Axle shaft question - How many splines? + strange axle noise.

MustangLX-5.0

Founding Member
Dec 2, 2000
858
7
38
Lehigh Acres Fla.
I'm looking into replacing both axle shafts on my 92 5.0 Vert. Seen a good set in Summit Racing's catalog.But I had no idea they came with different spline counts.How many splines are on a stock 5.0 shaft?

The only reason i'm replacing them was the hub appears to be spinning out of place right where the shaft comes through the outer bearing.That,and well the obvious whirring noise coming from the rear.I'm sure this problem is axle shaft related.And it's definately not un-common,as i've heard this same exact noise come from the rear end on other 5.0's i've driven.On one,the noise was barely audible.On another it was deafening.This sound goes with the speed of the wheels,not the motor.Sounds like something scuffing or scraping or just spinning un-evenly.The rear brake components are fine,however when you pull the e-brake,the noise quiets down the harder the brake is pulled on.Let off the e-brake,the noise comes back.Could this be an outer wheel bearing causing this?
 
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Stock shafts are 28 spline. I'm in the process of getting a wheel bearing replaced myself. Pulled the right rear drum and there was gear lube all over. Bearing is seized to the axle housing and has to be cut out. Kinda looking to replace the axles too since this one's already had a repair bearing on it once. The noise could be caused by a bearing going bad. When you pull on the e-brake the brake pads force the drums to a certain point and thereby support/center the axle to a certain point taking the axle off the bearing if it's completely gone.
 
Stock is 28 spline. Replace the bearings and seals while you're there. Be careful as to not snap the crosspin bolt in the differential. You should rebuild the trac lock while you're there too.
 
Already tried the slide hammer. Didn't trust my hand at firing up my torch on the inside of the axle housing and not screwing it up. If the mech screws it up they fix it. Unfortunantly they were out of oxygen and wouldn't let me bring my torch in for them to use.