Reassembling my 46 1/2 ton. original axle, new lowering springs. can not find a reference as to the orientation of the axle, which way faces front. I have attached a pic, trying to determine if the hole that i am pointing to on the spring perch should face the front or the rear of the truck? i cannot find any reference to this in the shop manual, and i have misplaced my notes. Appreciate your time.
Ed
"it's only old if you can't find a use for it; otherwise it's cool and i'll use it."
I think that the axle is oriented so the wedge bolt that holds the king pins in goes in from the front. At least that's the way my '51 was. I can go check to be sure. The hole that's centered on the axle is for the spring center bolt, and the one that you're pointing to is for the caster shim, which would to in with the thinner part to the front.
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.
klhansen...thanks for the quick reply. the manual makes no reference to the hole being for the caster shim. is there a wedge bolt for the shim that is inserted in that hole? My shims have a hole in the center of them, does the hole in the shim locate over the spring bolt? when i disassembled my front end there were no shims in the assembly.
"it's only old if you can't find a use for it; otherwise it's cool and i'll use it."
The shims in my truck had indentations that fit in that hole. I'll see If I took a picture of the shims to confirm it was on the thinner part. I think otherwise, the axle should be symmetrical front to back. You may need caster shims if the alignment shop says they're needed, or if driving it is too squirrelly without them. [on edit] I didn't find a pic of the shims, but I did find one that shows the spring pad with that hole oriented toward the front (and the kingpin wedge bolt to the rear.) If your shims have a hole in them in the center, that would be where the spring center bolt goes (and also in the hole in the center of the spring mount pad on the axle.) I do believe that the kingpin wedge bolt hole is tapered or at least larger on the front than the back of the axle.
Last edited by klhansen; 03/19/20228:41 PM.
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.
appreciate all the info. my axle has the the king pin stud(with fastening nut) oriented in the same direction as the "shim hole". the axle was rebuilt by Sid Drapal with a 3" drop. That should not have an effect on the orientation or king pin assembly.
Anybody have a picture of the original axle installed, where the spindles are visible?
"it's only old if you can't find a use for it; otherwise it's cool and i'll use it."
some more info for those who might need it. I found a reference in a video from Brothers Truck Parts, below is the link. This video is for 47-54 trucks but appears to be applicable to 41-46. From 5:55 to 6:24. As klhansen mentioned before, the hole that i referenced is the caster shim locator hole. Some caster shims, not all, have a small nub on one side that places the shim in the correct location on the spring perch. As the caster is a rearward inclination, the thicker part of the shim must go to the rear of the truck, putting the small locator hole to the rear of the truck as well. I believe I've got this figured out.
If I'm wrong please let me know.....in a hurry
Thanks klhansen, and as always thanks stovebolt.
Ed
Last edited by bigedpa; 03/20/20221:00 PM.
"it's only old if you can't find a use for it; otherwise it's cool and i'll use it."
