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Standard Six Driveshaft - Thoughts?


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Greetings -

I've a '25 Standard Six.

The rag discs both at the driveshaft center coupling and at the tranny fell apart, and I replaced them with new belting material which also proceeded to deteriorate. (I drive the car.)

I'm considering fusing the driveshaft into one piece by welding, thus eliminating the need for any coupling materials.

Any thoughts or experience with this? I'm always for maintaining originality, but starting to wonder if there's a reason the rag discs were phased out eventually.

Was the driveshaft in two pieces for any particular reason?

Thanks for your input.

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I do not know the reason behind Studebaker’s use of the two piece drive shaft that used the rag dics as couplers. It is possible that some of the later 20s Studebaker driveshafts with a more modern design might interchange with your car. Do you know anyone in your area with a 28-29 model Dictator that will allow you to compare driveshafts?

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You cannot weld the shaft into one piece; the whole point of having a flexible drive shaft is to allow the rear drive to move out of alignment with the engine/ transmission as the suspension absorbs shocks and moves about with undulations in road surfaces.

Have you considered to converting your drive shaft to a more conventional universal joint type arrangement as in modern cars. There are transmission shops that will do this for you without spending too much money.

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Guest 25erduplex

There were a couple of these discs for sale on eBay last week, don't know if they are still there. They were in vintage parts under Studebaker.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest manitoba27stude

i am facing the same issue here.

i plan on re-working the shaft so it accepts u-joints and carries a slip -yoke.

the local machine shop has built a few driveshafts for me in the past.

i did find a supplier for some heavy-duty conveyor belting,and did get a template to make some flex couplings,but i am not a purist,would prefer something trouble-free.

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after finding some repro discs and having installed them, i'm still afraid that they'll bust over time or a full car.

I have also considered your idea of the slip-yoke solution, which will be my next step if these fail.

please keep me posted on your progress; I may like to follow your example.

best,

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I got my hands on some repro rag discs for the driveshaft, the old ones having fallen apart.

I've been told that the car takes a total of 6 of them; 3 at the front and 3 at the rear.

However, in trying to install them, I could only squeeze 2 in front and two in back.

There didn't seem to be room for more. I had the car on a lift, but I jacked up the back end which gave me a little more room, but not enough.

Now that I've installed 2 discs each end, the rear ones aren't staying flat and are being compressed and warped by the pressure of the driveshaft, as if there isn't enough space for even the two.

I droved the car and it rode fine, but i don't like the way they look and am afraid they'll break on me with time or a few passengers adding weight.

Any thoughts or experience with this?

Much appreciated!

Edited by studebrooklyn (see edit history)
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Guest 1928DictatorGE

Michael,

I have not had experience with these disks, but I have seen them in vehicles and of course the water pump shaft coupling in my '28 has these discks on it. I have never seen these disks remain perfectly flat. That I've seen, They end up compressing and warping, which actually may be the point of the "ragginess" of te disks. They are supposed to be flexible in order to flex with the movement of the rear end in relation to the tranny. I will say this though. I do not have the rag disk universals and wish I did as they would be replaceable. I don't think mine are, and I will be at a loss if I ever need to replace mine.

I have had experience with reproduction parts in general. I always hear stories about how they are larger than the original or need some sort of modification in order to use them. Someone was making repro bronze oil pump housings at one point (can't remember who), and I was told that they needed to be machined before they could be used. So I would keep an eye on these discs and over a little time they may compress to the point where you can fit another one in on each end, making the three.

Hope it helps!!

Keith

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I think you were told wrong.

As far as I know it takes one in the front and one in the rear.

I maybe that someone sold you conveyor belting and that maybe thinner and you would need several.

I have an original that I keep as a sample but I can measure how thick it is.

Does yours have 5 or 6 holes?

Someone posted here that they have original ones.

I believe Steve Munts makes replacements.509 924 4572 in Spokane WA.

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I don't have the discs in front of me, but they measure about half an inch thick.

They seem to be of a good quality and are rigid, and I don't believe they are made of conveyer belting.

They have 5 holes.

Do you think it's an issue if they bend and warp with pressure?

What Keith says above about them needing to flex to accomodate drivetrain movement thus the nature of the raggy quality does seem to make sense to me.

Or are they supposed to stay straight?

I suppose I could remove one, which would leave more room and thus not as much bending to fit in, making it keep straighter.

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Hi, my 1925 Std 6 Tourer has 3 discs front and rear. Each disc has 6 bolt holes and each bolt has a corrygated washer between discs. the disc were quite hard to install and are compressed but as you load up the car or hit a bump, they do flatten out. I made my discs from transmision belting and they have worked well for about 10 years now.

Regards, Dave Pink.

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Hello again. Yes I think that they should be a little out of shape. Make sure you have weight on the diff and use pry bars. I may have also used a ratchet strap around the diff back to rear of the frame. I have a lot of miles up on mine now and still looks and functions fine.:) Dave Pink.

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Guest manitoba27stude

my parts manual stated 6 of 43728 discs required per car.it only refers to a standard 6 car,so im not sure if it is the same on others.the parts manual was printed july 1928,but doesent list exactly which cars it covers. hope it was some help.

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My 1927 service manual clearly shows three discs at each end of the drive shaft. The operation to replace them lists only pliers and a wrench for the job, nothing else. It does say the the bolts must be unscrewed through the discs as pulling them out will cause damage. I also think the discs were indexed. By that I mean that the holes in the rubber are always in the same place in relation to the webbing. When installing, if the first disc webbing is vertical with a hole at to the right. the top, line the second disc webbing and hole up with the first, then rotate it two holes to the right. Do the same with the third disc, but rotate it four holes to the right. Now the webbing is at 0, 120 and 240 degrees. This evens out the stresses in the rubber and improves the longevity.

If you make your own discs, freeze the rubber first. Overnight in your freezer will get you much cleaner cuts. Do not use twist drills or hole saws to cut holes. They will tear the rubber. Make a drill out of a piece of tubing the correct size and sharpened on one end.

Terry

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  • 4 years later...
Guest manitoba27stude

I know this is an old thread,but i ended up making a jig and cutting discs from mine conveyor belting. Very dufficult to work with. The bolts were worn, so replacing them and installing this week. The installation advice here is priceless. Hope others will benefit from this.

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Guest manitoba27stude

Have to count the washers, was working on a plan to make some, as i hadnt planned on searching on replacements. Proper size washers, a jig in my press and maybe some heat and i got it beat.

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