Snaps! A report on axle failure.

[Rosstude]

[StudeRich]

Tapered Axles

Sorry to hear that Ross, it sounds like you were very lucky that you did not lose a fender. Glad to hear your wife is OK and did not hit anything in the process.

I do think it is a bit overkill though, to condemn all of your Studes. axles, since this is a very rare occurrence.

[showbizkid]

OK Ross, I'm convinced. This is now on my list for next year.

[JDP]

Sorry to hear that Ross, it sounds like you were very lucky that you did not lose a fender. Glad to hear your wife is OK and did not hit anything in the process.

I do think it is a bit overkill though, to condemn all of your Studes. axles, since this is a very rare occurrence.

Not as rare as you might think and every year of use increases the risk.

[doug]

I'm just curious but, a flanged axle will not break?

[Rerun]

If possible later, can you post a "close-up" of the failure point on the axle? The location of the break relative to the bearing and/or the key way would be of interest. Also, how many miles are on the axle?

[Bob Andrews]

The ones I've seen fail right at the outboard edge of the inner bearing race; simple fatigue from poor design.

Doug, I have never seen a flanged axle fail unless it has been compromised by impact. It's a cute lil' Stude quirk

[BobPalma]

I'm just curious but, a flanged axle will not break?

At some point, Doug; of course. But AFAIK, no one has been able to break these Moser Engineering-manufactured flanged axles marketed by Fairborn Studebaker.

Consider: Most of the higher-horsepower Studebakers at The Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race have been running the Fairborn/Moser axles for years. Prototype axles were first fitted to Ted Harbit's Stude Tomato and AFAIK, they are still in it. The Plain Brown Wrapper has had F/M flanged axles at least seven years, probably longer.

Both of those cars really will "dyno" close to 400 hp at the rear wheels, and few things will stress axles like the hard launches Ted Harbit must engage to consistently turn 12-second elapsed times in those cars.

Check out the Moser Engineering / Portland IN website and you'll see that the company makes even stronger axles for enormous, gazillion-HP race cars, and has now been doing so for two generations, so these axles manufactured for Studebaker applications are stronger than anyone could possibly need for street use....heck, even for drag racing, as has been proven conclusively. Few things are a better investment.

The original tapered-axle design wasn't all that weak and served Studebaker well. But it was obsolete by the late 1950s; Studebaker recognized that toward the end and had flanged axles standard on even Model 27 differential cars by the time manufacturing ceased in Hamilton.

Earlier, flanged axles were kind of a "secret" option that crept in sometime in 1963. The Production Orders for the five early 1964 cars destined for the 1964 model-year Bonenville promotional work have Option 75: Flanged Axles specified, with ratios from 3.07 to 3.54:1, depending on the car (three convertibles and two Hawks; all built June 27, 1963). But if you look on the 1964 Ordering Guide, Option 75 is simply "Optional Axle Ratio," the code for ordering you would use if you didn't want what normally came with the engine and transmission for the car being ordered. (The flanged-axle specification is not a hand-written "Code 99" Option on the Production Orders for those cars; it is a regular line item that specifically says Flanged Axles.)

The problem today, almost 50 full years since the last tapered-axle Studebaker was manufactured, is one of age-induced fatigue. Jim Pepper has discussed various stress cycles in the tapered axles; the more they are used and the older they are, the more likely they are to fail, period. Every tapered-axle Studebaker extant is being used decades longer than it was expected and designed to be in service, so we must account for that reality in accommodating our car's needs.

Flanged axles are a good idea. BP

[jackb]

interesting how this thread mixes in with why younger folks aren't interested in older cars....mmmm....and by direct admission...would they know a flanged axle from a tapered one if it bit them in the trunk ?

[leyrret]

Tapered axles were common it many different makes. Not just Studebaker. The Stude axles were available NOS the last time I checked. A contributing factor may be a shock load caused by loose bearings. Just a theory. I broke one in a Jeep, but it snapped right at the spline.

[black56hawk]

I'm sure time and wear and fatigue have made Studebaker tapered axles weaker than they originally were, but were they ever very strong?

My dad bought a 56 Golden Hawk in the spring of 1960, with 50,000 miles on it. He traded it for a new car in November of 1962, right after the odometer turned over 100,000 miles. In that two and a half years, he broke TWO axles.

Needless to say, the 56 Golden Hawk I own today has flanged axles, and my 63 Daytona conv. which is in the body shop will get flanged axles before it goes back on the road.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Dana made flanged axles for a host of companies throughout the years.
Studebaker was but one customer.
Also...
Think about this from a manufacturing point of view.
BIG forging stamping machines and dies cost a ton of money (pun intended).
Dana could do a flange and a straight round axle shaft with much smaller machines than an axle with an integral flange.
Pennies count in the manufacturing game.

As a side note, here's some interesting Dana history (PDF):

http://www.dana.com/wps/wcm/connect/097e5b0041f72806a24eaaccfdf8ffab/dext-NewDanaComplete.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

[ozarkman]

I think I see a few sets of flanged axles in my future! I'm also going to look into a dual master for the Hawk. That's just too scary to think about!

Tapered axles were common it many different makes. Not just Studebaker. The Stude axles were available NOS the last time I checked. A contributing factor may be a shock load caused by loose bearings. Just a theory. I broke one in a Jeep, but it snapped right at the spline.

I've seen flanged axles broken at the splines, and twisted in Jeeps. I have personaly broken the spider gears in my '06 as well. Jeep will tell you that its from abusive off road driving. I, and many other off roaders, know that the Dana 35 is just too weak for off road use.

[BobPalma]

I'm sure time and wear and fatigue have made Studebaker tapered axles weaker than they originally were, but were they ever very strong?

No, they were never as strong as comparable flanged axles...and 1956 Golden Hawks, with all that low-end grunt, would have stressed them more than probably any other Studebaker, possibly including R-engine cars! The Packard V-8 had a lot of torque, and torque is twisting, and tapered axles and twisting are a bad combination.

That said, there are two service factors contributing to tapered-axle failure down through the years:

1. Infrequently-serviced rear wheel bearings. Obviously, if the bearings are not properly greased and adjusted, they could induce high-than-average running temperatures on the axles, hastening their demise.

2. Improperly tightened rear axle hub nuts. If that large axle nut on the end of the shaft is not tightened properly, up around the 170-ft/lb range, the hub can also "work" on the shaft, again inducing above-average stresses on the shaft because the shaft and hub are not working as one unit. Few service facilities have a torque wrench that reads as high as 170 ft/lb, so many were tightened "by guess and by golly" through the years are were not tight enough. BP

[rusty nut garage]

I work on many studes, from daily drivers to show cars. nearly all show signs of improper axle bearing maintenance. It is very uncommon to find a perfect axle, at least by visual inspection. nearly all have damaged threads from previously incorrect maintenance, pulled threads, mushroomed ends, loose keyways etc. I highly encourage replacement with NOS or flanged kits.

No, they were never as strong as comparable flanged axles...and 1956 Golden Hawks, with all that low-end grunt, would have stressed them more than probably any other Studebaker, possibly including R-engine cars! The Packard V-8 had a lot of torque, and torque is twisting, and tapered axles and twisting are a bad combination.

That said, there are two service factors contributing to tapered-axle failure down through the years:

1. Infrequently-serviced rear wheel bearings. Obviously, if the bearings are not properly greased and adjusted, they could induce high-than-average running temperatures on the axles, hastening their demise.

2. Improperly tightened rear axle hub nuts. If that large axle nut on the end of the shaft is not tightened properly, up around the 170-ft/lb range, the hub can also "work" on the shaft, again inducing above-average stresses on the shaft because the shaft and hub are not working as one unit. Few service facilities have a torque wrench that reads as high as 170 ft/lb, so many were tightened "by guess and by golly" through the years are were not tight enough. BP