What options do I've left?

[Conrad Rossi]

I answered my own question by installing the snap ring in the wrong order -before the seal.

Thanks Vanpelt Sales for posting the schematics!



-Conrad

 

[Conrad Rossi]

Another update:

Small progress but at least some progress. Front hubs and rear drums are ready to be installed. Also, I made a couple of bubble flare tests. The seventh was the charm.

This weekend I'll be working on the lines and replacing the master cylinder and refurbished pedal assembly.

-Conrad

 

[Conrad Rossi]

I got some tinkering time and installed the front hubs and rear drums. Took the time to remove, clean, lube, and install the parking cable. Installed need boots as well since the old ones were petrified.

Took a first stab at redoing the front brake lines. I'm happy with the results of the first attempt.

Also, lurked for a while on some of my fellow '46 recent posts. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Here are some pictures while I complete the rest of the lines.

-Conrad

 

[Conrad Rossi]

Hello Barnes,

I have been making slow progress for the past couple of months. Completed all brake lines, rebuilt front brakes, and pedal assembly.

Now it's time to install the rear hubs on to the axles. And I recall someone saying that you don't want to install the key incorrectly.

What's the direction of the "slanted end of the hub key:
1 - towards the backing plate
2 - looking outwards towards me

Do I need to do any prep to the key before installation?

Thank you all!

Conrad

-Conrad

 

[hueyhoolihan]

slanted end goes outward towards you, the installer.

at least that's what i've decided. otherwise, the other end of the key which is square cut to the other surfaces of the key may not, or possibly will not, present a properly square surface to the large washer and nut on the end of a tapered axle.

BTW, the last pic shows, on the right hand side, one of the two (the vertically mounted one) handbrake levers. on my backing plate (a '41) there are two clips attached to the backing plate on the right hand side. they are stacked one on top of the other, one to secure the brake shoe and an additional one to secure the handbrake lever. i see that your backing plate has only the one to secure the shoe. not sure that it makes a difference though. but then again, your backing plate looks new and mine are probably 85 years old. sometimes re-manufacturers simplify things a bit that prove over time to be unnecessary, i think.

 

[Bored&Stroked]

The key looks aftermarket to me, so I really can't say.

BUT - you do NOT want grease on the tapered end of the axle - that needs to be clean and dry as you want it to hold the torque/load. The key is not what takes the load, it is the taper. Clean the inside taper of the drum/hub as well - again -> clean and dry is really important!

 

[Karl Wolf]

I wouldn’t file it or necessarily scrap the axle. Looks to me like someone cross threaded the nut and never fixed the threads. There looks to be good threads on the meaty part. Definitely good enough that I would try an axle thread repair chaser to clean up the threads on the end. Like the tool posted by ndnchf. If you can get them to take the nut and get it straight to the good threads, you’re fine.

Get a 5/8" x 18 die, cut into two pieces. Put it onto the good threads on the inside. Spin the die OFF the end, and you may wind up with a continual set of threads. This takes some care and is not as easy as I make it sound...
BUT it worked for me...

Karl

 

[Lawrie]

Another thing, do not worry about the split pin slot lining up when torquing up the nut,the most important thing is the nut torque,the nut will not come loose if it’s torqued,
But may line up after a drive after you have retorqued them,
Lawrie

 

[ford38v8]

slanted end goes outward towards you, the installer.

at least that's what i've decided. otherwise, the other end of the key which is square cut to the other surfaces of the key may not, or possibly will not, present a properly square surface to the large washer and nut on the end of a tapered axle.

What you have decided is incorrect. The sloping end of the key faces down and away toward the inside, it's profile matching the upward slope of the keyway, lying flat in the keyway, not riding the slope upward.

The picture in post #83 shows a taper that has not been lapped to the drum.
The picture in post #84 shows grease that must be completely cleaned off, totally dry on the taper and matching surface of the drum.

 

[hueyhoolihan]

What you have decided is incorrect. The sloping end of the key faces down and away toward the inside, it's profile matching the upward slope of the keyway, lying flat in the keyway, not riding the slope upward.

The picture in post #83 shows a taper that has not been lapped to the drum.
The picture in post #84 shows grease that must be completely cleaned off, totally dry on the taper and matching surface of the drum.

food for thought...certainly!

if i understand what you've written (and i readily admit that i may not), that the sloping part of the key faces down against the bottom of the groove in the axle and its inserted with the sloping end nearer to the backing plate than the nut? if so, and i recognize that its difficult to explain three dimensions in the written word, the the sloping part of the key would not contact anything, i would think, making it unnecessary.

i'm thinking the sloping part of the key, at the very least, must face upward. so as have any effect at all. and so the question would be in which direction should it be inserted.

in any event, i've yet to mount the drums, so will have an opportunity to experiment with all four possible orientations before making my final decision.

i'll also take another look at the old keys. for, IIRC, they don't have nearly as long of a slope on them as the ones shown in this thread or the ones i have recently purchased and will be installing. they were simply cut off at an angle on one end and square on the other.

 

[Conrad Rossi]

hueyhoolihan -

Thank you for pointing out the direction of the key.

Regarding the backing plate and clips, when I took it apart it had a washer the same thickness as the clip. So there's a washer behind the clip. Makes a tight fit. The backing plates are the original ones that came with the car including the Lockheed brake cylinders.

One thing about Arizona cars is that everything gets petrified and preserved over time, especially metal parts. Rubber, vinyl, fabrics, and paint, dries out and turns to dust. The fine dusty clay we have here mixed with the sand in the Phoenix area creating a dry encapsulating coating that becomes impermeable to water. I only had to scrub the dirt, rise, and repaint it.

Bored&Stroked - Yikes! Time too put the the grease monster back in the box where it belongs! I will remove all grease from the taper and inside the hub. And clean both surfaces.

Lawrie - This is good to know. I would have spent three hours trying to make it align and coming back for help.

Ford38v8 - I lapped it probably not enough as you pointed out. Roger that on the grease. That monster...

hueyhoolihan - I understood the same from Ford38v8.

Thank you.

 

[hueyhoolihan]

slanted end goes outward towards you, the installer.

at least that's what i've decided. otherwise, the other end of the key which is square cut to the other surfaces of the key may not, or possibly will not, present a properly square surface to the large washer and nut on the end of a tapered axle.

BTW, the last pic shows, on the right hand side, one of the two (the vertically mounted one) handbrake levers. on my backing plate (a '41) there are two clips attached to the backing plate on the right hand side. they are stacked one on top of the other, one to secure the brake shoe and an additional one to secure the handbrake lever. i see that your backing plate has only the one to secure the shoe. not sure that it makes a difference though. but then again, your backing plate looks new and mine are probably 85 years old. sometimes re-manufacturers simplify things a bit that prove over time to be unnecessary, i think.

update:

hubs are on and handbrake cable in:

the orientation of insertion of of the new axle key is self-evident when assembling. at least it was to me. but it wouldn't surprise me if two of the four possible orientations would prove to be satisfactory.