1933 radius rod bolt alignment

Ricosan said:
Tim the passenger side rod is about 1/4” forward of the hole. Needs to slide back.
Mart I will try that.
Seth, I have the 1/2” bolt, it just won’t line up to go through the passenger side radius rod. I will need a castle nut.
Richard
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A 1/4"? Crap man, you have something bent somewhere.
 
If the rearend is non stock, and the torque tube has been shortened it may have been done badly and is throwing the whole assembly out of whack. If I had it here I would be tearing it down and firstly checking the driveshaft for true running. Then I would test the torque tube for true alignment. I have done this on my own cars because they all have modified parts.

If the torque tube and axle are factory parts and straight, as this is a columbia swapped axle, how do you know the radius rod mount at the axle is in the right place. for example is it forward slightly on the right side? If so it would not be unreasonable to shorten the radius rod on that side. Again, I emphasise that the whole rearend assembly including torque tube needs to be checked and double checked for square.

Mart.
 
Rich,
That sounds like a great idea! There is no way to lever it back from the torque tube position at the front but with the bolts removed from the back I can bolt it at the torque tube and lever it forward until I can get one of the bolts in and the hopefully the other. Genius!
My brother is coming over tomorrow morning to help me. We’ll see how that works.
Richard
 
Kube,
It does sound like something is off .but it seems that if it was bent the rod would be shortened? With the hole extending 1/4” beyond the bolt it would seem to be longer!!
I’ll have more information in the morning.
Richard
 
Rockfla,
Thanks. That’s a generous offer. No need for you to go to all that trouble. I think I can just pick one up here at Ace hardware tomorrow.
Richard
 
I understand that there is much more to this story than the meets the eye. The poster is presenting a picture of a stock '33 rear end and its radius rods in a stock '33. That is not the reality. The issue here is not the mechanic, as he is as competent as anyone on this forum, including you or me, Mike. Back off, please.
 
Ricosan said:
Kube,
It does sound like something is off .but it seems that if it was bent the rod would be shortened? With the hole extending 1/4” beyond the bolt it would seem to be longer!!
I’ll have more information in the morning.
Richard
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Ricosan:

As new, the rods bend inward after the mounting "flange" and then proceed straight to the eyelet tab where they bolt together.

If the rod got bent inward and forward near the mounting flange, I could see it causing the condition you are seeing.
 
If you decide to use an original style bolt nut and cotter suggest you order the 1940 style, from Third Gen Auto they have the proper hardware. You have the brakes converted to hydraulic and the bracket for the hand brake is added making the assembly wider than original 33, so you need a slightly longer bolt so the nut and cotter pin work together. For 1940 it holds the outer end of the front hand brake cable in place by placing the cable through the bracket hole and adding a special clip. Your car does not have any of this. If you remove some of the connection for the front hand brake to the rear cable you should be able to reassemble.
 
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Hi Richard,

A lot of good advice here, I'm going to add my 2cents.

You drove your car with an unbolted attachment to the torque tube. The two attachment points left were the front clam shell and the spring to chassis bolts. The clam shell is free to rotate so only the spring perch bolts to the crossmemeber would provide the only torque resistance. This is the function of the radius rods.

530319


I think you with driving, twisted/torqued the rear end assembly at the rear cross memeber. Loosen not only the torque tube to backing plate (4) bolts but also back off the spring perch nuts. With everything now loose, you and your brother should be able to CW twist the assembly a bit to get the fron bolt in. As Mart mentioned, loosely bolt the torque tube to radius rods and then the backing plate bolts. You may need a drift pin here to assist.

Regarding the front bolt, I couldn't use the stock bolt either since it was too short. I bought a grade 8 (six bolt head hash marks), 1/2"-20 bolt and a nylon insert lock nut and two high strength washers under the nuts.

530320


Regarding the comments about Ford assembly. The torque tube, radius rods were all bolted up outside of the chassis then that assembly was raised, bolted up with the clam shell and then the spring perch bolts/nuts.

Glenn
 
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You're welcome Tim!

If this doesn't work Richard, your left radius rod may be bent as others have mentioned.

Glenn
 
BTW, the added mass on the left axle with the heavy Columbia would be the culprit in torque rotation.
 
GlennPM


One minor correction, Grd 8 Bolts have 6 radial hash marks on the head NOT 5. Grd 5 has 3 radial hash marks. Grd 2 has none OR could be marked A307. L9's will be stamped as such!!! Nit-picking I know but its my M-F 7:30 to 5 job!!!
 
When I look at the picture in post 1 it appears to me that the tangs for the bolt are not normal. It looks like they have been re-welded to the torque tube. Could be an optical illusion. How can we ever know what has been done to an old vehicle through its lifetime. Some precise measurements are needed on this vehicle to make sure the rear axle is indeed aligned with the frame IMHO.
 
It’s done.
I removed the 1/2” bolt from the front of the radius rods at the tt. Then I loosened the 2 bolts at the rear. I jacked the rear wheels up and placed ramps under the tires facing opposite directions. I hammered the end of the tt and bounced the car up and down but still couldn’t get the 1/2” bolt to pass through at the tt.
I know the purists won’t like this but I just couldn’t get it to move into position. It was close, about 1/8”. I clamped it in place and took a 1/2” drill bit and ran it through creating a clear path for the bolt.
I ran the bolt through and tightened it securely with castle nut and cotter key.
Not perfect but a big improvement over what was there when I started.
A big thank you to all who made suggestions and helped me understand what was going on.
Richard
 
Ricosan said:
A big thank you to all who made suggestions and helped me understand what was going on.
Richard
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Richard ..... The trouble with this is the fact that you (and us too) STILL don't understand what was going on. I hate when that happens!

Coop

.
 
Ricosan said:
It’s done.
I removed the 1/2” bolt from the front of the radius rods at the tt. Then I loosened the 2 bolts at the rear. I jacked the rear wheels up and placed ramps under the tires facing opposite directions. I hammered the end of the tt and bounced the car up and down but still couldn’t get the 1/2” bolt to pass through at the tt.
I know the purists won’t like this but I just couldn’t get it to move into position. It was close, about 1/8”. I clamped it in place and took a 1/2” drill bit and ran it through creating a clear path for the bolt.
I ran the bolt through and tightened it securely with castle nut and cotter key.
Not perfect but a big improvement over what was there when I started.
A big thank you to all who made suggestions and helped me understand what was going on.
Richard
Click to expand...

Richard,

Glad you got it back in place. Thanks for the update
 
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