Outboard shaft question.

[Bodzer]

Hi all,

After dismantling the rear hub carriers I noticed that one of the outboard shafts has been "modified". The outboard bearing area has been ground down to, as far as I can tell, 29mm. My question is, can this be recovered or is it new shaft time?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Pete

[EuropaTC]

Is it 29mm or 30mm  Pete ?  The early Europa used one 31mm bearing which was more expensive to source and I'm sure I recall people converting the axles to use the 30mm bearing as on the later TC.

If it really is 29mm then one way of recovering it would be metal spraying, quite a common process used to reclaim industrial shafts and not too difficult. As to whether that's cheaper than a new shaft I don't know, I suppose it depends if you have someone locally who's recovering pump shafts, etc.

Brian

[jbcollier]

It is not unusual for that bearing area to be ground down to 30 mm to take a commonly available bearing -- by ground I mean precision machined.

[Bodzer]

Thanks for the help.  The original inboard section is the standard S2 31mm. It's the outboard section that has been ground down from 30mm to 29mm.  Brian, thanks for the suggestion of the metal additive process. I know that the major car manufacturers are using it to recycle old engine blocks. As you say, It may be an expensive process plus I would have to factor in shipping to and from Ireland. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

Thanks again.

Pete

[EuropaTC]

If you're thinking of sending the part out of Ireland for refurbishment, I'm sure you could find someone local. Anywhere you have some sort of industry there's bound to be a shop nearby with facilities to do the job. When I was working we used it for pump shafts, both for spinning bearings and if we'd had a seal fail and corrosion take place. The process is simple, they grind the shaft below the level wanted, pop it into something that looks like a lathe and spray metal at it. They go slightly oversize & grind back to what you need, so it's a 3 step process in that application.

It works fine for locating a bearing but adds little or no strength to the shaft, and for that reason alone if I could find a new replacement I would. If you can't get hold of one, or they are silly money then I'd give refurbishment a go.

[Bodzer]

Hi Brian,

I have found a place in Longford here in Ireland. I spoke to them briefly but it sounds possible. Everything shuts down here over the Easter weekend so I shall contact them next week.

Pete

[Gmg31]

Isn't it time we saw some photos of your Else project?