banjo toqure tube

[jiw1]

hi guys,i have been reading some threads on the banjo rear axle.i am in the process of rebuilding a 46 ford rear end to replace the one in a 46 mercury.is the ford toqure tube the same as the mercury? for starters attached are 4 pictures of the drive shaft.the first 2 are where the center bearing is and 3&4 is where the front seal and roller bearing is.does this drive shaft look usable ? or can it be repaired? the drive shaft measures 67 23/32" or 67.718"in lenght.is this correct for 46 mercury coupe? also i have been soaking the toqure tube in a pipe filled with 50/50 automatic trans fluid and diesel fuel and can't seem to get the center bearing to turn.any suggestions are welcome,i am hoping JM35sedan will jump in.thanks guys,john

[RobR'35]

Where the bearing rides on the spline end Fords wear limit was .005 under. They'd say replace the shaft.
Yours looks excessively pitted.

[JSeery]

There are ways to repair a surface like that, but probably cost prohibitive.

[rotorwrench]

New center bearings are available. The differences between Mercury and Ford were from the firewall forward so the rear axle & torque tube should be the same from 46 through 48.
I don't have a Mercury specific parts book in those years so I can't confirm that. You may have to find another drive shaft. I don't know any way to repair that.

[cas3]

in the model T world we weld up the drive shaft and turn it back to size. why wont that work here? good shafts are getting hard to find

[Seth Swoboda]

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I would replace that shaft no question.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by cas3

in the model T world we weld up the drive shaft and turn it back to size. why wont that work here? good shafts are getting hard to find

Another method we used at Boeing was to plate a surface and grind them back to size. I also have experience with large electric motor rebuilds. The shafts are often welded up and machined to size. But it would probably be cheaper to just replace it.

[rotorwrench]

The Model T was more limited on torque than the V8. Shafts can be welded but it has to be precision ground back to diameter tolerance since it is a bearing journal. Welding can harm the hardness of the surface if not carefully controlled with the proper filler material and technique. Grinding and hard chrome plating back to size might be an alternative but it might be hard to find a shop that can do it.

I'd rather look for a better shaft myself. I'm sure there are still some good used parts out there. A new shaft could be made but a person would have to trust the person making it to get it right. It might be a bit expensive too.

[JM 35 Sedan]

John, that shaft does look like a good candidate for replacement, but the final decision might be determind by the surface condition in the area where the front TT lip seal and the roller bearing contact the shaft. I don't think the 46-48 drive shafts are that difficult to find. Somehow, I wound up with one, maybe thinking it was a 1" shorter 37 to 41 shaft until I measured its length.
That center bearing sounds like it also needs to be replaced. Skip Haney sells replacement center bearings, and that's what I'm planning to use in the next rear I rebuild. The design of his center bearing will compensate for the wear caused by failure of the original center bearing.

[Tinker]

i'll play devils advocate here. i'd just run it. Couple pits arent going to sear anything, but i bet it last a good while.

[jiw1]

morning guys, thanks for all the input.i will start looking for another shaft.jm,thank you for the info on the new center bearing by skip,i will be in contact with him.has any of you ever taken the center bearing out and have been able to reuse it??thanks again

[Talkwrench]

So what are the splines like ?? some get quite worn........

[jiw1]

talkwrench, i am working on sending some pictures

[RobR'35]

That's a bunch of wear. Excessive lash.
What does the splines on the pinion look like?

[jiw1]

hera are some pix of splines

[Bill Batson]

jiw

I may have a good one for you if you haven't found one. Let me know and I'm just south of Manhattan Ill if that's close to you.

I believe it came out of a 1940 so I'll check the length.

Bill

[Bill Batson]

Yes - the one I have is a 1940 and 1 inch too short.

[JM 35 Sedan]

I believe I have a good on my stash, but shipping would probably be expensive.

[jiw1]

hi bill, thank you for the offer

[jiw1]

JM 35, hav'ent found one yet so i am interested.can you PM me on price.thank you,john