Long story short, I've got this cobbled together Hough Payloader. Cobbled together as in it's a circa '53 loader with 62 Chevy 235" 6 cyl (instead of original Hercules engine), and the driving axle is a 1942~1946 era Chevy 1-1/2 or 2 ton truck dual wheel axle (11,000# capacity, I've learned) with 20" wheels with a 10 lug bolt pattern. As it sets, it doesn't have duals on it, just singles.
I don't know if this thing has ever actually moved under it's own power, or not.
I've sorted out many problems with this thing and it's finally down to getting some hydraulic brakes going so I can actually move it around without disaster befalling me.
The hubs have 8 holes to bolt the axle flange to. On both sides, all 8 bolts have sheared off inside the housing!
To overcome this problem, the axle flanges were welded to the hub.
I had to get this axle out in order to remove the brake drum so I could work on the brakes. So, I used a cut-off wheel and cut through the circumferential weld between flange and hub, on both sides.
Why I'm on a quest looking for an axle for this thing....
Evidently, one of the original axles was broken at some point in history and they couldn't find an exact replacement. So, they found another axle that had the right number of splines (16), was the right diameter on both ends, and nearly the right length~ but the flange face was about ¾" larger in diameter than the original. This photo shows it before I cut the weld.
The axle shaft is about an inch too short... it engages the splines in the differential about 1-1/2"~about ¾" less than the original, which is good enough for this thing.
I've found most of this information on the web all by luck. All I had to go by was the casting number on the brake wheel cylinder after I got the hub off.
That's where I finally started finding info about what that fit, and what year trucks they were in, and what size truck they were used in. It's an 11,000 pound capacity axle.
Anyhow... now I'm sending out feelers to see if this same axle shaft may have been used in anything else that might be a little easier to find. A friend of mine here in town... his dad has an old salvage yard with lots of old vehicles.. still, in this day and age. He said he thinks there are two old mid 40's big Chevy's out there. His dad's got cancer real bad, but is still working, and my friend says that he's got it in his head that he's gonna just smash all this stuff when scrap starts back up.. he's done. So, I need to strike while the iron is hot!
After I get the drums all off, I'll try to remove the broken off studs in the hubs, and I can bolt the good original axle back on the one side.. and with luck I'll find a correct axle to replace their replacement.
Here are the correct axle dimensions~ O.A.L. (37.5") inner flange face to end of splines, dia. of axle at flange(1.625"), minor and major dimensions of splined(16 splines)end (1.562" & 1.720"), and flange/hub O.D. is 4-5/8".
If I can't find a correct axle, I'll just turn down the OD of the existing axle and, I guess, weld it back on. It had 2 studs bolting it to the hub, but someone had drilled the holes in the flange to do that... this flange had a 4 bolt pattern... nowhere near the 8 it needs, and on a whole different diameter. Hard telling what it came off of.
Any comments or suggestions on what to do about this axle? Where I may look to find axles that would interchange.
P.S.... this is a 2 speed truck rear end, if that makes any difference.
I don't know if this thing has ever actually moved under it's own power, or not.
I've sorted out many problems with this thing and it's finally down to getting some hydraulic brakes going so I can actually move it around without disaster befalling me.
The hubs have 8 holes to bolt the axle flange to. On both sides, all 8 bolts have sheared off inside the housing!
To overcome this problem, the axle flanges were welded to the hub.
I had to get this axle out in order to remove the brake drum so I could work on the brakes. So, I used a cut-off wheel and cut through the circumferential weld between flange and hub, on both sides.
Why I'm on a quest looking for an axle for this thing....
Evidently, one of the original axles was broken at some point in history and they couldn't find an exact replacement. So, they found another axle that had the right number of splines (16), was the right diameter on both ends, and nearly the right length~ but the flange face was about ¾" larger in diameter than the original. This photo shows it before I cut the weld.
The axle shaft is about an inch too short... it engages the splines in the differential about 1-1/2"~about ¾" less than the original, which is good enough for this thing.
I've found most of this information on the web all by luck. All I had to go by was the casting number on the brake wheel cylinder after I got the hub off.
That's where I finally started finding info about what that fit, and what year trucks they were in, and what size truck they were used in. It's an 11,000 pound capacity axle.
Anyhow... now I'm sending out feelers to see if this same axle shaft may have been used in anything else that might be a little easier to find. A friend of mine here in town... his dad has an old salvage yard with lots of old vehicles.. still, in this day and age. He said he thinks there are two old mid 40's big Chevy's out there. His dad's got cancer real bad, but is still working, and my friend says that he's got it in his head that he's gonna just smash all this stuff when scrap starts back up.. he's done. So, I need to strike while the iron is hot!
After I get the drums all off, I'll try to remove the broken off studs in the hubs, and I can bolt the good original axle back on the one side.. and with luck I'll find a correct axle to replace their replacement.
Here are the correct axle dimensions~ O.A.L. (37.5") inner flange face to end of splines, dia. of axle at flange(1.625"), minor and major dimensions of splined(16 splines)end (1.562" & 1.720"), and flange/hub O.D. is 4-5/8".
If I can't find a correct axle, I'll just turn down the OD of the existing axle and, I guess, weld it back on. It had 2 studs bolting it to the hub, but someone had drilled the holes in the flange to do that... this flange had a 4 bolt pattern... nowhere near the 8 it needs, and on a whole different diameter. Hard telling what it came off of.
Any comments or suggestions on what to do about this axle? Where I may look to find axles that would interchange.
P.S.... this is a 2 speed truck rear end, if that makes any difference.