Axle Housing Repair Sleeve

I

Ideucev8

Member
Hi, Can anyone please advise where I can obtain a good quality Hard axle repair sleeve.
John Connelly no longer stocks these & can't recommend anywhere to get one.

Thanks Phil.
 
Used to be that C&G had a good one. I'm a little dated, so maybe someone with current info might comment.
 
Not sure if you’ve reached this point yet—you may still be hoping to find a source.

Have you checked with a local machine shop to see if they could make one? The setup cost is usually the biggest expense, so having just one made can be pretty costly. You might find that making 10 or 20 doesn’t cost much more than making a single one. Then you could sell the extras to other restorers who are looking for the same part.

I had a similar experience with a custom part once. It was about $500 to make one, or around $600 to make 20. The setup cost was by far the biggest factor.
 
Last conversation with John at Columbia Two Speed Parts was that he only had a few on hand and you would have to send him your axle housing, which is in my opinion the best way. He does fantastic work. The cost of having them made and to the correct hardness is very expensive so he wasn’t sure if he was going to have anymore of them made. This was several months ago. Be very cautious about buying from an unknown supplier because they are too soft.
 
Ken/Alabama said:
Last conversation with John at Columbia Two Speed Parts was that he only had a few on hand and you would have to send him your axle housing, which is in my opinion the best way. He does fantastic work. The cost of having them made and to the correct hardness is very expensive so he wasn’t sure if he was going to have anymore of them made. This was several months ago. Be very cautious about buying from an unknown supplier because they are too soft.
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Ken, I was in contact with John a couple of days ago & he informed me that he is not having any more made.
I had one made in New Zealand & it lasted 4000Miles, it was soft just like the two that I fitted from CW Moss a couple of years ago.
 
Ideucev8 said:
Ken, I was in contact with John a couple of days ago & he informed me that he is not having any more made.
I had one made in New Zealand & it lasted 4000Miles, it was soft just like the two that I fitted from CW Moss a couple of years ago.
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What kind of hardening process was performed? I’d start by looking up the Rockwell hardness test—it’ll give you a good idea of what you’re trying to verify. Rockwell testing is one of the standard ways to confirm whether a heat treatment achieved the desired hardness.

There has to be a machine shop, heat-treating company, or even a local knife maker nearby that can either test the hardness or point you in the right direction. Someone experienced with heat treating should be able to tell you if the part was hardened properly.
 
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Christopher Salty said:
What kind of hardening process was performed? I’d start by looking up the Rockwell hardness test—it’ll give you a good idea of what you’re trying to verify. Rockwell testing is one of the standard ways to confirm whether a heat treatment achieved the desired hardness.

There has to be a machine shop, heat-treating company, or even a local knife maker nearby that can either test the hardness or point you in the right direction. Someone experienced with heat treating should be able to tell you if the part was hardened properly.
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What Rockwell test number is the minimum required? I suggest at least Rockwell C 60.
 
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Heat treating a sleeve is tricky. The thinner the sleeve, the more it tends to warp and get out of shape. The next problem is roller bearing quality. Hyatt made millions of the OEM type spiral wound rollers but no other company ever competed with them on this process. As the call for replacements diminished on an obsolete design, Hyatt went the way of the dodo bird. This was a classic example of a design that was too good. Consequently, the modern replacements don't compare well. They work but do have a reduced service life by comparison.

Some folks are going to the newer design cylindrical roller bearings in multiples such as 3-each NU1010 bearings per hub. These bearings have their own inner race journal. There may be other cylindrical rollers that may work as well but I've not done research on that. The trumpet stub would likely have to be cut down in diameter to fit the journals and seal sleeve but I don't know how much. This would eliminate the need to fit the hardened repair sleeve that seems to be going extinct.
 
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The other challenge with making these repair sleeves is that after heat treating, they need to be precision ground for a perfect bearing surface - this is expensive work. I like the idea for cylindrical roller bearings - just haven't researched the ones to use, costs, etc.. My guess is that it would get mighty expensive per hub . . . and you'd still have a weak tapered axle.

I think a better approach would be to convert to 8" Ford axles and modern housing ends.

Yes, it is work and there is a cost, but the final solution is much better, stronger and serviceable than our old stuff has become.

HotrodWorks has all the things that are needed . . . just bring your wallet! LOL
 
The hot rod works axle conversion solves all the Ford banjo short comings for the most part. Finding good tapered axle shafts ain't getting any easier. It does lock a person into juice brakes but that mostly affects the real early banjos like the model A through 1934 for the folks that want too stay more original.
 
rotorwrench said:
Heat treating a sleeve is tricky. The thinner the sleeve, the more it tends to warp and get out of shape. The next problem is roller bearing quality. Hyatt made millions of the OEM type spiral wound rollers but no other company ever competed with them on this process. As the call for replacements diminished on an obsolete design, Hyatt went the way of the dodo bird. This was a classic example of a design that was too good. Consequently, the modern replacements don't compare well. They work but do have a reduced service life by comparison.

Some folks are going to the newer design cylindrical roller bearings in multiples such as 3-each NU1010 bearings per hub. These bearings have their own inner race journal. There may be other cylindrical rollers that may work as well but I've not done research on that. The trumpet stub would likely have to be cut down in diameter to fit the journals and seal sleeve but I don't know how much. This would eliminate the need to fit the hardened repair sleeve that seems to be going extinct.
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The diameter of the bearing stub on the Ford axle housing would need to be cut down by 0.094" to fit the NU 1010 bearing inner race. Undoubtedly the ID of the hub would need to be either cut or sleeved to fit the bearing outer race. Since the inner race has no flanges to constrain rollers, the assembly might need a spacer ring as well to keep the inner & outer races in alignment.
 
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I gage the Hotrodworks on my avatar - it uses special 9" axles - works really well - money well spent imho and the best bang for your buck imho.
 
You can use a metric needle roller inner race conversion ......,
I'll put my "white boffins" coat on &do some some research one of our members here in Melbourne Australia has done such a conversionh &has done/run thousands of KM'S without any breakages damage or failure! :).
 
The metric bearing was discussed here a few years back. Was it Lawrie? Anyway, they are expensive as hell to buy out rite, you would have less money in the conversion to modern axle ends with good bearings and good brakes, all to be available after we are dead. At the time, I found some surplus metric bearings for cheap on ebay, one or two, for like 30-40 bucks each, but retail on that bearing is way over 100 each. Then, you still need to machine both surfaces, hub and axle, so the conversion to modern axle ends makes more sense in the long run, IMHO
 
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