Lucky shop day

[Tired iron]

I'm re doing rear axles and brakes on my meadowbrook. New bearings, inner and outer seals, wheel cylinders and pads (and brake lines and master).

 

I installed seals and bearings and used existing shims assuming I'd be messing quite a bit with it to get the freeplay right since I was putting in new bearings. Well, I was wanting .010 I whacked the axles back and forth to get my end play registered and then set up my dial gauge. Lookie what I get measuring on both sides! A perfect ten thousands. 

How often does that happen! Every once and a while even a blind squirrel finds a nut.

[Doug&Deb]

Amen to that!

[Loren]

So glad to see someone wise enough to repair an original axle rather than cause more problems by replacing it with an inferior worn wrecking yard axle from some other junk!

Honestly there is a lot to like about the original MoPar axles.

I've had to make axle shafts from bar stock for off road racing and I used Carrol Smith's (Prepare to win) ideas on how to do it. The first Plymouth axle I took apart had all the design features that Smith taught. The necked down shaft between the the splines (or in this case the wheel bearing) 5% smaller than the smallest portion of the spline. This spreads the torque load over the length of the axle rather than concentrating it right at the spline.

Ever seen how a flanged "Modern" axle breaks?

For my money I'd fix a Plymouth axle rather than replace it. They are a very good design!

 

[nonstop]

29 minutes ago, Loren said:

So glad to see someone wise enough to repair an original axle rather than cause more problems by replacing it with an inferior worn wrecking yard axle from some other junk!

Honestly there is a lot to like about the original MoPar axles.

I've had to make axle shafts from bar stock for off road racing and I used Carrol Smith's (Prepare to win) ideas on how to do it. The first Plymouth axle I took apart had all the design features that Smith taught. The necked down shaft between the the splines (or in this case the wheel bearing) 5% smaller than the smallest portion of the spline. This spreads the torque load over the length of the axle rather than concentrating it right at the spline.

Ever seen how a flanged "Modern" axle breaks?

For my money I'd fix a Plymouth axle rather than replace it. They are a very good design!

 

Thank you, I never knew that (and I worked at a rear end shop)!  I wondered why there was a neck there.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Good going?

Time to play the Lotto!

 

[Sniper]

2 hours ago, Loren said:

So glad to see someone wise enough to repair an original axle rather than cause more problems by replacing it with an inferior worn wrecking yard axle from some other junk!

Honestly there is a lot to like about the original MoPar axles.

I've had to make axle shafts from bar stock for off road racing and I used Carrol Smith's (Prepare to win) ideas on how to do it. The first Plymouth axle I took apart had all the design features that Smith taught. The necked down shaft between the the splines (or in this case the wheel bearing) 5% smaller than the smallest portion of the spline. This spreads the torque load over the length of the axle rather than concentrating it right at the spline.

Ever seen how a flanged "Modern" axle breaks?

For my money I'd fix a Plymouth axle rather than replace it. They are a very good design!

 

 

So, what you are saying is that Carrol learned all he needed to know from an old Plymouth.

[Tired iron]

2 hours ago, Loren said:

So glad to see someone wise enough to repair an original axle rather than cause more problems by replacing it with an inferior worn wrecking yard axle from some other junk!

Honestly there is a lot to like about the original MoPar axles.

I've had to make axle shafts from bar stock for off road racing and I used Carrol Smith's (Prepare to win) ideas on how to do it. The first Plymouth axle I took apart had all the design features that Smith taught. The necked down shaft between the the splines (or in this case the wheel bearing) 5% smaller than the smallest portion of the spline. This spreads the torque load over the length of the axle rather than concentrating it right at the spline.

Ever seen how a flanged "Modern" axle breaks?

For my money I'd fix a Plymouth axle rather than replace it. They are a very good design!

 

Ive got a wind turbine up at my place and the company (jacobs) had trouble with the main power shaft breaking. Mine snapped in a 125 mph windstorm. When i got a replacement shaft, it was an improved design that had...yep, a necked down portion.

[Loren]

My Dad had a 53 English Ford Zephyr Six with a Raymond Mays cylinder head on it.

That cylinder head boosted the power to 90 hp, enough that all the english Zephyr police cars were equipped with them.

At that time one of his pre-war buddies worked for Frank Millard (whose partner was Roy Rogers). One of the other notable employees was Ken Miles. Millard sold Porsche cars and Miles had one like James Dean. Miles also had a Pirelli tire sponsorship, so he got a new set of tires regularly. My Dad used to buy used tires from him because they were very sticky and cheap, but the wrong size. When the new Thunderbirds came out my Dad went to the Ford dealer and ordered 4 wheels. Now he could use Mile’s tires.

Of course the change in gear ratio and the added torque of the hot rod engine put loads on the drive train the English Ford engineers had never anticipated. Some thing had to give and it was the axles. The Zephyr had very typical designed flanged axles that tapered down from the wheel bearing to the spline at the differential. In a space not more than 1/4 inch long all the twisting stress was concentrated. The axle would twist nearly a full turn before snapping off and they would fail at a rate of one a week alternating right to left. My Dad knew that he drove like a lunatic and enjoyed every minute of it, so he wasn’t perturbed by the failures in the least. By the time that axles became scarce the Zephyr was pretty worn out and smoking, so he parked it.

Later I wondered about why they made the axles that way. I always figured it was to keep them from deflecting with side loads. Now I think it just had to do with the way they are forged. I suppose you could turn them in a lathe (or a grinder) and reduce the diameter to the 5% formula and get better life from them. But since the Zephyr is long gone and I haven’t broken an axle in any of my cars since, I haven’t had the need to experiment.

[allbizz49]

Good deal on the stock axle. I've been swapping axles for 30 years, never a problem. Many under 10 second and quicker drag cars. Maybe the guys having problems are doing something wrong Glad your stocker worked out.

[Tired iron]

1 hour ago, Loren said:

My Dad had a 53 English Ford Zephyr Six with a Raymond Mays cylinder head on it.

That cylinder head boosted the power to 90 hp, enough that all the english Zephyr police cars were equipped with them.

At that time one of his pre-war buddies worked for Frank Millard (whose partner was Roy Rogers). One of the other notable employees was Ken Miles. Millard sold Porsche cars and Miles had one like James Dean. Miles also had a Pirelli tire sponsorship, so he got a new set of tires regularly. My Dad used to buy used tires from him because they were very sticky and cheap, but the wrong size. When the new Thunderbirds came out my Dad went to the Ford dealer and ordered 4 wheels. Now he could use Mile’s tires.

Of course the change in gear ratio and the added torque of the hot rod engine put loads on the drive train the English Ford engineers had never anticipated. Some thing had to give and it was the axles. The Zephyr had very typical designed flanged axles that tapered down from the wheel bearing to the spline at the differential. In a space not more than 1/4 inch long all the twisting stress was concentrated. The axle would twist nearly a full turn before snapping off and they would fail at a rate of one a week alternating right to left. My Dad knew that he drove like a lunatic and enjoyed every minute of it, so he wasn’t perturbed by the failures in the least. By the time that axles became scarce the Zephyr was pretty worn out and smoking, so he parked it.

Later I wondered about why they made the axles that way. I always figured it was to keep them from deflecting with side loads. Now I think it just had to do with the way they are forged. I suppose you could turn them in a lathe (or a grinder) and reduce the diameter to the 5% formula and get better life from them. But since the Zephyr is long gone and I haven’t broken an axle in any of my cars since, I haven’t had the need to experiment.

Great story. Your dad sounds like the real deal.

 

a few years ago, i bought a cool Dodge fuel truck to use as a water truck. It had that snub nose like a cab over but with swing out fenders. Anyway, it was cheap because the clutch was out...so they said. I put a new clutch in it (clutch plate had exploded) and got in the cab to drive it home. Nothing. No go. Turns out the axle was snapped as well. I think they had a full load and dumped the clutch coming down a hill. Thats the story I was told by the rather sheepish owner. Not sure how you explode the clutch plate AND twist the axle at the same time!