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Calling all 1928 Commander Big6 experts


Guest stude8

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I am in the process of removing the water pump assy on my 1928 Studebaker Commander Big 6 engine and have a problem with the vibration damper/starter clutch unit removal.

The service manual illustration shows that the crankshaft fan belt drive pulley should have 8 attachment bolt holes, 4 with 5/16"ID mtg hole and 4 with a larger clearance hole (5/8"? ID) alternating around the bolt pattern so the pulley can be removed while 4 bolts in the larger clearance holes remain in place to keep the vibration damper flywheel halves together when a puller is used to remove the damper/starter clutch hub from the crankshaft front end.

My problem is my pulley only has 6 holes all 5/16" ID so if all are removed the vibration damper will go SPROING and fling parts all over the floor. Another related item is there is NO starter clutch pawl oil groove on the forward face of the front damper flywheel?? It doesn't appear that the front and rear flywheel components could have been reassembled wrong in the past due to one having clearance bolt holes and the other the tapped bolt holes.

My engine serial # is GB11513 and car is serial# 4052319 which makes the part number of the damper assy 150629.

Has anyone else had this change from what is shown in the service literature? I suppose I can use 3 small C clamps to hold the damper together during the puller step but there isn't a lot of room between the engine and the front frame cross member in the chassis for this operation.

Stude8

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Edited by stude8 (see edit history)
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For an update on the vibration damper job.

I had a conversation with Rick Peterson (Antique Studebaker Review Editor) who owns both a 1927 and 1928 Commander and has had experience with both vibration damper styles. It seems my car is a late model GB with a revised damper/starter clutch assy.

Rick assured me with minimal care I could remove the vibration damper outer flywheel and pulley without fear of parts exploding in all directions. Using his advice I carefully removed the last two damper assy bolts and when the last bolts are removed the internal spring expansion effort is almost depleted such that one hand can control the separation.

One can see from the photos all damper parts are ready for cleaning and refinishing. The water pump assy will be next after the grime can be removed from the front of the engine to reduce chances of contamination in the timing gear case which must be opened. Stude8

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  • 5 weeks later...

Just an update for those interested in where this job is at presently. After removing the vibration damper and chain drive starter clutch assy I discovered a potential problem in the area where the crankshaft exits the timing case cover.

The part #24508 oil ring has a center component made of zinc diecast that like many door handles of this age is crumbling. The danger here is if the ring sheds any pieces they will fall directly between the crankshaft timing drive gear and the cam gear where they mesh. I decided to remove the timing case cover / water pump assy to evaluate further. After the timing case was open it was obvious this ring would need to be replaced with a new reproduction preferrably made of Brass for durablity. I epoxied the cracked parts back together to measure all critical dimensions and made a CAD drawing of the part required and located a local machinist who has produced the replacement ring in Brass.

While apart I disassembled the water pump which is driven by the timing gear also since this is a job you only want to do once taking the whole front of case off the engine. It is all cleaned up and repainted ready to go together again. The water pump shaft packing was replaced with McMasterCarr #9518K83 material, 1/4" woven graphite impregnated aramid fibre. This is a Devil of a job to do but had to be done while this was all off the engine.

I still have to disassemble the chain drive starter clutch pawl assy but the timing case will be together again this coming week I hope. I have attached photos of the disassembly and replacement 24508 ring for illustration.

Stude8

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Actually I did try to contact Burk but his wife explained they are moving and he was at the new location in a different town with out email connections yet so I found my new local contact who is a very good find. He has worked in automotive industry and taught industrial arts and math in schools here before retirement and now has a machineshop at his home. It only took 5 days from when I supplied the detail CAD print until I had the ring in hand.

Stude8

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An update on my progress with the replacement 24508 oil ring. After the trial fitting it was noted the ring had one incorrect dimension due to an error on my part measuring the original so it went back to the lathe for adjustment. This time it fits exactly as designed to "Fling" oil into the catch groove to drain back into timing gear case.

Attached are photos of the ring on the lathe chuck tool made for this operation, then inner & outer face details. Last are the images of the rebuilt water pump timing case cover reinstalled.

We had a short break in the weather today and I managed to remove the righthand splash apron from engine cradle, it takes drilling out 11 rivets from the bottom. Only three of them are a straight unobstructed shot. A long hard afternoon on the concrete floor getting it freed up and off to clean out the 82 years of grime accumulated so it can be repainted.

Stude8

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More on the progress of restoring the 1928 Commander Big Six starter clutch and vibration damper assy's. Had another warmer day again this week and now have the starter clutch and vibration damper reinstalled on the engine.

I included a photo of the interior of the one way clutch to show the 3 centrifugal cams that grip the ID of the crankshaft hub to rotate engine when starting, it is before cleaning the parts, when reassembling I was so full of grease and the trick of getting it together without parts popping out of align didn't leave opportunity to take "after" photos.

I have the RH splash apron cleaned up, some straightening of sheetmetal to correct damage that resulted from a long ago right front collision incident. Since the apron was riveted in place it was not repaired as other damage was. See the B4 and after photos.

The new starter ground cable was fabricated by salvaging the 2 bolt attachment flange from old cable and soldering to a new #1 AWG cable.

Also located some new 1-5/8" convulated galvanized steel flex pipe for the crankcase ventilation hose on right side.

Next week will disassemble and restore the Delco 723-B starter motor and generator. Will have it running again soon.

Stude8

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