The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline oakie bushing

Anyone ever try and manufacture themself an oakie bushing? I've been reading that they are difficult to locate. Thanks Don

I thought all the venders sold them?

As oldbluetruck posted, all the vendors sell them. Where did you read they are difficult to locate.

If you made one, you'd need to place a seal in it.

http://www.classicparts.com/1951-54-Drive-Shaft-Bushing-Seal/productinfo/92-012/

http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/6272/Chevrolet_OAKIE_BUSHING.html

http://secure.oldchevytrucks.com/DR...IE-BUSHING-51-54-1_2T/productinfo/ME128/

Don, it's not necessary to resort to an Oakie bushing. When I modified a '37 Chevy car rear axle to put 3.55 gears in my '36 Chevy pickup I found inexpensive OEM bushings on ebay. Those are way overpriced from the "professional" vendors but amateur restorers who have them left over from a project practically give them away.

A little more challenging is finding a correctly sized seal. The one Chevies of the 40s sells for '37-'39 Chevies is actually the wrong size (ID) for that application and they know it but don't care. I found one with the correct ID at a local bearing supplier. The OD was too small so I made a sleeve for it to bring it out to the correct OD.

Using a little inginuity allows avoidance of the overpriced professional vendors of those parts.

How did you search and find OEM bushings? A lot of us are looking to replace the Oakie bushing and it would be nice to find a cheaper source.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

This is not now available but is it the part?

Wow.

So, the bushing in the front, and the other in the back, are different.

This is good to know.

Thanks

"How did you search and find OEM bushings? A lot of us are looking to replace the Oakie bushing and it would be nice to find a cheaper source.

Thank you for sharing your experience."


Dennis, I like looking for this stuff on ebay and also doing machine work at home.
New OEM bushings are available on ebay everyday for outrageous prices and occasionally priced reasonably from a restorer who has finished a project and is cleaning out the garage. Another source is the VCCA, although I'm not a member of that social (not car) club any more.

The OEM bushings are steel tubes with bronze sleeves. Anyone with a lathe could bore the sleeves to take a readily available bronze bushing, for example one from Boston Bronze.

There are many ways to solve these challenges without patronizing overpriced aftermarket sellers. A lot of us in the car hobby like to make these parts in our home shops, and earn a little extra income by doing machine work or welding for others. That's what restoration was before the aftermarket guys got into it with knock off parts from China.

Oakie bushings come up all the time on Ebay. The trick is to make sure that they are described correctly. Some of the vendors don't really know that they don't fit the application that they are describing. I bought one a couple of weeks ago for $26.