Axle-Flex 34-35 How to Grease?

RL Chilton wrote:

Can't help on your query, but in your photo, I noticed the leaves are wrapped in what appears to be leather? Is that an original wrapping?

Those are the original lace-up leather spring gaitors on front and rear halves of all four springs on the car. Overall, they are in very good, but certainly not perfect, condition.



Adding a photo of the gaitor on the rear of the left front spring which is exceptionally nice.

tigermoth wrote:

do they match any other zerk that is currently ON the car? if so, temporarily rob one for the lube operation. regards, tom

No, they don't. As far as I am concerned, this is a unique thread and I have never seen a grease fitting that had this thread.

Okay, on this McMaster Carr page http://www.mcmaster.com/#grease-fittings/=8vxaso there is item 2408K17 which is a 1/4" x 19 thread per inch BSPT (British Standard Thread) fitting. They are packages of ten (car has 8 joints - one could either move one fitting around 8 times or just leave them in).



Reidy377, could your count per inch of threads have been off by "one" considering the original plugs coming out of the Axle-Flex are only three threads long? This is the only straight, zinc-plated grease fitting I see in McMaster's extensive listing that comes close to the specification requirement.



I'm ready to order a pack of 2408K17s at $8.44 and suggest other Axle-Flex owners consider doing the same (including early Railton owners? and '34 Nash owners) if we are going to keep these things lubricated and potentially avoid having to come up with whatever bearings are inside to do the rebuild.

I think at this point, we can agree that IF we could agree on what the three short threads measure up as on these A-F plugs, there is very probably a fitting on the two page list at Mc Master Carr that will fit.

Here are some facts and a solution for greasing Axle-Flex (A/F) equipped cars.



The plugs in the center of the joints are 1/4" x 20 thread count per inch. How do I know? Because I can take a 1/4 x 20 bolt and turn it in with my fingers until it bottoms and there is no wobble; it is a perfect fit at that thread size.



So I took a half inch long quarter inch bolt and first cut it off with a hack saw to the same length as the original copper plugs that are in the A/F. Then I drilled a 1/8" straight through the center of the bolt, end to end. I then took out a new straight small standard grease zerk, the size that has the 12 x 24 thread on it (see photo) and chose a drill size to accommodate my tap. I don't have the formal chart for which drill to use: I guess. I drilled the depth plus of the new grease fitting and tapped it with the 12 x 24 tap. Then threaded the zerk into the bolt head until quite tight. This is my new A/F joint greasing tool.



I install this tool and grease until I see evidence, remove, and reinstall the factory plug. I repeat this process at each joint. The 1/4 x 20 bolt is such a perfect thread fit that there is no grease coming out around its threads even under significant gun pressure to these stiff dry joints.



This wasn't rocket science; just required some good old American ingenuity.



Is your Axle-Flex greased this evening?



Photo shows the home made bolt-and-zerk tool leaning against my striping brush and also another new small standard zerk.