MTFCA Forum

I took the rear wheels off my 22 in preparation for replacing the spokes and found that they were both loose on the axles. I took one nut off with my fingers and the wheels just slid off the shafts. The keyways don’t look bad in the hubs or shafts but the keys themselves are hourglasses a bit. I need to measure and see what I have and what needs to be replaced. I have a new set of axles on hand for another project, but would rather not have to go to that trouble unless it is absolutely required.

The car has small drum Rocky Mountain Brakes and in reading the installation instructions I see that installing these can cause the small drum to rub on the brake backing plate. I wonder if this is why the hubs were not tightened all the way down. The instructions say that axle shims may be required to prevent this rubbing. How many shims are commonly required for this? At 5/1000 each it would take quite a few to make much of a difference. Also, why not just cut the drum down on a lathe to get rid of the rub.

While everything is apart I am going to replace the seals, sort the parking brakes, and check the outer bearings.

Morgan

get out your Trig Tables!

those shims make a larger effect than just their thickness!

That said, they do come in different thicknesses and can be made quite easily, so when you find the correct thickness, from perhaps several, you can make one that is the correct thickness and not mess with dealing with more than one.

Unfortunately, if the wheels have been loose on the axles for a long time, your taper inside the hubs might have been worn down as well as that of the axles. You can buy shims from the suppliers which will fit on the shafts and if one shim is not enough to correct the problem you might need to buy the longer axles. Also replace the keys so that everything will fit tight and torque to 100 ft lbs. Also after everything is tightened down, check for run out of the wheels. If so you might need to replace the hubs and the axles.
Norm

Well, none of the parts are new, but they don’t look bad. If I can get things cleaned up and things fit pretty well, I will go with it. If it’s not good enough, then it’s a bigger job.