I was so lucky as to buy an 86 350x recently. I'm in the process of "fixing her up". Previous owner obviously didn't know what he was doing on a few things. My question is about the rear axle. The spindles were just loosely mounted to the axle to the point that the wheels would rattle around on the axle spines. Aren't these axle nuts supposed to be tight to the point there is no slop? I tightened them down and re-set the cotter pin so there is no rattle. Can someone verify that I did this right?

Gary

 

yes, they should be tight, if they loosen up again the likely culprit is a bad wheel bearing. Make sure you dont ever tightenen the nuts to prevent the wheel from turning without too much resistance. If it doesn't turn smoothly, you may have to replace the bearing.

 

John, there are no bearings out at the spindle on a 350x. Bearings are at the swingarm. Thanks.

 

He was right about needing to keep those castle nuts tight. You don't want the rear hubs to move at all. If they get play , the axle or hub will strip and then its done.