Reply to "side shaft play"

The floating axel is a press fit through the ball bearing inter-race and the outer-race of the ball bearing is a press fit into the flange (the cast iron side piece). When it is all pressed together there is a shim(s) to space the circlip so it fits tightly in the axle groove. This prevents the axel from moving in/out. If the axle is shimmed correctly and has not fretted away the axel surface or the side flange the only in/out play would be play in the ball bearing assembly. I do not recall my floating axel having in/out play when I was assembling it and I cannot feel any in/out play by tugging on the axel flange and U joint. There is a tiny amount radial play that is equal on both sides. It can be hardly seen and mostly is a “clunk” sound.

The ZF is a very built proof transaxle. The majority of problems are usually poorly adjusted shift linkage, poorly adjusted clutch free play (that many miss diagnose as bad synchros), leaking seals and an odd problem where the front bearing on the main shaft works its way backward out of the front case. This bearing problem is usually caused by installing a non-Pantera clutch system or a bad pilot bearing in the crank.


Mike