Axle ID: Contest!
It seems like there are no new ideas in axles after all. CRD 60s and dropouts with an inspection cover were all the rage back in 1934. I guess we all forgot about it for a while. This axle is about 14 inches in overall diameter. The owner doesn’t know what the ring gear size is, but I bet it would rival a 1-ton. The separate pinion drops out like the 14-bolt, and the carrier drops out the bottom/front, and it has a fullsize inspection cover rotated up on the back/top. Not sure what the big nuts by the bearing on the rear cover were. I’m guessing those hi/low drain plugs on the front are where they were going to plumb the cooler for the ’34 Trophy Truck project that never got off the ground.
Jeff Mello
Via email
Jeff, as a regular contributor you come up with some weird and wonderful stuff. It sure looks like a CRD design, and all the important stuff for our use, from a car in the ’30s! I think the bolts on top of the cover may be carrier cap bolt retainers—it prevents the carrier cap or bolts from moving during high torque loads. Let’s see if any of our readers can identify what they are and what the axle is from to win a 4WOR license plate. Readers?
Reader Rant
What D Heck?
Since when have word definitions been allowed to be randomly changed? Is it just to suit a new generation? The question in February’s In Box about tow hooks and shackles (“Ultimate Hook”) seems to have been answered by either a high school student or a politician. A hook (not sure why this needs explaining) is a metal object bent at least 180 degrees, used to grab. A shackle is the object that connects a leaf spring to the frame but still allows movement. A clevis is the U-shaped connector with either a pin or a bolt slid thru the end, which closes the U and retains a rope, cable, or strap. A D-ring is a metal protrusion in the shape of a D, with the flat side usually welded to a bumper and a hole in the center that allows a clevis or a bolt to be attached. With objects being randomly renamed it’s no wonder today’s kids are so confused. I’m glad he didn’t ask what a snatch block was!
Denny Patterson
Via email
Yes, Denny, we were truly simplifying our terminology for high school students and politicians in that answer. Your explanation of the D-ring is far better indeed. However, does a hook really need to be bent a full 180 degrees to hook, or to grab, as you say?
Next, yes, a shackle is a part of a leaf spring suspension, commonly appearing as two plates and two bolts or even an “H” design with two bolts. But before this design a shackle was made as a U-shaped link, and sometimes with a plate connecting the ends that made it look like a D and is indeed a shackle. Before that, a shackle was a U-shaped device with a pin connecting the ends and was used as a hand or leg cuff retaining device, which—guess what—is the same design as a clevis. And they all looked like the letter D. Hmm.
Now then: Warn, Superwinch, Rugged Ridge, and others call this device a “D shackle,” as it is in the shape of a D. But is it? Yes, but not a D-ring, which is where we were unclear. A D-ring is best described as a captive loop that cannot be removed under normal circumstances, while a shackle or a clevis can be removed via the pin or bolt.
Regardless, the gist of the discussion was that a D-ring cannot be quickly accessed by a strap when seconds count, because of its closed nature. A hook is fastest, and a clevis/shackle is better than a D-ring. Thanks for pointing this out! Next time, the snatch block, sheave, and so forth, discussion.
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