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Dean,

On your question #2, here is a picture of a crank out of a ’33, if that helps. It is covered in grease, that is why it looks so trashy. It is about 44″. All the thrust is taken off the first main which is on the right side of the photo.”

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And from the front. Grey at top is leather, black at bottom is rubber.

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Here is the completed seal from the rear. The light greyish color on the ID is the leather and the red rim is the 450084 seal.

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To rebuild the front seal, I needed the Federal 450084 and a leather seal.

I made a new seal using 4 oz (1/16″ or .063) Vegetable tanned leather. I got a remnant bag at my local Tandy Leather.

The Vegetable tanned material has natural texture on the back and had a hard, smooth finish on the front. Once you get it good and wet, it become very pliable and can be shaped to fit if retained until it dries.

I had to make a washer to start. I stapled the leather, hard side up, on a piece of wood. You could also use 2 sided tape I guess. I then used a piloted hole saw to cut the larger diameter, then switched to the smaller diameter. You can also use punches or diamond saws. I then soaked it until pliable.

I pushed the washer over the output flange to form the ID, placed the spring over the lip that had been created and forced it, from the rear into the inside of the seal housing to get the final form. I held the rest of the material against the housing with a piece of pipe to make a right angle flange. I let it dry a couple days, removed the flange, inserted the 450084 seal (be sure to push it home as it helps retain the flange of the leather seal) and installed it in the diff case followed by the flange, washer castle nut and cotter pin.

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Ok, I talked to George at Olcar Bearings and the felt seal(upper left in photo) that fits in the channel is 2 13/16″ x 2 5/32″ x 11/32″. I guess Pierce didn’t have any 1/8, 1/4 or 1/2″ marks on any of their rulers.

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I suggest you call John at the Pierce Arrow Parts Store (413-543-9017)and ask about Ed. I understand Ed and John are basically in the same place.

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If you haven’t seen it, to remove a bearing cone inside of a bore you can run a weld bead, either stick or MIG, along the inside bearing face. When the bead contracts the bearing will usually come out with little or no effort. I have had them fall out on their own. Just be sure you have a steady hand and don’t weld the housing or you will be having to do some grinding.

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Moving on to the axle tubes, there is a .004″ paper gasket between the diff and the axle tubes. I am going to use black RTV, just don’t tell anyone. At the wheel end are double oil seals. They look like they are trailer axle seals. (I have some on order and will verify the fit and part number when I get them.)

The last piece is the axle retaining housing, which has a star shaped bolt pattern. I don’t have all the bearings yet, so I will just cover the disassembly now.

On the outside there is a groove that houses a felt oil seal. They appear to be 3″ x 2.25″ x 3/8″, (I will verify once I get the ones I have on order). CAUTION DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE THIS SEAL OUT. It fits into the channel groove in the housing. Use a pick and pull towards the center. It should come right out.

On the other side is a Timken 332 bearing cone. It is difficult to get to so I used the “run a weld bead around it” trick. It fell right out.

This month marks a year of work on this project and I want to thank everyone for the help and encouragement. This would have been impossible without the society members and their knowledge, help and generosity.

Prussian Blue is here, still waiting on dial indicator and I can close the adjustment issue. Axle shaft assembly is next then back in the car.

Hopefully it will roll this time.

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Cleaning up a few issues. Here is the front seal assembly. It is composed, from left to right, a Federal 450084 seal, seal housing, leather disc and a retaining spring. You need to take the seal out of the housing first then the leather and spring. Leather is just a dust shield I think. Reassemble in opposite order, install in case, install splined drive hub, washer, castle nut and split pin.

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Sorry to hear the news, I might have some of the parts you are missing. I will look. Will need chrome.I know that there was a set of aux lights, less lens on ebay yesterday. I used to etch an initial or symbol when I took stuff to a plater and I have had platers who had their own mark, any chance there?

I would recommend posting something on every antique, classic Old, Resto mod, etc site here and out of the country.

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Guys,

Are these the type of clamps you are referring to? An ebayer named, tibwholesales has them in various sizes.

Bill

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Jim,

I am not familiar with the cross section, but drilling to stop the progression, V ing and welding seems logical. Might consider stress relieving the steel parts. Steel back then was pretty crude.

Bill

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Here is the setup to check clearance.

All that is left is check the backlash, tooth mesh and the front oil seal. Waiting on parts for all of them.

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Next, you need to set the preload on the rear tapered roller bearings. I don’t have a spec, but I will try to look one up. Basically what you are doing is taking up any play in the bearings and putting a little pressure on them so that when they expand with heat they don’t get too loose.

To do this you need to mount the shims, 2 gaskets (.009″ each) and the rear cover plate. Tighten the plate until you feel drag when trying to turn the shaft. (This is where the spec comes in). Determine the clearance with a feeler gauge and add/subtract shims until there is no end play and the shaft turns with the correct resistance.”

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Once aligned, insert plate and bolt it down with the 2 drilled head bolts. Install safety wire, I like figure 8’s, and twist the ends, preferably with an aircraft safety wire pliers. Mine got up and walked away at some time in the past.

Repeat on the other side. Note: be sure to run nuts down all studs on the removable side and tighten the plate. You can get some movement on clearances if you don’t tighten it down before making adjustments.

Recheck all tolerances/clearances.

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This is a little out of sequence as you should check tooth pattern and backlash first, but while I was waiting for the USPS to deliver my tube of Prussian Blue and magnetic dial indicator setup I thought I would cover 2 additional steps.

Once you have things in spec, you need to lock down the bearing adjustment rings on both sides of the carrier. The white (painted for clarity) tips have to be aligned so that the retaining plate (right) fits on the single lower post, the 2 upper posts and the bolt holes line up.

This is a little fiddly and I used a small hammer and a flat bladed screwdriver to tap everything in place. These should be only minor adjustments and I recommend tightening instead of loosening the rings. If you move them too much you can destroy your clearances.

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Bob,

First off, thank you again for coming to the worm drive’s rescue and secondly, it is amazing that you have that print. It has everything I was looking for. It also proves how simple the worm drives were. No pinion depth, etc.

Thanks again.

Bill

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Edgar,

All the gears in this rear end are original Pierce so there isn’t a manufacturing spec issue. Preload and backlash spec would be great if some one can find some. I have some from about 1919,that show tooth pattern but things change a lot in 14 years.

The only adjustments I see are right to left and preload on the bull gear and front to back on the worm.

Thanks for your help.

Bill

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Edgar,

Greg pointed out this was a bad ratio. I misread the stamp. It is 4 2/7 or 4.28.

Bill

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Edgar,

Ratio is 4.43 to 1. I have no specs. Would love to find some. I was going to use API GL-4, 140 weight.

Let me know if I lost my mind somewhere.

Thanks for the help.

Bill

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