Solid rear axles with the nut on the hub?

[TJ Hopland]

Seems like I have seen you guys talk about this style and don't really get how they work so I figured here may be a good place to ask. 

I get how a full floater works, I get the C clips,  I get the press on bearing style.   

So I am guessing on the style with the nut is similar to the press on bearing style except that instead of the bearing being pressed on the hub/drum is holding the axle onto the bearing?  And there is a bearing retainer on the housing holding that in?   Or is it something else?   Seems like I have read that the end of the axle is tapered?  Is that on all this style or just some?  Why?

[R Schroeder]

Sounds like an old Chrysler product to me.

[Steve Passmore]

TJ, if your talking about the older style of axle? the bearing is pressed on the shaft, the bearing and shaft is held in place by the brake back plate, The drum is held to the shaft on the taper pulled tight by the nut. Am I on the right track with what your asking?

[TJ Hopland]

Yes that is the style I was asking about.   A Rambler was one vehicle I saw it on so that could be a Chrysler connection.

So at least in the case of the Cadillac with the nuts and tapper is instead of the flange being part of the axle like later stuff was?  You are bolting the hub, flange, or whole brake drum to the axle?   I suppose that makes sense if you were not going to use a separate hub because you would not want to replace the axle every time you needed to work on or replace the drums. 

Any idea why some chose that method rather than the flange method?  Or even bolting on a flange?   Competing patents?

[Steve Passmore]

Its a standard  taper system on all the early Cadillacs TJ  with the hub being part of the drum, the whole on the taper.  In my experience it seams to be a shaft integral to the flange on lighter makes of car but I could be wrong.  My small series Buick was a flange and hub but the heavier cars were not so who knows.

[TJ Hopland]

So in that style Cadillac when you remove the drum you get bearings and everything?  That is not what I was imagining.  Anyone got a photo or exploded diagram of one like that?

[Steve Passmore]

No, when you remove the hub and drum the bearing stay in the axle with the shaft, remove the back plate and then the bearing and the shaft come out.

[TJ Hopland]

I think I got it.   Sounds like its mostly a difference in the manufacturing process.  Maybe it makes it easier for them to have more options for hubs and drums and such to fit more models without having to make different axles. 

[Steve Passmore]

If only that were true TJ, in 37 alone there are 3 or 4 different series axle shaft sizes and different size drums and hubs for each.

[TJ Hopland]

Strange.   I suppose back then maybe they just felt it was stronger that way.   Any idea why so many sizes?  Was that for different model or optioned cars or could those all be found on the same model? 

Im not even sure how they make the ones with the flange built in.  I suppose they are cast?   All I can imagine if they are not cast is the old cartoon of the toothpick factory where a big redwood tree goes into the mill and gets cut down to a single tooth pick.   If that was the case doing it with the bolt would seem like a more efficient way.   

[Steve Passmore]

  As the wheel bases got longer so the rear axles got wider and they needed specific length shafts  for each series, then as each series got heavier then the drums became larger.