Rear Axle restoration...The Les Andrews Way...

[Steve Plucker]

Going to restore the Rear Axle on my wife's 1928 Open Cab Pickup and want to know if there is ANYTHING amiss or not correct within the Les Andrews book #1 about the restoration of the Rear Axle?

Thanks.

Pluck

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Not to take anything away from Les' way, ..however why don't you consider using the "Tom Endy Approved Method" of rear end rebuilding your Sweetie's rear-end assembly (-hmmm, is this proper wording here?? ) since Tom likely has the same amount or possibly more experience, ….AND Tom does frequent this site often enough that if you have a question or concern, he is readily available to help you through your difficulty.


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[Steve Plucker]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Not to take anything away from Les' way, ..however why don't you consider using the "Tom Endy Approved Method" of rear end rebuilding your Sweetie's rear-end assembly (-hmmm, is this proper wording here?? ) since Tom likely has the same amount or possibly more experience, ….AND Tom does frequent this site often enough that if you have a question or concern, he is readily available to help you through your difficulty.


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Thanks Brent...I was going to ask Tom also on this deal.

Pluck

[Jim Brierley]

I agree with Brent, also there is one thing about Les' book that I disagree with. He says that when setting the carrier bearing pre-load, to assemble the housings with no gaskets and to tighten all the bolts. DO NOT DO THIS, as it will bend the housings and you will have leaks, plus it won't give you the needed readings. I assemble with no gaskets and tighten the right side bolts, using only 4 bolts to speed things up. I then drop the left housing on and use feeler gauges to prevent clamping tightly, and use different feelers until the preload is determined, use 3 or 4 gauges and snug the bolts down. This gives you the total number of gaskets needed. Write this number down and using that total reading, set the gear backlash as needed. I do this with the axle vertically so gravity keeps things aligned. Hope this is clear?

[Tom Endy]

I e-mailed Steve and advised him of the articles I have authored about rear axle assembly rebuilding. They are on the web site of the Santa Anita A's of Arcadia, California at www.santaanitaas.org. On the home page there is a window with my name on it. Scroll to the differential section. The article with the 2014 date is the main tutorial. There are three other dated articles that are extensive supplementals. They each show a rebuild in process along with some of the damage found during the process. All these articles are PDF files and can be down loaded and anyone is welcome to do so.


Tom Endy

[redmodelt]

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I agree about the part of snugging the housings down without gaskets to start with. I don't take mine all the way down, just to the point that the carrier is a bit on the tight side to turn without gaskets. If I get to point where the housings are snug (35 FP's for the housing bolts) and the carrier is still too loose without gaskets, shimming of the bearings or races are needed. You need to have some gaskets to work with so you can set the pinion to ring gear clearance. I have been using Tom's directions from the 1st one up. I have lost count but is in the range of 10-12+.

Side note; I install any shims under the race not the bearing. I have found that there are a lot more carriers with spun bearings then good ones. I do not want to risk loosing the fit if I have a good one to start with by taking the bearing on and off any more then I need to. I make my own shims.



Maybe the directions have changed, but when I install the drive shaft bearing sleeve I do not crush it in a vice and wrap a wire around it. I have found that is unnecessary as there is a taper at the start of the hole and use a driver, like a socket to install, the sleeve goes right in. Also, crushing in the vice to wire it, tends to make them un-round.

[john in illinois]

I would also suggest using Best Gaskets rather than the paper ones that shrink and are hard to deal with.

https://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/d...end-gasket-set

John

[Tom Endy]

I agree with the discussion about not locking up the bearings during the carrier pre-load adjustment. It may not be clear in my articles, but here is what I do:


I bolt the banjo to the right axle housing without any gaskets and torque the bolts to 35 ft. lbs. I place two .010 gaskets on the left side of the banjo because I do not want any less than a single .010 gasket eventually on each side. I put the left axle housing on and install the bolts. I run them down and start evenly tightening them while with my fingers I reach in through the opening where the pinion assembly will reside and turn the ring gear. If the ring gear starts to lock down I stop, take the axle housing off and add another gasket. Before I torque the left side fully down I make sure that I can turn the ring gear with my fingers. I have done so many of these over the years I can pretty much tell by feel how much pre-load there is, however, I check it with the dial indicator torque wrench.


My concern has always been damaging the bearing, but Jim Brierley brings up a good point, it can also distort the axle housing flange.


Tom Endy

[Terry, NJ]

If I may be so bold, this is an excellent time to consider changing your rear end ratio. I did mine to 3.54 and I'm very happy with it.
Terry

[Bob Bidonde]

I also agree with Brent. Follow Tom Endy's method.

[Jim Brierley]

This is sorta-related. I was doing a Model A rear years ago and needed another gasket. I had some V8 paper gaskets on the shelf that had shriveled up. (V8's are slightly larger than A) I found that the shrunken V8 gaskets fit the A just right! People call me cheap, I prefer to think that I'm thrifty and conservative!

[Bick in New Zealand]

[QUOTE=Jim Brierley; I prefer to think that I'm thrifty and conservative![/QUOTE]

McBrierly?

[Bick in New Zealand]

I have just rebuilt my rear end using Tom's instructions, step by step, and it went really well. Just have to complete the front end now to test it.

[my2nd40]

Another vote here for Tom Endy's instructions.

[Jim Brierley]

Buck, it fits!