The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1946 2 ton transmission steel

Hi All
Ive restored the transmission on my 1946 2 ton chevy. Ive replaced all the gears, shafts etc.

Here is my odd question
Is there any information out there on what type of alloy steel was used in the shafts and gears? A blacksmith friend of mine has his eye on using these parts, but he wanted to know if there was any information about the type of steel used. I was guessing a some form of medium carbon steel, but I'm not well versed in steel types. Dont know if it contains chromium, nickel, etc.

Those parts are subjected to high loads and need to resist wear so I do not think that they are mild steel.

The way they look when they break, it looks more like cast iron instead of steel. They certainly aren't malleable. They break before they bend.

Jay, I work for a gear company and if I had to guess, the parts were probably made from a carburizing grade of steel, most common today would be SAE 8620, (a Cr, Mo, Ni steel). I'm pretty sure that even back then it would be fairly common to use 8620. They may also have used basic carbon steel grades like 1018 and 1020. Your blacksmith buddy is probably looking for some high carbon steel, like SAE 1095- or -some kick butt 52100 bearing steel. You probably don't have that.