'36 H8 rear springs.

Geoff

I'm having great difficulty getting the drive shaft in - the shaft appears too long. either that or the springs are in the wrong way round. The spline is fully inserted as far as it will go, and I can't get the rear universal joint into it's position on the pinion flange. Can someone please tell me if the '36 rear springs have the downward-turned eye to the front or the rear? This one has it on the front, and if it's the wrong way round, this would account for the rear end being too far forward by 1-1/2".

Geoff.

Park_W

Geoff, the downward eye is indeed at the front. Very clear on some chassis photos of my '36. But I seem to recall that if the suspension is fully relaxed, as when the car is supported by the frame rather than the axle, that the shaft is hard to get in. If that's the way you have it, try it with the axle raised to normal position relative to the frame.

[Deleted User]

Hello Geoff,



My 36 Terraplane also has the downward eye toward the front. I had the same problem with my drive shaft, it was very tight. I thought it was because I had the springs taken a part and cleaned and they might have re-arched them while they were at it. By doing so it would have moved the differential slightly forward, making the shaft fit tight.

Geoff

Thank you Park and Scott, for confirming this for me. The car is sittin g donw on it's springs, so the axle should be bac in thenormal position. I'll try putting some weight in the trunk and see if that stretches things a bit. this car has not been on the road for many years, and I have just done the brakes, rings, valves, transmission and u-joints. In the process I found things that had been "bodgied" by previous owners, so thought I better check about the spring position, as they have obviously been worked on at some stage. I have previously come across cars that have had the springs put in backwards.

Geoff.

Unknown

GEOFF, IF I'm not mistaken , when the car sits on the springs the shaft is relatively level as it should be, and when you jack up the car the distance from tranny to rearend would INCREASE a little, but takeing ALL the wght off the arch might have an effect on it . BUD

junkcarfann

37 Terraplane#2 wrote:

GEOFF, IF I'm not mistaken , when the car sits on the springs the shaft is relatively level as it should be, and when you jack up the car the distance from tranny to rearend would INCREASE a little, but takeing ALL the wght off the arch might have an effect on it . BUD

That's right...when the car is jacked up, and the weight is off the springs, the distance is greater than when the car is sitting normally. So something is wrong.



If you cannot get it in normally, forcing the driveshaft in, and then driving the car and it hits a bump could cause the driveshaft to force the transmission forward, damaging something $$$ along the way.



If the car has been messed with, and there is no other option, and you cannot find why, take the driveshaft to a driveshaft shop and have them shorten it a bit.

Geoff

Wrong sorry! With the car body jacked up, and the weight off the springs, the arch of the spring increases, therefore decreasing the distance between the pinion and the transmission. I got the drive shaft in by loading the trunk with three 4-gallon drums of petrol and four hudson cylinder heads, and a transmission, then jumping up and down on the back bumper. This flattened the springs, and increased the distance, and allowed me to install the u-joint in the pinion flange, after first removing the caps. Once located I installed the caps, and tightened up. However, I am not happy with the situation, as I agree that the possibility of the shaft bottoming in the front spline is dangerous, so I will consult with the car owner and see what he wants done about it.

Geoff.