Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Jacques Reed]

Hi Tony,

Sorry, did not want to give you a bum steer. That was a SKF number cross-referenced, not a NTN number. And it was 33275 not 33273. Mondayitis on a Tuesday for this guy!

Could not find any SKF to NTN cross reference on the net but checked the dimensions of both NTN and Timken No. 33275 and they both seem to be the same size bearing.

Cheers,

[Private_collector]

Thanks mate! I have also been enlightened by a fellow MLU'er that it is used on the carrier part of diff assembly. It would make sense to have one bearing fit more than one purpose. I am slowly amassing quite a list of bearings & seals that I want to replace.

I discovered yesterday that the welded on brake backing plate (driver side) is also marked RF. So is the left hand side! That means I already have my replacement for the one I will be cutting off, but will need to find a LF one.

I'll post a few photos of the last couple of days work, later tonight, including the damage I found around several teeth of the crown wheel. Something catastrophic has occured some point in the past, but seems to have been rectified. No obvious issues found by me and my father-in-law yesterday. We suspect a big failure of one or both bearings, causing the crown wheel to smack into the casing in two places. Yikes! Must have made quite some noise when it happened. Lots of metal filings in bottom of the casing.

[Private_collector]

Finally finished all the disassembly I can do on the front end.
Disassembled 1.jpg
This is the bearing from inside the wheel hub. So where does the outer wheel seal go??? I didn't find any other seal apart from the large one around the axle tube, Which I thought was the inner seal.
Wheel bearing outer.jpg
Or is the inner seal this one from inside the axle tubes themselves?
Front & rear axle tube oil seal.jpg
The steering assembly on passenger side was easy to clean up without that bloody backing plate that's welded to the driver side.
Pivot passenger side 1.jpg
This isn't good. Several teeth are like this. The chunks must have been flying around inside there, doing all sorts of damage, but by the time I got the truck there was nothing bigger than fine filings inside. The crown wheel has hit on the side of the casing, leaving a huge scar and more missing metal. Would this have been as result of a catastrophic bearing failure???? Current bearings are not damaged, with exception of some very mild rust pitting where oil had drained away from during long periods of storage. All bearings & seals will be replaced in the diff and axle housings. The CV joints will be OK as is. No indications of damage there and they look fine as far as I can tell. I flushed the steering ends out with petrol and looked inside with a flashlight. It's gonna take a massive amount of grease to refill those knuckles again.
Crown Wheel Boo Boo.jpg

[Jacques Reed]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

I discovered yesterday that the welded on brake backing plate (driver side) is also marked RF. So is the left hand side! That means I already have my replacement for the one I will be cutting off, but will need to find a LF one.

Hi Tony,

I have one if you want it. Was going to use it then two NOS plates came along my way many years ago. It's for a F15A but I think all the backing plates are the same, just the front drums are different between the big and small Blitzes, but maybe someone can confirm.
I removed the broken brake adjuster springs, a common problem I have noticed on these vehicles. There is a slight bit of pitting on the bottom corner but otherwise it is in good shape. It was cleaned up in molasses and painted so all you need to do is repaint it to match yours.
Had some new springs made up so can include them with the cams, bolts, and washers so all you need to do is weld the bolts back on to the two cams.
It yours for the postage if you want it.

Cheers,

[Private_collector]

That would be great mate! Thanks very much. I'll send you a PM.


I ordered a strip of felt for the pivot grease seal yesterday. Today it turned up. Wasn't even o/n delivery, but got here fast.
Front pivot sealing felt.jpg
It's just about 8mm x 8mm in section.
When I enquired, they only had this one piece in stock, and at 1.5mt length (5ft) it's more than enough. The store said I might as well take the entire length as it wouldn't be any cheaper if cut because the remnant would be unusable to them. At less than $20.00, I don't mind that at all!

If anyone needs any of this, or anything similar:
B & S WASHER PRODUCTS,
Unit 1, 22 Belconnen Crescent,
BRENDALE, Qld 4500.
Phone: 07 3205 1344
Fax: 07 3205 5049
Email: bswashers@bigpond.com

They are good people to deal with.

[Private_collector]

Earlier this week, I ordered new bearings and seals for the front end. Most were picked up today, but there is still a pair of seals that hasn't been delivered to the bearing shop.
Bearings and seals 1.jpg
There is a new equivelent of the seal that goes into each axle tube.
Front & rear axle tube oil seal.jpg
Original one, solid metal case with leather seal surface.
New front axle tube oil seal 1.jpg
New one, only one sided case and seems to be made from a lightweight plastic of some sort! Feels strange to touch and VERY light.
The bearing guys tell me this is the modern version, and will perform exactly as the original, but has a synthetic seal surface. Lasts longer than original materials too.
Front axle bearings & cups.jpg
These bearing components are replacements for both the wheel bearings/cups and the diff carrier bearings/cups.

The pinion seal, identified in the modern part nos. spreadsheet on MLU as "CR13739" is not correct. I know that for sure. Ordered that part and it's too small! Does anyone know the true part no., please?

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Tony

Always amazes me that the bearing and seals for CMPs are still off the shelf items. Wonder if the trucks being built today will have similar parts availability in 70 years?

Cheers Phil

[Private_collector]

Phil,

In 70 years time the trucks of today won't be around. There'll be nothing left of em, so bearings won't be a problem!

Don't be too upset about that, there won't be any furniture, electronics, or much of anything else still around either. Oh, I tell a lie. According to the Supersize Me documentary, the burger buns from a well known fast food outlet will still look fresh, cause of the preservatives! But that's all. Everything else will be rotting beneath the ground. Including me.

something else about food.........they're NOT bloody 'fries'...........they are chips