Is there easy way to set the 20 inch pounds load on pinion nut?

[Curt Campbell]

Book says set the first large nut on driveshaft for preload at 10 inch pounds....the when 2nd nut is tightened and the lock washer between them is bent over you should have 20 inch lb preload on pinion. I nor anyone i can find has any equipment to do that.

How do you guys set it...surely a hand guess method that is close!!!!!

Thanks....I am more than anxious to put this diff back in

[28ACoupe]

Need an inch/pound torque wrench. They are available.

[Bob C]

See page nine to Tom Endy's article.
http://www.ocmafc.org/techarticles/T...0Re-Edited.pdf

Bob

[Purdy Swoft]

I don't think that they went by inch pounds back in the day. I'm just a shade tree mechanic but I've always set mine by feel. With good used bearings I set mine just tight enough so that I can just turn the driveshaft with two fingers. new bearings need to be just a little tighter. This is how the older guys taught me back in the day. I'm still running backends that I set up in this manner over thirty years ago. Model A backends are VERY forgiving if not set up TOO tight.

[Curt Campbell]

I have dial indicator as mentioned by Tom but I believe it measures distance in 1000ths...not inch pounds. Coould be wrong.

[Mitch//pa]

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i also set it by feel 20 in lbs is basically getting the end play out and a tiny weeny ----hair more

[Joe K]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

i also set it by feel 20 in lbs is basically getting the end play out and a tiny weeny ----hair more

I think the technical term is "snug." Otherwise known in the nuclear industry as "hand tight." (meaning can be undone without a wrench.)

(And that latter is fact.)

Joe K

[V4F]

I have done mine (3) by feel .

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

i also set it by feel 20 in lbs is basically getting the end play out and a tiny weeny ----hair more

I do the same.

[Jim Boehmke]

put a big wrench on the nut and hang a 2 pound weight on the wrench handle, 10 inches from the centerline of the nut.
OR a 4 pound weigth 5 inches from the centerline.
Do the job right. Going by feel is not what Ford suggested
I actually make a quick homemade wrench that was exactly 10 inches long and hung 2 pounds on the very end.

[mrraford]

I have done the last couple of mine by using the "Model A Fool's" approach of clamping the drive shaft and basing the torque on whether the housing will rotate with a weight hung from the outside edge.
Mike (Fool) had a long engineer calculation about the weight but theprocess has worked for thousands of miles on my cars.
I could probably find the detail description if anybody is interested.
The "just past snug" method gave me a whiney differential with too much slop on the first one I did.

[Jim Boehmke]

did not mention, my homemade wrench was wood

[Bob C]

Originally Posted by Curt Campbell

I have dial indicator as mentioned by Tom but I believe it measures distance in 1000ths...not inch pounds. Coould be wrong.

I think the article is a little misleading in that area. If you look
at picture P39 it show a dial torque wrench although you would
use a dial indicator for the backlash.

Bob

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by V4F

I have done mine (3) by feel .

did mine by feel also!

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by V4F

I have done mine (3) by feel .

same with me!

[Curt Campbell]

Got er done....thanks for help!!

[mshmodela]

Originally Posted by Curt Campbell

Book says set the first large nut on driveshaft for preload at 10 inch pounds....the when 2nd nut is tightened and the lock washer between them is bent over you should have 20 inch lb preload on pinion. I nor anyone i can find has any equipment to do that.

How do you guys set it...surely a hand guess method that is close!!!!!

Thanks....I am more than anxious to put this diff back in

10 in. 1 foot
-------- x --------- = 0.83 foot/lb (inches cancel, leaving units of foot/lb)
1 lb 12 in.

[JBill]

I did mine by feel, too, just tight enough to feel "snug" with the drive shaft turning freely but with a smidgeon of resistance. "Hand tight" seems a little too loose to me, but that's just me. Maybe I'm wimpy. I could not loosen mine with my mere fingers.

I have a hard time imagining that as Model As came down the line, all this checking of gaskets and measuring of clearances, etc., was performed. How did they get stuff right so fast??

[Bob C]

"How did they get stuff right so fast?"

All new precision made USA parts.

Bob

[garyaodell]

You can measure the preload with an inch torque wrench either beam or dial type. Use a 1 1/16 inch six point socket on the spline end of the drive shaft for the measurement. The amount of force on the jam nut is dependent an the amount of interference fit between the pinon sleeve and the inner bearing races, on mine it took quite a bit of force with the nuts to get to 20 inch pounds of preload.