Would anyone know if any other u-joint from a newer (1 ton or 1.5 ton) can be used in the front torque tube in place of originals, GM 370468 (short section) and GM 473539 (Long section) The u-joint assembly is about 6" long, (10 spline) and fits a 1-1/4" shaft... I am unable to source out the locking rings... I will consider any other make from the period at this point, Dodge, Ford, Mack, you name it..
Are the locking rings all you need? Try making them from a coil spring the right wire diameter and radius. That should be a very simple fabrication project with an abrasive cutoff wheel in a Dremel tool. A round wire piston pin lock would be another possible source for a spring steel locking ring.
The round bushings with the grooves in them can be made and surface-hardened by any machinist worthy of the name, so the only essential original parts would be the yokes and the cross piece. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I have all the parts except 5 new locking rings... They're supposed to be replaced each time you break the u-joint apart. I wonder how safe it is to use any other ring or a home made one... I have a couple of newer square shaped, close in thickness as the original, but I do not want this to come apart after it is assembled... It would be catastrophic.
Spring steel is spring steel- - - - -there's nothing magical about a piece of spring wire. I would not attempt to replace a round ring with a square-shaped one, but it would take me about 5 minutes to make a handful of those rings once I found the right diameter spring wire, with a radius that's close to the shape of the current ones. I would also not hesitate to re-use the clips, as long as they're not bent or distorted. A final procedure for the really anal-retentive folks would be to drill the yokes for home-brewed U bolts that are retained with nuts and lock washers. Just use a piece of round stock the right size to match the groove size of the bushings, probably a #6 or #8 diameter for a 6-32 or 8-32 machine screw nut. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I understand completely, the question is finding the stuff and having means to do it.. At this point I will definitely consider re-using the old ones if they do not come up distorted after removal... And I see no need to drill anything or re-invent the wheel. Simply put, this torque tube job it is not one I want to re-visit, since it is far from easy to do. Things were designed very well for what this was and parts were plentiful. Today you have to look hard for single items or have them made which it is not always easy and most often very expensive!
The days of real mechanics are just about gone- - - - -if something doesn't fall right into place, some folks think it's impossible to actually fabricate a good work-around. One of my early mentors put things very simply- - - - -"If you cain't fix it, you cain't get a paycheck!" I didn't miss very many meals in the 60-something years I spent as a professional mechanic. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I couldn't agree more, unless a computer does not tell them a code, they cannot diagnose anything and change parts... In my case, I have been tinkering with mechanical things since I was a teenager, (but I am not a professional) I have not come across everything out there, torque tubes included... If I am shy about something, it is only because I understand that certain mistakes can cost thousands and I just don't have the resources to rectify them...Getting parts for these old big trucks is complicated and expensive enough.
Like Jerry said, those rings could easily be reused with confidence unless they're distorted. What they do is retain the journals laterally in the u-joint yoke. There's really no force on them. If you can get them clipped in place and they stay there, you're good.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
After actually dealing with some breakage of the original rings upon removal, here is another possibility for lock rings on the original trunnion bearing caps... A 7/8's lock ring fits right in...
Glad you found something. And thanks for sharing the solution.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
After looking at pics philip, i think since these clips have only centrifugal force applied to them if the out side snap rings shown could be used in place of O.E.,and maybe stake both sides of slot with a punch or blunt end chisel to add additional safety retention
Unfortunately, the bearings are hardened and cannot be staked with a punch or chisel... Ask me how I know..;) I suppose you could only stake the groove on the yoke against the lock ring, but that would make it a bear of a job to remove afterward, specially on the truck...
