Is the end of my axle half bent? 1927 Touring

[bmklawt]

Put my rear wheel hub on my built from parts axle an see the backing plate sits flush with the wheel hub except where the spring perch is, the axle tube is not bent. Can I use it this way, at least for the summer, I am so sick and tired of this rear axle.

[John kuehn]

Is the brake drum mounting area slightly bent inward just a bit? In other words would the drum look the same way on the other side?

Try the drum from the other side and see how it looks.

If the axle is sitting downward that way it could be the outer axle bearing is worn that much as show by the photo. Or a bent axle tube? Not sure about that.

Have you tried turning the axle?? If the axle is actually bent it will show up by seeing a wobble. And if it is, turning it just enough will show the “supposed” bend opposite from your picture you’re showing. Hope this will help! Let us know what you find.

[jab35]

John:

On my screen the backing plate and possibly the driveshaft tube flange appear to be bent. jb

[John kuehn]

Hmm. What I’m seeing is just a close up shot of the right side of the axle and not the rest.

But taking a close up look by expanding the photo it sure looks like the axle backing plate is bent and slightly wavy. Maybe?

[tdump]

I would say the backing plate is suspect in this case.

[bmklawt]

Just the casting at the spring perch on the end of the axle tube that the backing plate is riveted to is all I suspect is bent, driveshaft and axle are put together and everything turn smoothly, the axle tubes and axle shafts are not bent.
Is it safe to drive that way, I was thinking to shim the backing plate parallel with the drum and call it good.

[Scott Rosenthal]

Face of the backing plate should be planar with itself. If not then I would conclude the backing plate is bent inward at its top. Any number of shop applications can be employed to correct this..myself, I would first attempt bending it cold with a large Cresent wrench, or Johnson Bar of your own creation.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Yes, it's safe to drive that way. As others have mentioned, if you wanted to bend or shim the sheet metal portion of the backing plate closer to the brake drum that would probably be an okay thing to do.

[John Codman]

I would start by putting a dial indicator on the outer face of the drum. The indicator doesn't have to be fancy, a pencil on a block of wood will do. If the drum wobbles much - that is the pencil doesn't pretty much make contact all the way around as you slowly spin the drum, there is runout and something (Axle drum, axle housing) is bent. I wouldn't worry about a few thousandths. If the pencil stays in contact or pretty close to staying in contact, I would say that the backing plate is indeed bent. My vote goes to the backing plate. It could be that sometime in the past someone tried to lever the drum off by prying between the plate and the drum. Just my two cents.

[Norman Kling]

Very unlikely to cause a problem with operation if only the plate is bent but the tube is straight. Also the axle shaft must be straight.
First thing I would do would be to pull the hub off that side and put jack stands under both ends. Then pull out the roller bearing from that side and see if the axle drops. Rotate the axle and see if the shaft is straight. Sometimes the tube is bent. These bends can come from many sources such as accidents, or storage problems. Even jacking toward the center can cause it or improper tie down in a trailer. Some people strap the ties over the center of the axle housing which will cause problems especially on the earlier cars. Anyway, if the tube and the axle shaft are straight and the bearing and sleeve are still good, it is most likely only the backing plate which is crooked. It is possible that this type bend could affect the parking brakes. Keep your eyes open. You might find a better housing at a swap meet. It is good to have a spare rear axle assembly on hand just in case you have a problem with yours and you want to be able to drive the car while the axle is in the shop.
Norm

[bmklawt]

I did check the axle halves before building the rear axle on a surface plate and the tubes are not bent, the axles run true in the axle tubes. I put a straight edge on the backing plate and you can see the casting is bent where the spring perch is bolted on.
I'm going to shim out the backing plate and call it good.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

I did check the axle halves before building the rear axle on a surface plate and the tubes are not bent, he axles run true in the axle tubes. I put a straight edge on the backing plate and you can see the casting is bent where the spring perch is bolted on.
I'm going to shim out the backing plate and call it good.

An excellent plan. Consider adding some sealant to gap, once the shim is in place, just to keep out water & dirt.

[TWrenn]

Without having read all these posts I did catch a few same comments about the backing plate being bent so my 2 cents FWIW is this is why I don't like the '26/27 axles with that flimsy plate. Makes me more glad my Fordor is what Mike Chaffin referred to as being an "overlap"...its really a '25/'26...a '25 chassis with an early '26 body on it...no headlamp bar like later '26s have. I like the higher chassis and of course the heavier rear backing plate.