Aw...Nuts and Bolts and Toothed Periphery Washers!

[bkahler]

5 minutes ago, Brent B3B said:

My B3HH has a spring 

 

my other trucks didn’t have the springs but most of the cable were changed (undersized) over the years. LOL, seems like it was a practice to replace the cables and battery at the same time 

 

That sure looks like it might be an original cable.  For a moment I was wondering if maybe these springs were based on the size of the truck but David's truck is a B2B which shoots that theory out of the water.  My guess is we'll never know for sure if these were factory, dealer or owner installed.  

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Brad

[JBNeal]

I studied the parts manual, and this cable sleeve looks like that trim piece on the grille whiskers + bars that I could not find in the parts manual.  The parts manual electrical system diagram appears to be for the B-1, similar to the breakdown of the steering gearbox which does not reflect any changes for the B-2, B-3 and B-4, but just a representation to sell parts at the dealership.  I found the same tubing clamp + sleeve setup on the '51 flatbed, '51 parts truck, '52 Fluid Drive chassis, '52 low bed side, and the '53 Spring Special...the three B-1s I have by the house do not have this cable sleeve.  

 

additional information - battery cable sleeve location

[bkahler]

9 hours ago, JBNeal said:

I studied the parts manual, and this cable sleeve looks like that trim piece on the grille whiskers + bars that I could not find in the parts manual.  The parts manual electrical system diagram appears to be for the B-1, similar to the breakdown of the steering gearbox which does not reflect any changes for the B-2, B-3 and B-4, but just a representation to sell parts at the dealership.  I found the same tubing clamp + sleeve setup on the '51 flatbed, '51 parts truck, '52 Fluid Drive chassis, '52 low bed side, and the '53 Spring Special...the three B-1s I have by the house do not have this cable sleeve.  

 

additional information - battery cable sleeve location

 

Well, between Mark, David, Brent, and Brian I'm convinced that the 50 and later trucks had some sort of sleeve over the cable going from the battery to the starter switch.  

 

Now, could one of you gentlemen offer some clue as to what would be a suitable replacement?  Mark, it sounds like you found something that you were satisfied with on FEF.  Do you remember what you bought and were from?

 

Thanks!

 

Brad

[ggdad1951]

21 hours ago, bkahler said:

 

Ya know, I was just looking through their catalog a few weeks ago for something else but for some reason it didn't even dawn on me to look in their catalog for cable clamps! ?

 

Their wire  harness clamps don't look exactly like the originals but at this point they are probably about as good as I'm going to find.  

 

Thanks for the reminder!

 

Brad

 

 

BTW I made most of my own P-clamps out of SS, rounded the edges and put shrink wrap on to protect the items in the clamp.  That way I could try to mimic the orignals as best as possible.

[billrigsby]

On 12/15/2021 at 1:01 PM, bkahler said:

 

Just when you think you have things all figured out someone comes along and muddies the waters!  ?

 

It would be interesting to know if there are more out there with the spring....

 

I do not recall the spring on my B1D, but I am sure the cable was replaced

probably without it, if it was there.

[JBNeal]

I measured .06" wire diameter x 9/16" ID x 17" long on that sleeve...here is an option from McMaster-Carr:

 

https://www.mcmaster.com/9665K93/

 

[bkahler]

7 hours ago, JBNeal said:

I measured .06" wire diameter x 9/16" ID x 17" long on that sleeve...here is an option from McMaster-Carr:

 

https://www.mcmaster.com/9665K93/

 

 

Thanks for the details and the link

 

That certainly looks like it would work.  My battery cable measures .475" OD.  The only issue is whether or not the crimped ring end will pass through the .606 ID.  I suppose I could always cut off the ring and crimp a new one on once the spring has been installed.  

 

If I understand this correctly only the cable from the battery to the starter switch has the spring, the ground cable does not have a spring.  Correct?

 

 

[bkahler]

Looking closer at McMaster's spring selection they have a 5/8" OD spring with .062" wire that has an ID of .501 which is still large enough for the cable I have.  However I would definitely have to remove and replace the ring crimped end.  

 

Time to ponder.....

 

 

[billrigsby]

 

If it is a spring,

can you not wrap the spring around the cable

or would it deform too much?

 

 

 

[bkahler]

9 minutes ago, billrigsby said:

 

If it is a spring,

can you not wrap the spring around the cable

or would it deform too much?

 

 

 

 

Don't know the answer to that but I might find out in a few days.  I went ahead and ordered the 5/8" spring and will provide an update once it arrives.

 

[JBNeal]

The ground cable to the transmission did not have any sleeve (I'm a proponent of grounding to a starter mounting stud).  B-1s had the starter cable loose around the clutch + brake pedals and that could get kinda sparky after awhile, so somewhere during the B-2s the starter cable was mounted to the frame with this flexible conduit.

[ggdad1951]

"Sproing" the spring out and it should slip over no problem. At least that's what I did.                

[bkahler]

On 12/25/2021 at 7:53 PM, ggdad1951 said:

"Sproing" the spring out and it should slip over no problem. At least that's what I did.                

 

Unfortunately that method didn't work for the spring that I used.  The spring itself is quite flexible but the wire is stiff enough that it wouldn't spread enough for the terminal to fit through.  It really wasn't a big deal, I just cut off the original terminal and crimped a new one in it's place.  I do like how it looks and functions.