Info needed: Steering knuckle felt

[Jordan Baker]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/FELT-Engineer...0AAOSwv0tVG2ca

[Grant Bowker]

As stated by Bob, the seal in the hub of the 15cwt GS trailer isn't like the standard truck seals. The old felts were in poor shape so I didn't have a choice. I considered O-rings but the right size didn't seem available (fairly tight specs). Precut 1/4x1/4 felt would have been worth a try if I could have found it but I couldn't. I bought 2 different grades of felt, chose to use the firmer one (F1 as opposed to F3). It was described as "2DAH9 Felt Sheet, F1, 1/4 In Thick, 12 x 12 In".

My process was to measure the diameters of the inside of the hub and the base of the groove in the metal part of the seal. The seal is 2 parts -the metal shaped to fit on the axle and into the hub and the felt to fit in a square cut groove in the seal body and bridge the gap between seal body and hub. Next to apply basic drafting to make a paper template, lightly spray with contact cement and apply to the felt. Roughly cut the outer dimension. Much more carefully cut the inner diameter using x-acto knife on a glass sheet. Actually, supporting the felt on the glass and having the blade perpendicular at the edge of the glass. It cut fairly well, left a nice square edge and as the photos show a decent inner diameter. Slip/stretch the felt into the seal body. Then set up the belt sander as shown. The stir sticks acted as stops to prevent the assembled felt and seal body from getting too close to the belt and ensured a constant radius. Once sanded to close to correct size, test fit in the hub and adjust the setup to remove a tiny bit more felt.

[Grant Bowker]

remaining photos