Jerry Roberts

I wonder if it is feasible to braze up the old brass tube .

So since your wheels are off , when you try to make your slight adjustment , turn the gears all of the way to one side and then all of the way back to the other side and count the revolutions . That way you will know where the middle is for adjustment . There has been a lot of discussion in the past on using grease that will flow in the steering boxes , such as corn head grease . If the lube doesn't flow , the bearings will suffer .

So did you ever stick a wire into that spot to see if in fact there is a hole there ? There was a thread with pictures on this forum a couple of years back where someone had plugged that hole in the block . You might be able to find the thread with a search .

Here is a photo of my steering gear box , taken from the top . That 3/4 inch bolt on the side is actually a threaded cap , just unscrew it and set it aside .The cap covers the adjusting screw . there is a kind of star washer thing that you remove and then adjust the screw and them replace the star shaped thing . the star shaped thing keeps the adjusting screw from from backing off and becoming loose . Be sure to make the adjustment with your wheels pointing straight ahead or things will be too tight .

I think that the original had lacing wire through the head of the bolt , You can kind of see the wire in your photo . Just to keep the bolt from getting loose .

You can never have too much ground . I have added straps as you mentioned . I also added ground wires from the head lights to the frame and probably the tail lights too . I don't know what those threaded holes were for on the head but they would make good grounds too . Vintage Power Wagons recommends that the battery ground strap be bolted directly onto one of the starter bolts , stock is to one of the transmission bolts .

You asked for opinions so here goes ; No , it is not worth it . I have gone that exact route and it was a waste of time and money . Yes you will see some improvement , but only a little .

Available from Vintage Power Wagons .

These are the rear mounts , they go between the bell housing and the frame . One on each side .

He might have the shop manual but no pictures . I have the shop manual for a 1938 Dodge truck with the supplement used for the 1939 Dodge truck and .... no pictures of the mounts . I also have the Preliminary Parts List for the 1940 Plymouth truck ... no pics of the mounts .

Isn't your gas cap supposed to be vented ?

Even though your battery shows 6 volts , it might not have enough power . A battery load tester should show the answer . I have the cheap Harbor freight model and it has been working fine . If you don't want to buy a load tester , you might call around to shops that might have one to get a good test on your battery . If your battery tests good then the obvious answer is a starter that needs work . The armature might be dragging because of a worn bearing for example .

Sometimes you can give the drum a wack with a fairly heavy hammer and it will free up . Rust can build up inside . If that doesn't work you might have to use brute force with a drum puller , and ruin some parts in the process .

In my Auto-Lite book shows starter MAW 4029 fits 1942 DDI ( T-112 ) , DD2 ( T-116 ) Canada DD3 75 Canada also 1944 1945 WF , WFA , WFM-38 , 1946 1947 WD-20 , WD-21 . and has armature Maw-2030 . 1941 WC-12 ( T-112 ) shows starter MZ-4059 or MZ-4059A with armature 2108 . So will the starters interchange and work correctly ? I don't know . Hollander Interchange Manual would have some information on possible fitment .

And disconnect the battery first to prevent sparks .

Could this be a later rear end that lubes the bearings from the differential oil ?

It seems strange that mopar would have a bearing that you can't easily lubricate . I'll bet that there is a threaded hole there that is full of dried grease , dirt , and rust . Someone didn't put the plug back in place .

Those that I have seen have had a steel threaded plug , probably the smallest size of pipe thread . As long as you have things apart , I think that you should put in a threaded plug so that you don't have to pull your axles every time that you want to ad a little grease to the bearing . There are two common sizes for the grease fittings , the older fittings have a larger threaded base . I would just use a modern grease for disk brake bearings . You can then grease your bearings with a zert fitting . A Ed said ... not too much pressure . Grease with the zert and then put in the plug , or grease with the zert and then unscrew the zert for a minute to release any pressure . Is there anything in your shop manual on the subject ?

That is the down draft tube . Also known as the crankcase ventilator . It vents your area above the oil sump . One more such vent is the oil fill tube .

The circular hole is for a light bulb . Are there any letters stamped by the terminals ?

A blown head gasket will show a lot of white smoke in the exhaust , also it might show bubbles in the top of the radiator and possible low water level .

You can see the pin just by looking at the outside of the pump . But that doesn't mean that the pin is going to stay put . You can often see punch marks on the housing where the casting has been staked , is that good enough ? I wouldn't trust it .

Tank Inc . sells very good tanks at a good price , perhaps they make one for your vehicle . When I had my tank lined by the Re-New local branch , new tanks were not available . About once each year I had to use an old choke cable to auger out the pick up tube as it kept getting plugged up . Not fun getting stuck on the side of the road .The lining in the tank held up fine . New tanks were finally available at a good price and I put one in . No more worries . I wish that new tanks were available when I first needed one . I noticed that the pick up tube in the new tank is a lot larger diameter than the old pick up tube was .

Well I changed the plugs quite a long time ago now and the new NGK s have a little soot but not bad like the old ones . I found that my vacuum advance diaphragm was torn and my coil was bad . All is good now . That pesky coil only acted up after it warmed up and only under heavy load .

If it doesn't have a damper , it doesn't need one . Some of the engines came without one , like mine .