Front axle

[pflaming]

Curiousity question: I'm cleaning my front axle. Found this yellow spot (paint I suppose). Any meaning in it?

Edited November 14, 2017 by pflaming

[ggdad1951]

mine did as well, most likely some factory marking denoting some random thing.

[John-T-53]

Inspection mark.

[pflaming]

Such were my thoughts, maybe for a certain spring set-up, mine have seven leaves. When I paint the axle, I'm going to keep that yellow spot, just for the 'record'.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Maybe a heat sensitive paint involved with the final forging process.

[pflaming]

How did the axle come from the factory? plain forged steel or painted, probably black?

[52b3b Joe]

I found traces of black paint on mine before I redid it. I would assume painted black.

[Desotodav]

Was the yellow paint spot located in the centre of the axle Paul? I have been thinking of painting a spot in the centre of my front axle to make it easier to locate the centre when I jack the truck up to put it on the wheel dollies.

Desotodav

[pflaming]

In the center, yes, but I don't think it was to disignate that. It's just a retangular color spot. Like others, I find traces of black paint on the top of the axle also, so black it will soon be.

[Rusty O'Toole]

Probably a part of the assembly process. I know in the sixties, on the car assembly line, there were stations where the ball joints and tie rod ends were tightened up. The workers used an air powered socket wrench and inside the socket was a sponge with yellow paint on it. This left a yellow mark on every nut they tightened up. The inspector could tell at a glance if any nuts had been missed.

It could be the yellow marks on the axle were something similar, indicating the front end alignment or something of that kind.

Could also indicate different parts. For example, a 1/2 ton front axle could have been marked with a different color from a 3/4 ton, or the same axle with heavy duty brakes, etc. By marking different parts with spots of color it was easier and quicker to pick out the right parts than by reading the parts numbers every time. This was done for convenience in stocking and assembling the parts on the assembly line.

Edited March 28, 2012 by Rusty O'Toole

[pflaming]

Progress: Just building history. About ready to go back in. I called a vender about putting dust covers on the tie rod ends. He said 'if I was trying to be original, ok, but with today's good roads, they are, for all practical reasons, not totally necessary.

Edit: I am just quoting a vender. I'm going to put the rubber 'boots' on, just inexpensive protection of the work done. If I were in the East with the salt, etc., would for certain.

Edited February 2, 2018 by pflaming

[austinsailor]

They don't drive on the roads I do!

[Frank Elder]

They don't drive on the roads I do!

And they don't find the good stuff like you do either!!!!

[Desotodav]

I picked up rubber dust covers for the tie rods from Andy B for $4 each... http://www.oldmoparts.com/d.htm . I don't recall whether I fitted them as I had some NOS ones when re-assembling the front axle. I think a couple of the ones on the truck are split now, so maybe I'll have to get onto that job!

Desotodav

[Jerry Roberts]

It seems like the boots should be available in the auto parts stores . They still use them on the modern vehicles .