Spicer Single Drive Axles Service Manual: S135L, S135N, S135S, S150L, S150N, S150S - Manual (Page 10)

6
Inspection
Prepare the Parts for Inspection
After the preliminary investigation, locate the failure and pre-
pare the part for examination. In carrier failure analysis, it may
be necessary to disassemble the unit.
• When disassembling subassemblies and parts, do
not clean the parts immediately since cleaning may
destroy some of the evidence.
• When tearing down the drive axle, do it in the recom-
mended manner. Minimize any further damage to the
unit.
• Ask more questions when examining the interior of
the carrier. Does the lubricant meet the manufacturer
specifications regarding quality, quantity, and vis-
cosity? As soon as you have located the failed part,
take time to analyze the data.
Find the Cause of the Failure
Here begins the real challenge to determine the exact cause of
the failure. Keep in mind that there is no benefit to replacing a
failed part without determining the cause of the failure. For
example, after examining a failed part and finding that the fail-
ure is caused by a lack of lubrication, you must determine if
there was an external leak. Obviously, if there is an external
leak, just replacing the failed gear is not going to correct the
situation.
Another important consideration here is to determine the spe-
cific type of failure which can be a valuable indicator for the
cause of failure. The following pages show different types of
failures and possible causes. Use this as a guide in determin-
ing types of failures and in correcting problems.
Correct the Cause of the Problem
Once the cause of the problem has been determined, refer to
the appropriate service manual to perform the repairs.