Center Steering Bell Crank Installation?

Good morning!

Many thanks to Ric, Balin, and Josh for their responses. The part in question is the "wishbone" that Josh refers to.

I have counted spring leaves and they are Kosher. I will again draw the main spring retainer plate nuts for the last time ever-I hope- (I had been waiting for new nylon-insert ones to arrive) up fully tight and measure the vertical space. If need be I will machine a washer to bridge the gap.

This car never fails to amaze me with its innovative, unique, and special maintenance, or nonmaintainable, characteristics, some of which accurately reflect Mr Cord's idea (purportedly, anyway) that one should buy a new car after 2 years !! This will not be my Hop-in-the-car-and-head-for Cleveland-mobile.

Anyway, I am hoping to have Brakes and Steering complete and operational in time for Auburn. And I'll be armed with my digital camera to record how the rest of the drive train is assembled.

Again, MANY THANKS to Ric, Balin, and Josh!!!!!!

-Tom

Let's return to Tom's question: the center steering bolt, on which the "intermediate steering arm" pivots. That's the factory's term for the Y-shaped unit up front that owners call the "wishbone". Its accuracy is critical to the steering on a Cord.

1. The double ball bearing at the center of the arm is a single unit that was originally hourglass-shaped. It's a New Departure 916, and is hard to find but there are some out there. It had no provision for lubrication --- ND thought that it ws lubricated "for life". The later version of the same bearing had a uniform cylindrical diameter. JK Howell used to sell these with a slot ground in the side to permit lubrication. Maybe he still has them.

2. The bearing is clamped between a bracket on the frame and the front spring retainer. There are no washers or springs or seals in here. If there is too much space, then you may have a extra leaf in your front spring, installed by some long-ago owner. If you cannot find a reason for the extra space, have a washer machined to take it up. This setup must have no vertical play.

3. It is imperative that the pivot bolt not be permitted to wiggle sideways either. The pivot hole in the frame is usually worn egg-shaped, and the hole in the cast bracket is not always tight. Howell sells a kit, including new bolt and nut, to correct this permanently.

4. The bolt should always be installed from the bottom up. A nylon insert in the replacement nut makes sure that it never falls out.

To order from Howell, call Bob Freund at (847)735-1906. I don't know if Stan's Auburn-Cord Parts stocks these, but you can check.

There's a series on the Cord chassis coming in the Newsletter later this year that covers this and other issues.

Hi! I believe you are describing the outer u-joint set-up. You are correct in lubricating the joint by means of the plug in the centre of the axle shaft. You have to remove the cotter pin, and then the 1/8" plug. I find that most grease guns will thread in nicely if you remove the unit that threads on the output of the gun to enable greasing the "nipples" Some people I knew used to grease the joint using a grease nipple on the upper king pin where the expansion reservoir is supposed to live. (Most have disappeared long ago. This puts grease on the outside of the joint where it doesn't do much good. If you put it through the centre of the axle it gets right to where it is needed. I would not put 1lb into the joint even though it will probably take it. I believe in lubricating little and often. After 1lb goes in, you will be cleaning your whitewalls very frequently! But then that is only true if you are driving the car. If you just run it from the trailer to the judging field, it won't matter what you do! All the best, Ric.

If the bell crank you refer to is the front axle joint cover i'm thinking of, the spindle tapered dowel shaft was held in place from the bottom with a horseshoe type small steel retain yoke and held in place by 3/16 hex bolt.

The entire joint assembly is lubed from a small hole in the center of the outside threaded end of the joint end. It may be hard to detect as it has a threaded headless bolt with a flathead slot cut in it, remove and pump the joint full and all the bearings will get wet and the overflow leaks out, oh well, when it stops leaking you know the joints full !-- <hillbilly approved method>--

I think it takes a little less than a pound of lube to fill the bell and the lube will travel to the outer bearings that should also have there own lube fittings. The zerks on my car dont even have spring loaded ball checks in them there so old. I guess they were never changed to the modern style, they are a pain but they are stock, i think.

I dont remember there being any thrust washers inside but memory is the second thingto go.

There is a book around here with drawings of manual steering boxs and I know there is a Cord type, when I find it I can scan and post them. Most all the steering info today is about the power steering types.
There is a center drag bar that has a bearing with play. Mine lays on top of another bar but it works fine.

Its always a problem to guess what the handful of parts would look like complete when you dont have a complete one to compare them with.

Everything Cord on the front end was unique so there is no modern mechanical equivelent to compare them with.

But dont you agree they just as good a car as ever designed ! Otherwise we would not go to all this just to ride in them,

post a picture so we can see what your working on,

It has been so long ago since I did my bearing replacement, I have forgotten much of what I did. I do remember that I added a greese fitting so that I could lubricate the centre bearing. I'm sure younger experts will be able to advise you better about doing this. Ric.

As many members may know, my 812 (a re-numbered 810) came to me largely in boxes of parts that had been undisturbed since 1950 or so. As a result, I don't have the benefit of knowledge that would have come from having disassembled most of the car myself. I was 13 months old when it was disassembled, and I neglected to take notes.

It is my hope to have the body rolling with steering and brakes for Auburn this year. Yes--some measurable progress! I am ready to install the center steering bell crank, and I have a few questions. The two bearings in the bell crank turn freely and turn smoothly and have no slop, so I do not plan to replace them. I note there is no provision for lubricating them and that the exterior faces are factory-sealed. I do intend to install the pivot bolt into the bearings with Never-Seize--future generations will thank me.

1) There is about 1/8" of vertical travel of the bell crank on the pivot bolt. I also see no provision (or left over parts) for either a top or bottom seal nor for thrust washers above and below the bell crank. A photo of Pat Leahy's project car taken at Auburn reveals neither a seal nor a thrust washer on the bottom of the bell crank. I don't have a photo of the top of the bell crank hub. What should be there, top and bottom, if anything?

2) The photo from Pat's project car also appears to show the pivot bolt being installed from the bottom upwards, rather than from the top down. (It's very rusty though, so I am not 100% sure of this.) It strikes me that in the event of the nut backing off of the bolt, having the bolt trapped in place by gravity would likely be a good thing if one considers the ability to steer to be advantageous. I can see the downside though, of not being able to remove it short of lifting the drive assembly. Barring an excellent reason to the contrary, I am planning on top-down. So--which direction is factory correct, and which direction is recommended?

I look forward to being able to push this chassis around at Auburn as this Cord enters its 56th year of on-going restoration.

Thanks,

---Tom