Hi All!
The front spindle of the XKE that I am reassembling for a friend of mine has been rechromed.
As I am doing the reassembly, can someone please tell me the exact distance the sub axel is supposed to extend?
My concern is the added chrome…
Anyone have any pictures of the reassembly? I do have the parts manual, however it is not clear (to me) on how to reassemble, what the different parts are…
Many thanks in advance!
Bob
The spindles are NOT supposed to be chromed! How on earth are you even going to get the bearings on???
Regards,
Ray L.
Assuming you can get the bearings on, I would hope that the spindles were baked correctly after chroming to remove hydrogen embrittlement - a spindle is the last thing you’d want to fail under stress.
Bob I measured one that I was working on today at 4.430." By the by the spindle was never chromed, in fact I don’t believe it was ever plated with anything; they were usually painted black. You are talking about the spindle, and not the stub axle? If the stub axle is chromed, as Ray says you won’t get the bearings onto it, unless the chrome has been ground down to size. Chroming and grinding stub axles to take up wear was something that was done years ago but not so much today, as you can buy a Jaguar stub axle for much less. If the stub axle protrudes only slightly further (a few thousands of an inch) than stock it probably doesn’t matter as long as the inner race on the outer bearing has not bottomed on the outer shoulder of the stub axle as you tighten the nut down on it. Hard to explain.
Terry Sturgeon
Hi Terry,
The spindle was not chromed, however the vertical stub axle was. I have not tried to fit the bearing yet.
Will keep all informed how this goes. May be awhile as I need to order bearings.
Thanks,
Bob
Bob I would recommend against trying to use a chromed stub axle unless you know for certain that it was done properly. By that I mean you know it was treated for hydrogen embrittlement after chroming. They are readily available new (SNG Barratt part no C19423) and are not particularly expensive.
Terry Sturgeon
Hello Terry,
Sorry, I guess I need to learn more… The PN you mention I was calling the spindle (SNG calls it Stub Axle Shaft). This has NOT been rechromed.
The larger vertical metal piece that this PN fits into (horizontally) was not rechromed.
I did measure the distance, this evening, of the stub axle shaft axle (PN C19432) inserted into the vertical carrier and it was also what you measured… it was 4.430".
Thanks,
Bob
Bob,
Now I’ve very confused. If neither of these parts were chromed, what chromed piece are we talking about?
Also NOTE: nothing here can be “rechromed”, as “rechromed” implies it was chromed in the first place, which is not the case - all these parts were CAD plated originally, or not plated at all.
Confused…
-David
Ok, here is a picture… Not my part but another that was not chromed… The pic points out what was chromed on the XKE that I am redoing. Thanks, Bob
Bob - One last thing. Take a tape measure and note a point on the stub axle 4 inches from the big end of the axle. By big end I mean the end with the longest threads. The inner bearing rides on that point between 4 inches and 4.375 inches from the big end. Carefully inspect this area for wear. If you can feel a high ridge on one side at the 4" mark or your fingernail catches on a ridge there the axle needs to be replaced. This ridge is caused by the bearing rotating on the axle - it shouldn’t do that but they do. If the axle was still in the upright (that’s what the English call it ) it would be on the bottom side as that’s where the weight is taken.
The picture doesn’t look like chrome - it could be blasted with some media that’s given it a bit of a shine, or may be nickle plating???
’
He said the picture is not of his part.
I’m not sure what the proper name is for that vertical part. Most often I hear it referred to as “the upright”. FYI, no suspension part on a e-type was originally chrome plated. Those that had plating were cadmium plated which is very thin. if you’ve chromed these, that means they were first plated with nickle as a base and nickle is very thick. Expect some fitting challenges like trying to assemble the lower control arms, bolting up the caliper yokes etc… This is why most people plate these parts in cad or zinc.
What people are warning you about is the spindle, the part that pokes out of the upright where the wheel actually attaches, riding on bearings. Were those chromed as well? It’s very possible because it isn’t super easy to separate those parts. If they were then it’s worth it to replace them.
If they weren’t chromed then what is your concern? Are you worried that there might be interference inside the socket they insert into? It’s very possible in which case you’d have to sand/grind off the plating there.
The SNG catalogue lists it as a “Stub Axle Carrier (Vertical Link)”
I wonder if the bolt holes for mounting the brake calipers will need to be reamed after being plated.
Erica, John,
Thanks! The stub Axle Carrier on my friends XKE was chromed. The spindles are new. What helped me out in this case was Terry’s reply with the 4.430" measurement. This is with the spindle snugged up with the lock nut.
Here are some pictures of this. Note, all bolts fit perfect! Tie arms are also new, so no issue with the tie-rods.
Plating is a bit of a crap shoot, in terms of tolerances closing up.
Some platers use a thin “strike” layer of nickel, then Copper, then Chrome/Nickel. It’s the Copper that usually ends up causing a problem when the plater leaves it in the bath too long.
I talk through each job with my plater and he does the job accordingly. A few years back I forgot to mention the piston bore in a Varamatic steering box and ended up having to hone most of the top layer back down into the Copper. (If a casting looks porous to him he does a Nickel strike, then a layer of Copper, then Zinc - he spends the time to mask threaded holes etc. for the Copper bath.)
Somebody went to some SERIOUS work, polishing those suckers!!!
