The phoenix rising of Wilbur (‘55) the Survivor

mickeykelley said:
Today I got the axel married up to the springs/body. All I have to do is lookup torque specs and put the rebuild kit in the draglink then Wilbur can roll and turn. But one question, the gap between the top of the springs and the tie rod tube is tight. I cannot even slide my little finger between the two. Is it supposed to be that close? I don’t really remember paying attention to the gap when I took things apart.

View attachment 74830
Click to expand...

Mine is the same way Mickey just to add another opinion...parts look great by the way.
 
Today I decided to tackle the worn tie rods and bent steering tube. The other day I finally got the one rusty tie rod nut to come loose but couldn’t get it to clear the springs. I fiddled with it for over an hour making no progress, so called it a day. Came back to it today and jacking the frame up to where the wheels were off the ground didn’t solve it. Then for the hell of it, I turned the wheels to the passenger side which angles the attaching point enough to wiggle that side out, which then let me get the driver's side out. The next step was to take everything off and attempt to straighten the steering rod out. But as usual, I get going and forget to take the 'before' picture. But it did have a couple bends from the wreck. Here is a couple pics which shows one of the bends towards the end, the other was where it contacted the shock and folded it over.

F5C7ACB4-9CF7-4D27-A26E-803FB9805402.jpeg1E1D1D3C-AA64-4502-A99A-EAD03BAB5962.jpeg

I used the hydraulic press to slowly work on each area. When working towards that end bend I put the old tie rod back in and screwed it all the way in to be sure I didn’t screw up the slit in the rod. It took a good 30 minutes to bend a little, check it on the straight edge, bend some more, etc. It also required taking the tie rod off and on a dozen times so I could see a good straight line. Now I can roll it on a work bench and it’s nice and straight.

FE101D52-0B63-42C9-848D-E3034383C18A.jpeg

Next step is to get it cleaned up and painted. Once it’s installed, I can move on the the drag link and shocks. Then I can actually move it around.
 
Last edited:
Ran into something interesting today while doing so sandblasting outside in the miserable heat. The steering tube would not fit in the blasting cabinet so I hooked up the old Craftsman outdoor blaster on wheels. Got the steering part done so I can start the paint process in the morning. But while I was at it, I decided to do the headliner bows. One the first one, on one end I discovered some stampings on one end only. So I blasted all the others to see what they said, then gave up as it was just too damn hot outside. Here is the pic:

IMG_7849.JPG

They were loose and somewhat bend out of shape in some places when I got Wilbur so I had no idea which order they go in. But I assumed I would figure it out after cleaning and straightening. I'm thinking they are stamped in order. Not sure what the C means or the C 4 x 5 but maybe the 4th and 5th are the same so it means 4 or 5 position. I've never seen it posted or talked about but maybe it has been. Thoughts?

Other than getting a few bends out, they are actually in pretty good shape, like most of Wilbur. Glad I took the salvage value buy back.
 
Cool. I've never seen stamps on any of mine. I normally tag their position when I remove them.
 
Of course, two steps forward, one step back. My life. Went out to hook up all the steering components. Started with steering tube and new tie rods. I screwed each end in to about where I remembered the old one were for the initial setting. But the wheels were both pointed out, so I twisted the steering tube to bring them in untili couldn’t move it more. Not enough so I took it off AGAIN trying not to mess up the new paint. Turns out that the passenger side tie rod will screw in all the way, but the drivers side bottoms out almost 3/8” early. So I checked to make sure no crud up inside the tube. Nothing there. So moved on to the steering connecting rod. What a pain but did get it installed. However, before even installing it, the steering wheel seems to 'catch' when going from end to end with nothing hooked up. I have a feeling the steering tube might be bent a little causing a drag. Another thing to check. While the manual says the adjustment is to tighten the plug until the ball seats, then back off 1/2 turn for wheel end and 1 turn for cab side. My issue is truely determining when the ball 'seats' With those springs in there. Any input from those who have done it as to 'feeling' the ball seat?

Tonight I’ll compare the old with new tie rods. With 39,000 showing on the non-functioning speedo when I got Wilbur, I just assumed the old were shot. The rubber cups were definitely bad/missing. But once again after market import parts seem to strike. According to Carl at Walcks, he said if it’s too long, just cut it down as these are all that anyone can get. We will see tonight but left without accomplishing the days job.
 
So I did check the old tie rods and they do have play. I also compared the new and old. Sure enough the new drivers side is a strong 1/4” longer. I didn’t measure the passenger since it will screw all the way in, if needed. Tomorrow I’m going to compare the depth of the threads on each end of the steering tube just to see if the tube wasn’t threaded as far in on the one side from the factory 65 years ago. So it’s looking like either take the time to a machine shop to thread it deeper or cut some off the tie rod. Neither is really appealing.
 
Drove to several machine shops around here and the automotive one doesn't have any left hand thread stuff anymore. It’s too old. The industrial one doesn't have the correct size/thread pitch and won’t order just for a one time thing. So the answer was to cut the drivers side tie rod threads back 3/8” and now it screws in all the way. Looks close enough until I take it to an alignment shop.
 
Houston, we may have a problem......in messing with the tie rod replacement, I noticed something I hadn’t before. This is why insurance companies total older vehicles when wrecked. There is always something else you find no matter how close you look initially. While trying to get the steering rod, tie rods and steering tube all corrected AND the tires both pointing straight, I was looking straight down at the wheel/hub/axel and noticed something just didn’t look right. It looks like the axel tube on the drivers side (the impact side) as slightly off. So I took the spring U bolts off (I had not tightened them up much yet) and got a straight edge short enough to lay on the the tube. Sure enough, it is bent backwards a little less than 1/4” starting where the springs bolts on. Wheels seem to turn fine and no rubbing or binding. So now the question is can I replace the tube, try to pull it back, whole axel change? I can’t feel any creases, bends, etc on anyside of the tube, but it’s definitely got that bend. Input please.

Not the best pic as I as trying to hold the straight edge and get the pic by myself.
2F0FD890-CCA5-45CB-9B77-6C85044E263A.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Not sure about your area Mickey but there are companies that can straighten those tubes. Alternatively, if you're feeling lucky, apply a torch to the front side until red hot and let cool. There's a old saying, "heat sucks". That means when you heat metal and it cools, the metal contracts beyond it's original size.
 
In the piping world we say you have to push it twice as far as you want to pull it. So off a 1/4”, heat it so it’s 3/4” past straight. Heat in a diamond pattern where the bend is.
 
Does the tube come off, or do you have to take the whole axel some place? And what kind of place would I be looking for?
 
Tubes are usually pressed into the center housing and plug welded. Requires specialized equipment to R&R. The only company that I know of is Currie Enterprises in SoCal. Maybe call them and ask what type of business you should look for in Texas. Another idea would be to call differential rebuilders in Texas and ask if they know someone. This requires R&R of your housing and completely stripping it down. As Marcus wrote, it might be easier to install another assembly.
 
So here is the update. I haven’t found anyone locally in the San Antonio area. Several places said that to get it perfectly straight requires too much time and they won’t mess with old stuff. I started studying the exploded diagrams. It appears that there is no bearing or bushing between the spline where it goes into the differential gears and the knuckles. Which to me means that the actual axel shaft itself freely floating in the tube. So as long as the tube bend is slight, which it is, the shaft should clear the tube and not be an issue. Obviously I need to verify it and the angle will have to be taken up in the alignment. It might affect turning radius a little to the right but not enough to matter, especially with the wider tires as they may catch the springs anyways and become the limiting factor. I already have tire rub on the CJ on tight turns and have adjusted. I would adjust the turn stops but the factory put a weld on the bolts.

So I got with Harry at MidWest Willys and he can get one with shipping for $500-600 worst case but it may or may not be same year, gearing, etc. so would have to switch my gears, get it all set, etc., etc. I went over my idea with him and he suggested that he wouldn’t even mess with trying to pull the tube back out and agreed that it probably won’t be an issue. He said the shaft is only like an inch diameter and the tube is a good 3 so there should be plenty of clearance. He said if I don’t feel it catching it would be good. He has a lot more experience inside these axels than I do (zero).

So the game plan is to move forward. When I replace the original manual adjusting brakes with the Bendix self adjusting which I already bought, I’ll look closer and verify it doesn’t catch the tube. I may still try to pull it back some but if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Won’t spend a lot of time on it for now. Worse case, I get a Dana 25 from Harry and swap it out.

Thoughts?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top