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Old 10-12-2018, 09:25 AM   #6
Marshall V. Daut
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Davenport, Iowa
Posts: 2,110
Default Re: Radius Rod Ball Cap Bolts

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Which radius rod ball mounting kit did you buy - the original style or the vastly inferior one with the rubber ball? No need in going through AGAIN why the rubber ball mounting is a bad idea for Model A's (if I've replaced one of those, I've replaced 50 of them!), but if that is the kit you bought, then yes - those bolts are then too long in MOST cases where this design surfaces. They have to be a little longer than the stock design because the two cast iron halves are thicker to compensate for the rubber ball inside. I have seen this many times with this rubber ball design, but surprising sometimes not. There must have been more than one aftermarket manufacturer of this mounting design, each with its own length bolts. If you try to install the correct original design retaining the bolts from the rubber ball design, the bolts will be too long in most cases (once again depending upon manufacturer).
The guys are right about the holes being allowed deeper from looseness over the years. A very common problem with our Model A's. That may or may not be the problem here. If you are installing the original design WITHOUT that %#%^&* soon-to-be-oiled-soaked rubber ball and the new bolts are too long, then the holes are too deep and must be shimmed up beneath the bolt heads, as the previous posters have recommended. Believe it or not, those bolts CAN be changed with the bellhousing still in the car! It's tricky and you need long, thin fingers, but it can be done, especially if you run very thin fish line or sewing thread through the cotter pin holes in the bolts as safety measure in case the bolts drop inside the bellhousing. They can be retrieved by pulling the string. Same thing when installing the new bolts. Long needle nose pliers bent at the tips and also be used to good effect.
Marshall

Last edited by Marshall V. Daut; 10-12-2018 at 12:25 PM. Reason: added forgotten "sewing thread"
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