ends have the Timken style bearings and the ’70 has the totally enclosed, I think Green, bearings. Then I have a set from another ’69 rear and it has the adjuster on one of the axles and not the other. The first set of axles that I mentioned has no adjustment on either axle—that came out of my ‘69 Road Runner’s rear end. My questions is the set of axles that have no adjustment the right setup, or should I be using the other set with the adjustment nut on the axle and is that setup right or should there be two adjustment nuts?
The non‑adjustable ones are non‑OEM “repair” sealed ball‑type bearings made by Green. They are much weaker than the stock Timkens and have, typically, a much shorter lifespan.
Guys like the Greens because they require no grey‑matter exercise. The stockers must be packed with wheel bearing grease, seals checked/replaced, and adjusted for a skosh (0.003‑0.006˝) of end play (adjuster on right side only). Then the locking pawl must be installed under one of the nuts on the right side.
I have written so many tips and procedures relating to the “good” bearings over the decades that my fingertips are numb; look around, the info is out there.
For my dollar, I wouldn’t go around the block with the Greens. And I mean that in the literal sense.