Worm Drive ’33 axle

Since there seemed to be some interest in the bevel or worm drive rear ends in ’33 8’s and small 12’s, I decided to start a new thread separate from the hub puller one.

Now that all the brakes are off the rear of my 836, my axles will still not turn.

I took the drain plug out and got very little oil out. The car has been setting for over 50 years and I don’t know when they started putting sulfur in axle lubricants, but I hope I missed it and the associated brass/bronze pitting issue.

To try to free up everything, I removed the cap from the conveniently accessible breather tube at the top of the left side axle housing. It is held on with a cotter pin.

Once removed, I found a clear plastic tube to fit over the vent extension and attached the other end to a funnel. I used a long enough tube so that I could hang the funnel on the rear window.

I then filled the axle thru the funnel with WD 40 and transmission fluid until fluid refused to drain out of the tube. It took about 2 gallons.

One week later I noticed some of the fluid had started to leak out the ends of the axle. I reattached the axle nuts and tightened them. I am using a 4′ cheater bar with a socket on the nuts, one on each side. I am applying gentle pressure forwards on the right axle and backwards on the left axle. Today I noticed some barely perceptible movement.

More to come.