9" Ford Third Member Modifications

[saltfever]

I have a few nodular third members. Unfortunately, some have missing caps or mixed caps of unknown origin. Does anybody know where I can get caps added and machined to match the housing? Due to the shipping weight I would prefer Northern Calif or Reno but any recommendation is welcome. I am striking out in the Bay Area. 

[floydjer]

Have a vocational school nearby? The one here in G.R. will take on projects as a learning tool.  J.B.

[saltfever]

Have a vocational school nearby? The one here in G.R. will take on projects as a learning tool.  J.B.

Interesting, J.B. and thanks.  I was hoping to find a shop that sells caps (some are missing) and buy them from then as well as do the alignment. 

[Peter Jack]

I'm pretty sure Mark Williams used to sell the caps for drag racing use. I would think any machine shop that could do align boring should be able to do the caps. I believe you have to put in some sort of pinch factor so check with the cap supplier.

Pete

[Rex Schimmer]

I think that if you cannot match the caps to the third members you would be dollars ahead to junk the ones you have, sell them at a swapmeet some people will buy anything!

If you think of the true pain in the a$$ it would be to take a cap that is not matched and then remachine it to match. First the bore for the bearing needs to be done so it is round and to the bearing mfg tolerance which will be in the .0001 inc. area but then you need to make the threads for the side adjuster nuts match. Either the threads in the case or the cap is going to lose some material and therefore be loose and the side adjuster will not be prependicular to the bearing bore when they are drawn up tight. You of course could make new side adjuster nuts with a larger thread diameter so that you would cut all new threads in both the case and the cap. What a pain in the butt and now you could have bought a new carrier for the cost.

Junk them and get new ones and don't forget to match mark the caps to the carrier.

Rex

[desotoman]

I agree with Rex on the ones that don't have caps. Mark Williams gets $90 for each cap, and $75 to install each cap. That equals $330 for two caps installed. You can go on Ebay and find brand new units and used nascar units for under $300 which would include shipping.

Tom G.

[John Burk]

Try the caps you have in all positions with a bearing race as a reference . If the adjuster threads mis-align the hole could easily be offset in a Bridgeport . Align boring I think would be a can of worms considering the threads .

[saltfever]

I think that if you cannot match the caps to the third members you would be dollars ahead to junk the ones you have, sell them at a swapmeet some people will buy anything!

You "hit the nail on the head", Rex. As careful as I am, I'm still "some people". I have carefully been "collecting" 9" third members for a few years on EBay. Man, what a minefield EBay is! Everything, has a story. Its hard to tell when its outright deceit or just naivety. 99.99% of the time the seller leaves out pertinent information from the description. I always ask pertinent questions before bidding but I still have received bad parts. Most are honest sellers and have either paid for return shipping or just told me to junk them and returned my costs. The couple of 3rd members that are the reason for this thread are when it was just too much trouble or expense to go after the seller. One time I called the police dept in a small town in Wisconson about 12 miles away from the sellers home town. His town was so small they have no local law enforcement. When I mentioned the name of the seller the Chief said "what did Joe do now!" It was hopeless, I just dropped the issue.

Completely agree with you all. Lesson learned:  With the cost of new stuff out there now, buying a "pig in a poke" is ridiculous. Thanks for identifying the machining that is involved it helped me make a decision.