Crush 9" Crush Sleeves Easily:

If you have ever built a 9" Ford third member, the hardest part is getting the crush sleeve crushed to allow the proper pre-load on the pinion bearings. You need a really hard hitting impact wrench with a really big compressor to get it done, and most of us don't have that luxury at home. This is my solution:

I built a simple fixture that would hold the pinion,bearings, crush sleeve, bearing retainer and yoke together as an assembly so that I could tighten the pinion nut and crush the sleeve for proper pre-load.

The fixture is a simple piece of heavy 3/8" thick angle iron that is drilled to allow the yoke to bolt to it, there is also a hole bored in it that will allow a socket to tighten the pinion nut. Mine is bolted to an "I" beam that I use to straighten out rearend housings. The "I" beam is bolted to the side of my old Bradford lathe. Whatever you bolt it to, it has to be very sturdy as it has to take some abuse.




A trip to a local swap meet turned up a heavy duty 1 1/16" 3/4" drive socket and a socket adapter. The heavy duty socket is needed as 1/2" drive sockets and breaker bars will usually shatter, ask me how I know. The socket adapter had a 7/8" hole in it. A trip to a boneyard turned up a 7/8" torsion bar which I cut to 36" in length. The torsion bar will be the lever that turns the socket, it is hardened, and it will not break or bend.




The whole pinion assembly is bolted to the fixture, and the pinion nut it tightened until the proper pre-load is acheived. I use my body weight to slowly push the torsion bar and the sleeve is crushed with ease. The 36" length easily allows the sleeve to crush. No more broken sockets, breaker bars or bench mounted vices!!

I had a very similar tool a long time ago... Bolted it up and swung it up to teh undercarriage or frame somewhere tehn went to town...

Only used it once and was told I got the pre-load too tight... so I stopped doing it

That works!

I usually pre-crush them a little before assembly, but thats even better, because once you get them moving you can keep going

Good idea

...or use a solid spacer.

Ross is right though....slick idea.

Originally Posted by blykins

...or use a solid spacer.
Ross is right though....slick idea.

Solid spacer is the way to go. Assemble and disassemble with no problem. It is also stronger

With the spacer (aka "crush sleeve eliminator") you still need to crush an actual sleeve first, using the standard procedure. Then you remove it, measure it with a micrometer (very carefully!) and reinstall the eliminator along with the correct, precision, shim(s). The eliminator just keeps the sleeve from crushing any more under severe operation.

Originally Posted by cweagle

With the spacer (aka "crush sleeve eliminator") you still need to crush an actual sleeve first, using the standard procedure. Then you remove it, measure it with a micrometer (very carefully!) and reinstall the eliminator along with the correct, precision, shim(s). The eliminator just keeps the sleeve from crushing any more under severe operation.

No not really. There is a very clear selection process described in the Ford procedure. You start with a reference spacer and torque. Once torqued, you measure play and select the correct thickness spacer and you're done.

A Ford pro told me that Ford eliminated solids on the assy line years ago in favor of the crush sleeve so that's all I use now.

I've always used the crush bearings, and I have never had them loosen up, even on my circle track car after several hundred laps. As a matter of fact, I have bought several complete third members from Nascar teams, and they have all had crush bearings in them.

I prefer the spacer too, but also have never had a crush tube fail.

I like the spacer mostly because if the seal leaks, you can just zonk it back down with an impact, without pulling the pinion housing out.

Other than that, never a failure with a crush tube, even launching a 399 FE with a Predator carb on nitrous with my truck on a truck pull in the old days

Tom,
I just had to move this to Tech Exchange. Thanks.