Buddy of mine looking at it just sent me a picture. The axles are stripped.
Looks like only about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the splines were engaged .
So measuring the rare ds looks like mine is 54 and an A body is 52
Sooo..... I didn't know the rear that was in the car when I bought it was out of a B body
Need to order some B body axles....... I am guessing correct axle spine engagement should be roughly 1.5 inches into the spool on both sides?????????
Common problem. The issue is the split gear setup on MOST 8.75s.
Each axle engages a side gear AND a side 'plate' that is part of the clutch assembly of the sure grip. That means of the engagement of the axle-to-side-gear strips out you go nowhere.
Not only are the axle splines trashed, but so are the side gears (at least one) in the diff unit.
A much better design was the one piece where by the side gear and plate are one unit, but they are rare. The side gear and plate are locked together when an axle is installed so they FUNCTION as a single piece, unless, as in your case the small amount of axle spline to side gear engagement strips out.
