Who has actually broken an axel?

[RalphM]

Originally Posted by cmbrucew

There was an 1/8 mile drag strip near where I went to high school, Friend of mine slapped the automatic shifter up too high into reverse, that 55 slowly stopped and backed up.
Everyone was surprised nothing broke. Week or so later axle broke.
Bruce

I know it's not Ford, but when I was in High school I had a 66 Chevelle convertible with an automatic, and to impress the onlookers I used to go along about 20 -25 mph and put it in neutral, rev it up then drop it in reverse and smoke the tires! Never did tear up that tranny.

[Cool Kat with Hot Car]

A few years back my dad who was pushing 90 years old was driving my 32 3 window down the freeway at 60 mph. I was following him in his 40 convert. Suddenly he pulled to the side of the road. I ducked in behind him and got out to see why he stopped. He rolled down the window and said I think an axle broke. I looked at the rear of the car and sure enough, the right side wheel was sticking out beyond the edge of the fender. Fortunately, the axle and wheel did not come out all of the way or a big time disaster would have occurred. It was a simple matter of fatigue as far as I could tell. Drum retainers are now on all of my drivers. An observation I have made after taking apart over 30 Columbias and many more "normal" rear ends is that in all of the cases where I have found a broken axle or one that is developing a crack is that they are not Ford axles. Every bad axle I have encountered did not have the Ford script stamped on it. I will not consider putting a rear end together with out a script axle, preferably n.o.s.

[fortyfords]

I have broke several axles and not from abnormal driving. One broke when backing out of the driveway, the other one on my 40. The 40 broke going real slow around a turn when I was almost home. I was always glad the axle didn't break on my way home from Washington state to Missouri.

[JonC]

I think this post is very good, I would like to know if axles tend to break in the same spot or different locations. I have heard that they break at the gear end, is this true.

[richard crow]

one of the main reasons why axles brake on normal condations is because the housing race is worn . this causes the drum to ride off center to the axle causing it to brake. example have you ever bent a beer can or soda can back and forth till it brakes. it is very important to mike the race for wear most mech. just look at the race for piting & scoring. remember when you rebuild these rears they proulbly have 50,000 miles or more.also the inside of the drum race should be checked

[2manycars]

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I wa trying to pop start a 40 coupe many years ago and broke the drive shaft at the U joint end, where the splines were forged.
Last year at the Model A New England Meet in CT, an axel broke on a station wagon. She was going slowly at the time, and the wheel did not come off, but shortly before she was on the highway at speed. If it came off then, it would have been a pile of lumber.

[john in illinois]

I went with Hot Rod Works 9" Ford axles in my banjo rear end.

John

[Admiral]

This is a five-star thread. Very valuable information here.

For future reference, what are the "best practices" for dealing with these old banjo rear-ends? What I've gleaned from this the preceding posts are as follows:

1) When rebuilding one of these axle assemblies use Ford-script shafts whenever possible.

2) Before assembly make certain to have the tapered ends mangafluxed to check for cracks.

3) Pay careful attention to the fit between the brake drum, roller bearing and axle housing race.

4) Make certain your axle nuts are torqued down correctly; never rely on the key way to transmit driving torque!!!

5) Treat this old-school technology with respect. Avoid side-stepping the clutch or doing burnouts (DUH!).

6) The addition of brake-drum retainers is recommended should an axle shaft snap.

[tubman]

After I broke my axle, I violated your rule 4. I decided to put shorter, mild steel keys in the axles. After that, I sheared several keys, but never broke another axle. I now know this violated one of the cardinal rules for old Fords, but back when I didn't know any better, it served me quite well. I carried a couple of my spare keys and the proper tools in the car and got to the point where I could replace a key and be back on the road in 5 minutes. Some fighter planes (I think the Grumman F8F) used this theory. They had explosive bolts holding on the wingtips that the pilot could blow off if he exceeded a certain speed in a dive. This would decrease the stress on the wings, reducing the chance of the entire wing tearing off. There are more examples of designed in "weak points" around. Shear pins in older outboards come to mind.

[Planojc]

If the axle taper and inner hub is not clean, and the axle nut is not tight, hello broken axle.

[cmbrucew]

Originally Posted by tubman

After I broke my axle, I violated your rule 4. I decided to put shorter, mild steel keys in the axles. After that, I sheared several keys, but never broke another axle. I now know this violated one of the cardinal rules for old Fords, but back when I didn't know any better, it served me quite well. I carried a couple of my spare keys and the proper tools in the car and got to the point where I could replace a key and be back on the road in 5 minutes. Some fighter planes (I think the Grumman F8F) used this theory. They had explosive bolts holding on the wingtips that the pilot could blow off if he exceeded a certain speed in a dive. This would decrease the stress on the wings, reducing the chance of the entire wing tearing off. There are more examples of designed in "weak points" around. Shear pins in older outboards come to mind.

I always ground a groove on GM blower quill shafts, and had unkind words for those who did not.
Bruce

[mercman from oz]

Back in the Seventies, my brother broke 4 rear axles in a period of about 3 months. It wasn't because he was doing anything silly. They broke because the Axle Housing Sleeves were badly worn. In the end, he removed the rear end, and took the Casings to an Engineer who removed the old worn sleeves and replaced them with NOS Sleeves. He never broke one again. The first time that the axle broke, luckily, he was just down the road. We removed the wheel and put on a clunker wheel with a worn tyre. We then wedged a length of timber in against the wheel, to prevent it from coming off and slowly towed him home with a rope. The second time, he was a about a mile away, and we repeated the process. The third time, he was about 30 miles away, and by now was getting proficient in changing the axles. We gathered all the necessary parts like Spring Spreader, Jacks, Oil and spare axle and took them up to him, where the repairs were done of teh side of the road. The last time it happened, the wheel actually parted company with the car and damaged the fender etc. He had to get towed home. that is when he started to investigate why he was having all these problems. It was because of the badly worn Axle Housing Sleeves. This is the part that was the culprit.
They are available from Ford Parts Suppliers. When you examine an Early Ford V8 Rear End, make sure that these Sleeves are in good condition, and you won't have any problems.

[SofaKing]

Lot's of good info here thanks. I suppose I will be ordering a set of those drum retainers after all. I don't plan on playing throttle-monkey with my pu but I know my axel housings have some wear and I bought aftermarket replacement bearings which are rumored to be a little soft. I would have liked to have the housing end races replaced as several have suggested but finding a competent machine shop is always a problem in my experience.

[Vic Piano]

Both my '39's, the CS and LZ, suffered broken axles. Not from abuse but from fatigue...

[fordlovr]

Originally Posted by linechaser32

Broke one under normal conditions. Just cruising along at 55 mph.

Me too, (1938 Deluxe, stock std)Tootling back from a car club run ,easy run down long straight when all of a sudden the engine revs like crazy. Broken axle. Dad comes and tow's me about 50 miles to home on the end of a rope. those were the days.This was back in 1987 and the sad thing is that I still have the broken piece on a shelf in the shed!! Dad always said'' never throw anything away''. Swapped in a full rear end out of a mates 39 Deluxe, and its still there today. Looking at the end ''grain'' it looks like it tore/twisted off, not snapped, ripped a bit of a small hole out. Maybe a weakness in the axle, I never thrashed it ,but who knows what went before.

[Mart]

Interesting pic in the post above. It does look like the crack propagated from the corner of the keyway. I'm going to go on a limb here, and guess that was the right hand shaft that popped?

Mart.

[Admiral]

Well, this thread has me running scared. Now I'm going to have to fab up some drum retainers for my mechanical brake-equipped '36.

[JonC]

I agree with Admiral I have not run drum retainers but now I will order a set and thanks for showing me where they break.

[fordlovr]

Originally Posted by Mart

Interesting pic in the post above. It does look like the crack propagated from the corner of the keyway. I'm going to go on a limb here, and guess that was the right hand shaft that popped?

Mart.

Dead right!

[SofaKing]

Originally Posted by fordlovr

Me too, (1938 Deluxe, stock std)Tootling back from a car club run ,easy run down long straight when all of a sudden the engine revs like crazy. Broken axle. Dad comes and tow's me about 50 miles to home on the end of a rope. those were the days.This was back in 1987 and the sad thing is that I still have the broken piece on a shelf in the shed!! Dad always said'' never throw anything away''. Swapped in a full rear end out of a mates 39 Deluxe, and its still there today. Looking at the end ''grain'' it looks like it tore/twisted off, not snapped, ripped a bit of a small hole out. Maybe a weakness in the axle, I never thrashed it ,but who knows what went before.

Do you have an photos of the ends taken from an angle? If there are what are called 45 degree shear lips, the metal is broken at a 45 degree angle, it is a sign of the metal failing due to overstress, like an impact. Take a good look at the very edges at the break. The crack can then propagate as it is loaded. I am not drawing conclusions, just interested in seeing more photos and explaining why I want to see them.