Cody 276 #1 Posted January 28 I picked this up a while ago because it was close to home but I've been curious about the axles in it, it's a 3 peice transmission but the axles are extremely long. They haven't been welded, and they're keyed the whole length. Wondering what everyone's thoughts are, did someone make them in a machine shop or are they something crazy from the factory that I've never seen before 1 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,890 #2 Posted January 28 Home made dually set up? 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 41,291 #3 Posted January 28 Didn't the 3 piece have the axles retained with a roll pin? 2 fully keyed shafts from McMaster-Carr. Drill a hole in an end for a roll pin and a keyed gear and you have instant homemade long axles 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,479 #4 Posted January 28 That there is a gen-u-ine k-nee k-nocker!! 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 17,078 #5 Posted January 28 7 minutes ago, squonk said: Didn't the 3 piece have the axles retained with a roll pin? 2 fully keyed shafts from McMaster-Carr. Drill a hole in an end for a roll pin and a keyed gear and you have instant homemade long axles Except for-- How do you seal the axle at the trans shaft? I guess the slot could be welded and turned down smooth 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 41,291 #6 Posted January 28 20 minutes ago, wallfish said: Except for-- How do you seal the axle at the trans shaft? I guess the slot could be welded and turned down smooth Or a shaft keyed half way 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 17,078 #7 Posted January 28 (edited) 1 hour ago, squonk said: Or a shaft keyed half way Do they sell those at McMaster? But you would still need to key the gears inside the trans on the solid half or vise versa for the hub. Key ways needed on each side of the solid round for the seal I only see partial keyed shafts which is just the end. Maybe those with the slot inside for the gears and then use taper locked AZ hubs? The machinist guys are probably laughing thinking "just knock a proper one out in 1/2 hour"! LOL Edited January 28 by wallfish 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,479 #8 Posted January 28 37 minutes ago, wallfish said: The machinist guys are probably laughing thinking "just knock a proper one out in 1/2 hour"! LOL If I had a milling machine with enough travel ( which I do not) I would kill a half hour + just setting up and aligning TWO identical vises to keep the shaft stock true without vibration... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cody 276 #9 Posted January 28 The keyways stop about an inch from the axle tube. I'm going to guess someone must have made them but they did a nice job doing so 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 27,742 #10 Posted January 29 (edited) When I made the new axles for my 1960 Suburban. I set the inside up with a captured keyway and a full length keyway for the hub instead of setting them up for woodruff keys. Was easier to do with the tooling that I had on hand. Edited January 29 by Achto 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 12,358 #11 Posted January 29 (edited) My only concern with them being fabricated would be if they were tempered or not. Wheel Horse axles were factory hardened and tempered. It's a massive plus on the contact points (bearing and diff caps) if the surface is hardened. If they're fairly hard, you should be fine. If you don't like them, slide the hubs out from the end tubes about 1/2 inch, and mark them. Remove the hubs and cut the axles off at the marks. Problem solved. Edited January 29 by kpinnc 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,114 #12 Posted January 29 I would make up some hubs to slide on the ends with some type of spear tips and go Mad Maxx style… 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 63,080 #13 Posted January 29 I’d utilize them for the creativity someone had and run duals! If you don’t like them, I’d be glad to trade you a stock set, shipping’s on me! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites