torque tube drive shaft grease fitting

highbeams

highbeams

Well-known member
For those of you that aren't familiar with this grease fitting. The drive shaft is held securely in place by a roller bearing.
The bearing must be greased. BUT the grease fitting is on the top of the torque tube facing the bottom side of the trunk floor pan, or the bottom side of the pickup bed, thus hidden from view.
If you or prior owners had no knowledge of this grease fitting and/or roller bearing, the bearing will be dry through years of the vehicle's owners, and eventually end up as a screaming tangled mass of metal which happened to me . . . on the first test drive of my '36 pickup with a friend.

Suddenly during a drive around town, the painful-to-the-ears screaming began.

"What the h . . . is that! Sounds as if it's right behind the seat;
. . . . . and has nothing to do with the rearend! i.e., differential, axle, wheel bearings, et. cet..

We drove home instantly, jacked up the rear end investigated by pulling back the entire rear end on its wheels disconnected at the transmission. Saw the grease fitting. Our flashlight beam into the torque tube from the disconnected-at-transmission end. A bearing!

Now, you reading this, use your wits to remove the bearing.You'll get it out. A bearing that can still be bought at a hardware store So surprised at that!

* The grease from the grease gun pumped into the fitting, drops onto the bearing; not into the bearing. You will see globs of grease around the bearing and stuck to the t-tube around the bearing, obviously remnants from earlier greasing attempts.

* 20+- years ago, I bought the original-paint-dentless pickup online at a dropped-jaw price after hearing the V8 running while over the phone. Obviously the mysterious screaming-tangled roller bearing was the reason for the disappointed owner selling.
Thank You for reading my experience! (sold the pickup to buy a '33 three- window coupe, complete, very factory original - other'n a '37 transmission- very factory original car, which I still have. *****


i.e., The rumble seat has Ford's original 'leatherette' (vinyl)seat material. leather was used in closed cars, the 'leatherette was used in exterior seating because leather absorbs water and apparently the rumble seat would've been soaked somewhat throughout its life, upsetting rumble seat passengers!
 
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I have never had a driveshaft held in a torque tube by the bearing, all of mine rode on the bearing at a specific point on the shaft machined to fit the bearing. Why not just turn the TT upside down with the fitting looking down or even to the side...............
 
Thanks. All I recall from that experience was what I said. There was the roller bearing; I assume that it was there for keeping the shaft secure and not 'wobbling' during operating speed. The high-pitched sound of the bearing's demise was actually frightening!
 
You can find that bearing at a hardware store?! I’d really like to know what kind of store stocks them.

And, your rearend must not have been original, as the center bearing in the torque tube wasn’t invented until Ford started the solid bar driveshaft in 1937.
 
I don't recall the store name. We were very surprised that they had it at the time. Thanks for your interest!
 
Oh, really? Wow. The one thing I gotta say here. The car has a '37 transmission, it was identified by a V8er AND what gave that away, the floor gearshift was the lazy S type as in late '30s. Whoever had the car apparently wanted synchro! I would also like to know if it is a '33 flathead in the car. Thank You!
 
The center bearing controls undesired driveshaft dynamics. The shaft doesn't just sit on the bearing. It controls all off shaft centerline deflections. Turning the TT over won't help. Replacing it is not a simple job.

588819


588820
 
Wow! That replacement bearing Skip offers is a life saver as the OEM bearings are rare, very expensive and don't have the repair sleeve. Replacing the OEM bearing is a lot of work.
 
Replacing the driveshaft bearing: See post#1 highbeams, begin by disconnecting the torque tube at the transmission, jacking up the rear end, then pulling back the entire rear end and torque tube on the rear wheels. So much better/easier with everything being on the ground. Plus, disconnecting the TT at the transmission is quick and easy.
 
alchemy said:
You can find that bearing at a hardware store?! I’d really like to know what kind of store stocks them.

And, your rearend must not have been original, as the center bearing in the torque tube wasn’t invented until Ford started the solid bar driveshaft in 1937.
Click to expand...

You are correct, no center bearing until 1937.

Also, the grease fitting for that center bearing was at the bottom (near center) of the torque tube.

I'll only hazard a guess but methinks highbeams is speaking of the fitting for the universal joint. If he isn't then I have no clue what setup he has in that car.
 
If he’s talking about the universal, then what replacement bearing did he buy at the local hardware store? The torquetube roller bearing up there is surely not available at a hardware store. I’m totally lost.
 
What car is this in. If its the 33 then someone has shortened a 47 up tt and ds. 33/36 had hollow tube ds with no bearing in the center.
 
the roller bearing was available in the local hardware store 15, 20 years ago when I replaced the roller bearing!
 
Thank you for your knowledgeable comment! And as I mentioned, it has a '37 transmission. How does an expert v8 flathead person do the identification of a flathead in the car. I would like to know if the flathead in my '33 coupe is in fact a '33 flathead. Possibly I could send a photo or photos of the flathead in my '33. It would be 65 horsepower I believe, for 1932 and 1933. I thank You very much in advance!
 
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Couldn't turn torque tube upside down, speedometer gear would be out of place, I think he is talking about the front driveshaft bearing; not the center bearing
 
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