1952 3/4ton rear axle question

[Wizzlepig]

Hi!

New here, just doing little projects with my truck- latest project is working on the brakes.

Well.

Prior to that is getting the wheels off the back end, and since somebody put rims on the truck that don't fit over the end of the hub (the outer edge of the axle assembly sticks out past the shaft of the hub about 1/3"), I will need to

-get new rims that fit over the axles
-yank the axles
-pull the old rims off and swap out the tires
-put the axles back

Someone suggested I take the axles to a machine shop and get the edges shaved down, but that does not look like too good of an idea now that I look at it closer- there's not enough metal between the bolt holes for the axle and the outer edge of the axle. Initially I thought maybe these were off a slightly different year/model, but now the wrong-size-rims scenario seems like a more likely answer.

OK! Long lead up to the question- I have heard that these sealed-system rear end trucks can be a real nightmare to work on, and, no matter what, don't go yanking any of it apart unless you know what you are doing.

Then I have people telling me "Just yank the axles out, it'll be fine."

I bought this truck to work on with my dad, and he went and died on me, so no more calls to him for help.

Any help with my project would be greatly appreciated.

[whitedog76]

Not for sure what you are exactly asking. The 3/4 ton and larger trucks had full floating axles. They didn't have a torque tube setup like the 1/2 ton and cars.

This may help.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...4ctsm0412.html

A simplified picture.

http://www.dieselhub.com/tech/semi-v...ing-axles.html

[abig84]

yeah if it has the big hub sticking through the rims with 8 bolts on it you can just unbolt them and pull them out. just make sure theres no tension on them, like the axle is jacked up or in neutral with the wheels blocked and just pull them out. i really dont know how you can cover that hub,except for a hub cap

[mr48chev]

Took me a minute to figure out what you were up against but it looks like someone put later model wheels on it an maybe Ford or Dodge wheels with a smaller center hole.

The old car manual link that whitedog76 showed is from the factory service manual for your 52 truck. You can find those online for about 30 well spent dollars in reprint editions and sometimes on Ebay for an old copy. Make sure that you get the 52 supplement with the manual. Just put 1952 chevrolet truck factory service manual in the search. That manual will get used a lot and answers a lot of questions that come up and they are written so if you can read you can understand them. The service manual writers in those days didn't assume that mechanics had a masters degree in engineering and explained things in simple language and explained them step by step.

[Wizzlepig]

Oh, thank you, everybody! I will see about that work now- glad to know I can just pull the axles. Now, to find a suitable set of wheels to replace the ones I have.

[whitedog76]

Ford F250 and E350 wheels fit the best. Look for Pre-97 for the F250 and pretty much all the E250/E350 will do.

Most Dodge rims have deeper offset. Same goes for GM rims. Get a tape measure and straight edge before you buy anything. 4.25" backspace is about all you can have.

[Wizzlepig]

Whew! That was not nearly as nightmarish as I expected- and I discovered several bonus things in taking it apart:

1. The rims for the truck are front and rear (they're a set, but slightly different shapes), and whoever worked on it last put the rear wheels on the front, and the front on the rear- which is why they wouldn't fit over the hubs- the fronts aren't meant to fit over the rear hub.

2. The rear hubs (which were too big to get the rims over) have a kind of cap-ring on them- that's the part that was too big. Imagine a washer with holes in it for the bolts that hold the axle in place, which sits on top of the face of the axle itself. I was expecting what's shown here http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...4ctsm0412.html , but it turned out I could yank that cap piece, pull the wheel off, and leave the axle be. YAY!

3. It looks likely that if I pull the rear drum, I will have to yank the cap again (bummer)

4. And, lastly, apparently after leaving the truck sitting for a couple of months, the right front drum brake has locked up. Jerk! I assume I can get down there and back it off... it won't even roll right now without making... mmm... how would I call that- crunching, spoon in the disposall noises? I backed it up about 2 feet and decided that was a no-go.

Thanks again everyone for the help and info. I may just get this thing roadworthy!