My 1958 F600 has an Eaton 2 speed rear axle and the center hole in the brake drum will not fit over the flange on the end of the axle. I have to remove the axle to get the brake drum on or off. Is there a specific reason the axle flange was made larger than the hole in the brake drum? I have a 16" South Bend lathe and it would be easy to chuck the axles up and turn the flange down just enough to fit through the hole in the drum. It's a PITA to remove the axle when I need to get the drum off.

 

Just a little curious, looks like you have (so called) outboard brakes
meaning drums are held in with 3 flathead screws. Frankly I have
never had that problem, I know there is hardly any clearance. You
sure theres no nicks on that flange. I would just first clean the
flange with a grinder. If the axles are original Eatons they should have
two threaded holes for bolts to pop the axles. If no avail I guess I
would wisk a cleanup on the lathe. Then I wonder how many times
one has to take the drums off? On the lite side when I Have to on
my trucks, A minimum 12 pack required for energy just to get started,
in being F900s the axle hub and drum has to come out, thats what
my sons for, no way the old man can lift that. Just a note I do have
one F600 tool truck last time I did that, the drum just slid right off.
sam

 

Yes, the drums are attached to the hubs with 3 large flat head screws.
There are no nicks on the axle flange- it is just larger in diameter than the hole in the drum. The axles are marked with the Ford oval logo so possibly Ford made the axles and Eaton made everything else. That might explain why they are slightly larger. There are no threaded holes in the end of the axle. To remove them I have to hit the OD of the flange with a brass hammer to pop the cone shaped wedges out of each bolt hole.
I am returning this truck to the road after sitting for 5 years. I have had the drums off and on numerous times in my attempts to get the brakes functioning properly. Removing those 8 nuts, popping the cones loose, removing all 8 of them and then worrying about tearing the gasket on each side of the seal is a lot of work just to get a brake drum off. I'm going to turn them down in my lathe.

 

The little cones can be a pain until you get use to them.I just whopped the end of the axle with a BFH and once the cones moved just a bit you can slip a small screw driver in the slit and slide them right off
The gaskets and seal behind the axle flange are useless if you have oil bath seals.I haven't used them in over 40 years

 

I think you answered youre problem. I thoroughly checked my axles
yesterday, Im positive its the same 2sp Eaton. They have the threaded
holes to pull them, they do not say Ford and the diameter is the same
as the hub. So my guess is Ford service parts must be different. I
checked the parts book , shows axles and pn no help there but the
service manual clearly shows threaded holes to pull it and the drum
sliding right off. After all these years, I just learned something. Myself,
after turning the OD take the time to drill and tap 3/8 course in the
flange for the future. Saves all those ugly hammer marks, and as said
above nobody uses gaskets and a dozen cones are also very cheap..
sam

 

Are you guys eliminating the seal on the outer end of the axle and allowing the gear oil to lube the hub bearings?

 

yes with the use of oil bath seals you no longer need to keep the gear oil out of the hub.The older styles used grease seals but is far obsolete.The bearings actually last longer running in oil and since the invention of silicone you no longer need to use gaskets on the axle flanges

 

Hi, sounds like you folks don't know about the very rare and special tool for removing the taper locks (cones) in axle flanges. It is extreamly rare and hard to find, although strangely inexpensive when located. It lurkes in second hand stores, and some tool boxes with an eclectic collection of cheap often worn out tools. You can identify this tool by it's similarity to a pair of cheap pliers (often from an old motorcycle tool kit). When you locate and aquire a pair, simply grind one jaw so it forms a knife shaped edge "V" . After popping the axle and having the locks move out slightly, grip the locks with the "V" in the slot squeeze slightly and remove.


I know I took too long to explain this, but I have so little fun any more. Hope this helps. OBCB

 

yep they even make a special tool also for removing the cones which is about what you described only maybe a little fancier but I always used the simple things

 

I have two 1960 F600s, with Eaton 2 speed rears, and both are the same as yours. The axle flange is just about 0.050 larger than the hole in the brake drum. I see no reason that would keep you from turning them down to match the hub OD.

Both of mine have the heavier axle option, so it might be a matter of a compromise made to use the hub, brakes, and drums with the heavier axle and axle shafts.

 

Howdy,


Has anyone thought about using a newer double reservoir master cylinder?
I am planning to use a GM type hydro-booster on my 55 F-600 powered by the PS pump....



Cheers,


Rick

 

Rick,

Interesting project. There should be enough room under the hood for it. I have thought about something like that, but my concern is the volume output of each section of the hydro-boost MC, and a potential volume mismatch. Especially with the dual cylinder rear brakes combined with the single cylinder front brakes. One thought is to "reverse pipe" the MC from a front disc/rear drum setup, as the normal for a hydro-boost would be using the larger volume section for the front disc calipers, and smaller volume section for the rear drums. This would allow the larger volume section to feed the dual cylinder rears and the smaller volume section to feed the single cylinder fronts.

My concern is having the fronts fully applied, but running out of MC stroke before the rears are fully applied; and "reverse piping" might avoid this.