What is the proper way to shim a spindle bolt? There is a little play in the top hole.
Bore it out and weld a bushing in place.
Stevens front axle repair tool, better than NOS. Dan
Chip
You can't shim a spindle bolt, the shim will just work its way out.
Simple to remove the spindle body, remove the upper and lower bushings, get a reamer, new king pins, and do the job back to factory way.
I agree with all of you. I am just trying to get thru until Mon., when I can order parts!
Dan, it's not the spindle it's the top hole on the axle.
Is it safe to drive the car with a "little" play in the top hole of the axle? Can I tighten the nut on the bottom one notch and replace the cotter pin?
@ Dan Hatch, I want to get the tool, but still need a few more pennies in my piggy bank.
You can shim the top hole in the axle if the threads at the bottom are good and tight. The jamb nut will hold the bolt in one place. It will not move in the top hole. The reason the top hole gets worn is from loose nut at the bottom and the bolt will turn with the spindle. That will also wear out the threads at the bottom, so check the threads carefully and if still good, the shim in top hole will work just fine.
Norm
Your front axle must be worn a lot if you need to shim it. If I were going to shim it, I'd put the shim on the bottom bushing.
To try to put a shim in the upper spindle bolt bore of an axle and expect it to be an OK repair would be a ridiculous waste of time.
Since the spindle bolt is fixed and does not turn in the axle when the spindle itself turns, I can see no problems with shimming the upper axle bore. Assumes you have good threads on lower bore and proper clearance from spindle bolt to spindle.
Cheers
schuh
Top hole in axle is called out as .504" diamter on early Ford drawings I have.
Hope this helps.
George,
When I purchased my car, it had a little play between the kingpins and bushings and, being a complete newbie, I drove it that way in happy ignorance for two years and then, a Model T friend pointed out the problem to me. That was a surprise because the car had always handled beautifully (for a Model T).
Now, the experienced guys out there with actual talent and the proper tools will probably shake their grease-blackened fists at me for saying so, but I'm guessing that a little slop in the front-end is a fairly common thing among Model Ts and as long as your car is handling well, it's probably okay to drive it—up to a point. But even if you drive slowly and stick to smooth roads, wear just begets more wear and if you let it go too long, you'll not only need new bushings, you'll also wreck the threads in the bottom of your axle and then you'll wind up needing helicoils and welding.
And then, of course, there's the safety issue.
Now, I was lucky. A very experienced friend did the job for me and he had all the right tools, including a hydraulic press (and by the way, the car handles like a dream, now). But even for him, the job required unanticipated things like shimming between the bushings and spindle body (NOT between the kingpin and the bushing) with 1/1000" brass sheet stock that he happened to have on hand. For guys without this kind of generous assistance, there are a few ways to go: You can drive the car to a pro who specializes in old cars and just pay him to do the whole job. But heck, you knew that.
Another way to go is to order the bushings and kingpins from a catalog parts supplier, dismount the spindles and take the pieces to a local machine shop and have them do the pressing and reaming, or you can work a core/trade-in deal with a parts supplier and exchange spindles with him. Either way, then all you'll have to do is re-install the spindles to the axle, which is easy enough to do, even for a guy like me.
I beg to suggest that some people are making this too difficult. If I understand it correctly, the top hole in the axle has worn so that the spindle bolt now moves sideways in it. If so, it will have worn on the inner side (towards the centre of the axle). So you need a piece of metal - brass strip, tin can etc, which wraps round about one third of the spindle bolt circumference and fills the gap on the inner side.
With the stub axle out of the way, you can experiment with the size and thickness required.
It can't come out because the bolt head stops it rising and the brass bush in the spindle stops it falling. And it can't move very far around because the hole is oval - and anyway, the bolt is not turning in the axle. I do agree that you should have good threads at the bottom hole.
This can do no harm, and it ought to help.
Incidentally, when you come to re-bush it, I suggest you first file away the outer part of the hole to match the wear on the inner side so you get an oval hole with the original centre. Then, when you put the oversize drill down, it will be on the correct centre, and you get the correct camber. The spindle bolts should be perpendicular to the axle.
On my 24 Touring, I made a round shim from steel shim stock and, with a plastic hammer, tapped it into the spindle bolt hole. I then reamed it with my 1/2 inch reamer and put the axle, spindle and bolt back together. It has gone many a mile and is still ok.
A dab of Loctite on the shim would keep it in place and help fill in the gap. Dave
Thanks to all for the responses. Got a shim in place and made a 150 mile round trip to a car show Sunday without a problem. I plan on pulling the axle and having both sides bored and bushed properly, but have to get thru this week first, 2 local shows and a parade! Oh, and a BBQ!!!! Can't miss that!!
Thanks again to ALL....Chip
Nothing is more permanent than a temporary fix that works. I have a hose clamp on a broken wood top bow that I put on just to get me home from a tour - 8 years ago - still holding pretty good
I've used shims as described with no problems. As said above, they are captured by the bolt head and won't work loose. I checked one after a couple years and it looked the same as when I installed it. When you consider a spindle bolt doesn't move and the shim is captured, its a pretty good fix.
Thanks John. That does make me feel better about using a temp. fix. I do plan to repair the axle, but won't get the parts till Fri. or Sat. due to the holiday....Chip