Busted Axle

[drolston]

This (first picture) break happened while loafing along at 35 mph. Just touched the throttle to catch up with traffic and "nothing". How is that possible?

Every time I take the '41 our I floor it in second gear, just to be sure that the secondaries get some fresh fuel through them. That practice must have fatigued this axle to the point where the next little stress broke it. I also have the habit of down shifting to second for engine braking prior to a stop or turn. That also may contribute to axle fatigue. I will adjust my driving habits to be a bit gentler on the equipment.

No luck in finding a qualified helper to help me with this repair so I will do it myself. Second picture is my Old-Guy assistance tools; a roll-around stool, LED flashlight, and battery powered impact wrench. Third and fourth pictures are el-cheapo hub puller tool. Worked like a charm with impact wrench doing the bolt twisting and me applying love taps with a ball peen.

Drums were, as expected, a little difficult to get off of the shoes, even with both top and bottom shoe adjustments retracted. Barner Tom T/Williamsburg helped me find a shop in the area with a lathe big enough to turn the little bit of ridge out of the drums. Thanks, Tom. Thanks also to Mart for the videos of this job on his '41 pickup, to refresh my memory on how this proceeds.

I will report back with some more pictures as the job progresses.