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Reply to "Pantera 06927"

Pantera and Mangusta stub axles need a medium press fit if you're going to use ball bearings or straight-roller bearings such as the GT5-S had. Slip-fits do not hold the inner race tightly enough for 300+ horses with these bearings. The axle will flex a little and the steel used is much softer than bearing race steels, so the axles get wear-tracks pounded in them.
I've seen stock axles successfully repaired by welding, by hard-chrome and by spray-welding. Once repaired and reground (NOT lathe-turned!) to a medium press fit (0.0005"), ball bearings will last a lifetime.
But if big wide sticky tires are mounted AND you drive hard or do frequent track days, expect to find the second weak spot in stock axles. This is the wheel flange where it joins the axle shaft. The flange will flex at the shaft with giant tires, eventually cracking in two and you lose a wheel- and usually, the lower rear quarter panel! This doesn't happen with normal street use but 3 continuous hours on a race course with race tires will usually break one or both stock axles. Most aftermarket axles do not have hollow shafts, and have 3X thicker wheel flanges. Such non-flexing axles are adequate for pro racing with over-600 bhp engines. Knurling or magic glues will be very temporary axle repairs if you drive the car as it was intended. Finally, all this is useless unless you check axles with a 4-decimal micrometer: 3-decimal micrometers simply cannot measure close enough to check a medium press-fit of 0.0005". You'll be guessing which usually doesn't work. And remember, axles and the bearings are made with tolerances. Its possible to find completely stock combinations that are loose, tight or just right, but it takes a lot of parts to sort thru to find the 'good' combinations. Better to get high-quality high-carbon steel aftermarket axles and put that worry aside forever.
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