Hi looking for some advice
This 1934 couple has a suspension type I have not worked on before it has 2 parallel links joining each side there does not appear to be very much play in those bearing end also no grease nipples what kind of bearing is in the link ends ? roller bearing maybe if it was a bronze bearing I would think it would have a grease nipple
The spring shackle ends have a heap of wear and play in them ...are they a bronze bearing ? I have a lathe and could make new bearings the spring end bushes all have grease nipples
I would like to know before i pull it apart it is fairly average in the steering and wanders on a bumpy road I think mainly the shackle bushes are the problem
Are new ones available if so where would I get them from or if just bronze I would turn them up in my lathe
regards Ray Hudson
Ray,
Your car has "Axleflex", which was an option in 1934 and i935. I have a 1935 Hudson, but it does not have Axleflex, just an ordinary axle. I don't have any experience with Axleflex, but I was surprised when looking at one, that there are no grease fittings on it.
There is a Mechanical Procedure Manual for Hudson and Terraplane, 1934 to 1937. I assume this manual is available online at the HET library. The manual shows that there are pins and roller bearings. The screws at the end of the pins (8 of them) can be removed to put grease in. The manual says to do this each 10,000 miles. It is likely that this may never have been done! If the system doesn't flex at all, I'd recommend not taking it apart. My car handles nicely with its ordinary axle. However, if it does flex a little bit, it might be worthwhile taking out the eight screws; hopefully grease fittings can fit in the holes to lubricate them. For situations like this, I have seen recommendations to use a penetrating fluid (such as a half-and-half mixture of acetone and automatic transmission fluid) to get the system moving before putting grease in it.
I don't have experience with taking the shackles apart.
Per
Thanks for the information that explains a lot I knew I had never seen a suspension like it
My pins do not have any or very little play I them and are free so I will pull the caps off and put some grease in the problem is the shackles bushes they let the spring lean over with a beam axle it would not be as big a problem I think so I will bring the spring shackle bushes back to brand new I and make all the parts needed and it should make it steer a lot better
Not sure if I will use a self lubricating engineering plastic for the bush or just Bronze I will pull it apart and have a look if the pins are worn I can make them as well but with that type of front end the spring shackles bushes need to be really good
Ray,
The manual shows that the shafts in the shackles are threaded, so the ends can be unscrewed. I've seen questions about whether all of them are right hand thread, or some are left hand thread. Hopefully someone will supply information about this.
Per
There is a 1934-1937 service manual in the online library.
Hudsonly,
Alex B
AxleFlex (aka, the Baker Articulated Axle) was used in Nashes and Hudsons for only a couple years essentially, so they could claim to have independent type front suspension in response to GM's knee-action front end. It really wasn't the greatest design as it forced the front leaf springs to twist - as we know... leaf springs are designed to flex up and down in a single plane. The twisting caused by AxleFlex would break leafs as well as wear out the shackle bushings.
My 34H8 had AxleFlex however, when I restored the car I changed to a straight axle (and of course kept the original Baker set-up as a conversation piece!). I've seen different solutions to"fixing" the handling problems AxleFlex can create including welding a plate across the two parallel horizontal beams to prevent them from moving.
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