The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Torq tube 48-53 swap out backplates

I will try and make this as simple as I can. I have a 53 3100 that the rear axle broke off right at the C clip in the rear end. I purchased a whole torq tube rear axle for 50 bucks. I got it home to find it was out of a 48 and mine is a 53. There must be something twisted in my housing as when i try and put in one of the replacement axles it is all bound up. My question is this, I want my 54 auto adjust brakes in the rear end and the 48 you have to do manual adjustments. Can I cut the back plates off my 53 housing and move them to the 48 housing. I will have everything from the 48 rear end axles and all but move the 53 back plates and all my new brake hardware over to the old 48 housing with my new 53 back plates.

The short answer is yes. There are 4 bolts that hold the backing plate to the axle. But if you remove the third member, find all the broken pieces, clean out the banjo housing, you can use the one you have.

Ok, that was what I was hoping to do. There are big rivets holding the backing plates on, will have to cut those and then use bolts to replace them guessing use the hardest grade bolt I can get my hands on to fit the holes ??? That may be like grade 8 at the hardware store or maybe have to try and find something harder ???


Dan

I am quite sure the flanges that the backing plates are riveted to are in different positions between the Huck and Bendix brake housings.

Drilling out those rivets is quite the endeavor in itself. The lip on the outside of the 48 axle is also larger than the Bendix. You would have to make the hole in the Bendix backing plate bigger to fit. Plus the flanges are in different positions.

Now this sounds like my plan will not work. I was going to try and morph a 48 into a 53. I have a buddy of mine with a repair shop and we were going to lay the two torq tube complete rear end side by side and start swapping till we got all my 53 brake stuff over to the48 housing thus getting rid of the Hendrix brake stuff and using all my brand new stuff from the 53. if I have to get all new brakes, spring kits and wheel kits for that old rear end and then still have the old brake stuff in the 53 it seams kind of like going totally backwords. So from what you all are trying to tell me is I kinda am barking up a very tuff road here. For what ever reason my old 53 rear end housing seams to be tweaked or bent because the left axle I tried to replace was very bound up when I shoved it in there and had it go in to the spider gear or the gear it passes through on the way to the C clip. When the axle was installed into the position on the left side it was totally bound up, the right axle spun very free, thus was just going to junk that 53 housing. now not sure what to do, could start looking for a newer torq tube assemble but then I got all that stuff taking up room. So if I try and find yet another axle it has to be 50'51'52 , 53 is that about right ??? If I do decide to step back in time and put a 48 into my 53 and adjust the darn brakes manual, are there any other issues on trying to do this swap??? Thanks for all you help

51-53 rear housings are all the same and have the bendix brakes. 54 and 55 may or may not work I don't know if anything was changed for those years. The bendix brakes won't fit on your huck backing plates. I think it would be worth your time to find a bendix rear housing or figure out whats wrong with the spider gears.

Are all the spider gears seated where they need to be in the housing? If you spin the ring gear without the pin in it the top and bottom gears can fall out and can be a struggle to put back in while its all together. Silly question did you put the correct axle shaft in each side? They are slightly different in length. The 48 axle shafts work fine in a later housing. If you have a spare torque tube with that axle housing I would consider just swapping those out and leaving your 53 housing. 48-53 torque tubes are the same but not 47. I can't imagine the housing got bent from just breaking an axle.

Thanks for the reply. I feel so stupid here, I really have not done much rear end work in my life. When I started this project I just pulled the 53 rear apart to replace the axle seals, and look at the bearings. the axle bearings were fine but the bearing on both sides of the carrier were pitted and bad. I purchased new ones and had them pressed on. now when I went to put it back together it seemed very tight. I had to pound that square blok into place with a chunk of oak wood. I now know that was wrong, there is supposed to be14 thousands of space in that block. this is where I most likely put too much pressure on the c clip and that broke the end off the axle. ok axle broke, I purchased the second torq tube from a 48' pulled the left axle, yeas I know they are different lengths, found that out the hard way as well. With the axle pushed in all the way from the out side and I guess the inner splined gear that the end of the axle passes through on the way to the C clip, the axle is bound up tight, you can not even turn it with out a bar. So let's just say the housing is fine, what the heck is causing the axle to bind even before I put the carrier assembly in there and then why was it so tight the first time I re assembled it. That square block just fell out when I pulled the pin when I tore it apart the first time. I could even maybe guess we did not get the bearings pressed on right from the beginning. I am kinda at a loss here. any help will be appreciated. I would like to try one more time with the 53 assembley but I still have to grab the left axle out of the 48 cause my old one is toast.
Dan

Wow I just had another thought, when the axle broke it just so happened to be right in my drive way but of course the axle slid right out about z20inches, you suppose that the axle bent or cocked the axle bearing so it was binding up, I never replaced that, I got a new seal but maybe I wrecked the bearing out ther when that happened ????? Am such a rookie !!! Are the axle bearings pressed in there, they must be as I could not pull it out with my fingers when I took it apart the first time ?????


Dan

You could have skewed the bearing if it came out the side of the truck. The bearings are actually really expensive like 90 bucks a side if I remember. You need a slide hammer to get the bearing out. I used a circular plastic pipe joint to pound the new bearings in that was sized to hit the outside of the bearing. Plastic gave way before the bearing. I cleaned up the tubes when I had mine apart with the third out.

Thanks everyone for all the info, so here is the deal. YOU can not do what I am trying to do you all said that and now I now the truth. The idea of swapping out backplated from a Huck brake system to a bendix will not work. holes and plates all wrong. What I have wrong here is that somehow my torq tube got pushed left and tweaked the front of the rear end housing so the axles are binding as the whole ring gear assebley in off just a bit. long story made short I am off to get yet another whole torq tube assembley this time from a 53. This really hurts to throw money away buying parts you can not use. I now have lots of gears and spare axles so when I get the tird torq tube assembley I will get this all figured out. the one I am getting this week even has the leaf springs with it. Hope to check bearings out place new wheel seals and bolt this sucker in. the whole torq tube seal I am hoping to just ignore and use it like it is. If it wheeps some oil into the rear axle I will just have to live with it. The tubes inside where the axles go in are just plain crude in there. What an education this has been.