vibration

[Brian]

The other week when driving my 35, I heard a bit of a 'bang'. Car was idling and I was just releasing the clutch to take off in first gear out of my driveway. Car drove through all gears including overdrive [Columbia], but there was a strange vibration present at higher speeds. I didn't know where the bang emanated from, to aid in diagnosing the problem.... Today, I began troubleshooting...running the engine in neutral resulted in no vibration, so I discounted anything clutch forward. Hoping it wasn't a problem in the rear end, I drained the diff oil; no metallic particles present [good sign]. Rolled the diff back and lo and behold, the universal joint was busted! So, easy fix, but I am amazed; the universal shattered with engine merely idling. One whole ear had broken off, the thing was still transmitting drive but obviously flopping around at increased revs. Didn't even hear it scraping inside the hemispherical housing it lives in.
Funny thing is, my car, if it breaks down, will always break down within a block of home, never hundreds of miles away, or when I'm racing it etc. Gotta love these old Fords!!

[cas3]

Good you are close to home ! Brian, did you fix the crashed 35, or are you in another car these days?

[Brian]

same old car...the old trusty 35

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Brian

same old car...the old trusty 35

Must be this same old car, huh? I like it!!

Coop

[Brian]

thanks Coop, That's the old thing...I'm pretty attached to it, had it since '71

[V8COOPMAN]

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Originally Posted by Brian

thanks Coop, That's the old thing...I'm pretty attached to it, had it since '71

Man, 50+ years. You've probably about gotten your money's worth out of her. Longest I've ever owned one was 36 years. What a sweet ol' rig!!

Coop

[FlatheadEric]

Have you found a replacement Brian?
I have got a '37 one here with worn pivot bushes that you can have if you want to strip it for parts.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by Brian

same old car...the old trusty 35

Hi Brian, good to hear you've got your '35 all fixed from the accident and it's back on the road. When I read your initial post here, my first thought was you had a rear gear failure, but glad to hear it was just the universal.
The last time I heard a bang in my '35 fordor like you described, it was a failure of the rear pinion bearing, which also broke the internal area of the banjo housing that supports the rear pinion bearing. That also caused the failure of a nice set of 3.78 gears with 10 spline pinion.

[Brian]

Eric, Thank you for your kind offer, but it's all fixed; I had a spare or two....
John, Yes, I am only too thankful there was nothing broken in the rear end. That is why I drained the oil- [quick check]. That rear end is running the crownwheel and pinion you donated to the cause after the unfortunate accident, and I am most appreciative of you for sending it. Thank you again!
That outboard pinion bearing that failed on you, was it a new bearing? When I originally built my Columbia, I fitted all new bearings including that outboard bearing. Hadn't done many miles when I had the accident, which, amongst other carnage, bent the Columbia housing. Upon stripping the Columbia, that outer bearing, even though it was USA made, was shot!! I posted about it on here at the time. I now always use genuine Ford bearings there now, even though they are used, they are better [by far!!] quality than the new replacements. Maybe that was the cause of your diff failure as above?

[cas3]

That rear bearing is a weak point. Wish the was a good answer to the problem