On Wed, 2 Aug 1995, Mr Andy Smith wrote:
> On the subject of my rubbing rear wheels :
>
> Is there any difference between a rear axle for a steel wheeled midget and
> a wire wheeled one. Yes I KNOW there is for an MGB!
>
> I don't think there is, I checked my parts lists, and the wire wheel half
> shafts fit fine OK, so I guess I have a wire wheel axle (or a generic axle
> if there is indeed no difference)..
>
> If anyone can shed some definitive light on this question, let me know.
I bought a bugeye that had wire wheels installed by putting wire wheel
half shafts from a later spridget in the bugeye housing. The wire wheel
half shafts are each 9/16 shorter than the steel wheel bugeye half
shafts. When inserted in the conventional axle housing, only about 1/2
inch of the axle's splines engage with the splines in the differential,
vs. about an inch of the conventional axle.
I strongly suspect that spridget wire wheel axle housings are narrower
than solid wheel housings. If you don't know this, you can stick ww axles
in a solid wheel axle housing, but your power is being transmitted through
half the normal spline length. Since this is a point where axles
sometimes fail even when the transmission length is proper, it seems to me
there is a high chance of finding yourself by the side of the road.
If you have ww's on a solid axle housing, it should increase the track by
an inch. If the rubbing is taking place on the outer edges of the tires,
I would investigate this as a possible reason. Pull your half shaft,
smear some paint on the splines, re-insert it and wiggle it around, and
pull it to see how much of the splines engage. If it is about 1/2 inch, I
would say you likely have ww shafts in a solid wheel axle.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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