Lincoln-based Columbia OD

[itslow]

Are the "guts" of a Columbia OD conversion for a Lincoln rear axle the same as would be found in Ford-based conversion? I'm assuming Columbia would have used whatever possible for commonality between the two.

What kind of value would a complete Lincoln assembly - needing a rebuild, of course - have today? Do the Lincoln folks actually want them?

[Ken/Alabama]

Yes, The only difference is that a true Lincoln unit doesn’t have an oil plug in the A-6 and the Ford does. That’s because the Lincoln uses a hypoid differential and the oil level is checked using the plug on the banjo housing. The Ford A-6 has a plug and must be used instead of the plug on the banjo housing. The A-6 is the cast part sandwiched between the banjo housing and the right side axle housing.

[rotorwrench]

Lincoln was the first of the Ford Motor Co line up to use the Borg Warner R10 electric overdrive transmission in 1941 so those cars didn't need the Columbia unit. Those transmissions were set up for torque tube drive so they are a lot longer than the post war Mercury R10 types used beginning in 1949.

[38 coupe]

There are variations in the Lincoln Zephyr Columbias, just like there are in the Ford units.
The 1936 units are the same, Ford and Zephyr.
The 1937 units are similar, with a larger spring shackle opening in the Zephyr.
The 1938, 1939, and 1940 Zephyr units have a hypoid center, larger spring shackle opening, and the A-6 is not drilled and tapped for an oil fill plug.
The 1941 Zephyr units have a hypoid center, larger spring shackle opening, the A-6 is not drilled and tapped for an oil fill plug, and the axle housing is a bit wider.
The 1941 Zephyr could be purchased new with the R10 Borg-Warner overdrive, the Columbia overdrive axle, or both!

[Hitman]

And the Speedo drive is different on the ford and Lincoln units. The drive is on the driveshaft on fords, axle on Lincoln’s.

[Kens 36]

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Originally Posted by 38 coupe

There are variations in the Lincoln Zephyr Columbias, just like there are in the Ford units.
The 1936 units are the same, Ford and Zephyr.
The 1937 units are similar, with a larger spring shackle opening in the Zephyr.
The 1938, 1939, and 1940 Zephyr units have a hypoid center, larger spring shackle opening, and the A-6 is not drilled and tapped for an oil fill plug.
The 1941 Zephyr units have a hypoid center, larger spring shackle opening, the A-6 is not drilled and tapped for an oil fill plug, and the axle housing is a bit wider.
The 1941 Zephyr could be purchased new with the R10 Borg-Warner overdrive, the Columbia overdrive axle, or both!

Fred, you sure have done your research. I hope you go to the Springfield Meet!

Ken

[Ken/Alabama]

Originally Posted by Hitman

And the Speedo drive is different on the ford and Lincoln units. The drive is on the driveshaft on fords, axle on Lincoln’s.

The speedo was on the axle only on the ones that left the factory with a Columbia. If it were dealer installed it was on the torque tube and had the changer on the firewall. This is for Lincoln only. No Fords left the factory with a Columbia, they were all dealer installed.

[Ken/Alabama]

Originally Posted by 38 coupe

There are variations in the Lincoln Zephyr Columbias, just like there are in the Ford units.
The 1936 units are the same, Ford and Zephyr.
The 1937 units are similar, with a larger spring shackle opening in the Zephyr.
The 1938, 1939, and 1940 Zephyr units have a hypoid center, larger spring shackle opening, and the A-6 is not drilled and tapped for an oil fill plug.
The 1941 Zephyr units have a hypoid center, larger spring shackle opening, the A-6 is not drilled and tapped for an oil fill plug, and the axle housing is a bit wider.
The 1941 Zephyr could be purchased new with the R10 Borg-Warner overdrive, the Columbia overdrive axle, or both!

All that is true but he’s asking about the “guts” and the answer is yes

[38 coupe]

The internals changed over the years too. The "guts" for Fords / Mercuries and for Zephyrs mostly used the same internal parts at any given point in time, with variations only with the Zephyr axles with direct speedometer drive. All Columbia internals got revised at the same times as the factory improved the design. Attached is a pdf of a spreadsheet I am slowly making to keep track of all the variations. There are more variations than are listed in the spreadsheet since the planetary gears went through revisions in shaft and bushing design, but I don't have enough details to include in the spreadsheet at this time.

[itslow]

Originally Posted by Ken/Alabama

All that is true but he’s asking about the “guts” and the answer is yes

Yeah, mainly interested if the little bits that make the Columbia "work" and are often lost or misplaced when units sit disassembled can be interchanged to make an incomplete Ford unit complete.

[Adriatic Machine]

Great thread. I’m gathering parts for this right now. I just acquired a complete unit for a Ford although I need to make it work for my 39 Zephyr.

[Brian]

Adriatic, One thing you'll want to do is to add a breather to the rear end somewhere, normally halfway along the LH axle tube, certainly not in line with crownwheel or something that will throw oil outta said breather. The reason the Lincoln set up requires a breather, and the Ford units don't, is because the Lincoln hypoid rear is sealed, whereas the Ford units are not.
Although, you're probably running Lincoln housings anyway, which should have the breather already.

[Adriatic Machine]

Thanks for the advice Brian. I noticed some of the axle bells have a vent and some don’t. That explains it.