Possibly the worst rear axle thrust washer replacement idea ever.
Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:43 pm
Buying a near 100 year old rear axle is always a pig-in-a-poke kind of scenario, as most everyone knows. You never know what has or has not been done or what issues or problems await you once you tear into it. This most recent rear axle disassembly gave me what is the worst rear axle thrust washer replacement idea that I have ever seen:
Three steel thrust plates were brazed together and then re-installed as a thrust washer on the left side (with a crumbling babbitt washer on the right). You can see in the one photo that the one steel plate washer is cracked and a sharp wrap from a chisel broke that piece free. Not surprisingly, the thrust plate retaining pins on the left side are non-existent. If the pins had not already been worn-down or damaged prior to the installation of this fix, I am sure that they did not last long afterwards. I don't believe that this was a "back-in-the-day" fix as there was plenty of rtv/silicone gasket sealer on the inside of the housing. Either way I just thought I would share a how-not-to that I found.
Three steel thrust plates were brazed together and then re-installed as a thrust washer on the left side (with a crumbling babbitt washer on the right). You can see in the one photo that the one steel plate washer is cracked and a sharp wrap from a chisel broke that piece free. Not surprisingly, the thrust plate retaining pins on the left side are non-existent. If the pins had not already been worn-down or damaged prior to the installation of this fix, I am sure that they did not last long afterwards. I don't believe that this was a "back-in-the-day" fix as there was plenty of rtv/silicone gasket sealer on the inside of the housing. Either way I just thought I would share a how-not-to that I found.