Felt axle seals -- tolerances?

[mbenseignant@gmail.com]

Car is a 1924 Cadillac. Seals are large felt washers: around 2.25 inches OD, 1.7 inches ID. About an inch and a quarter in thickness, as washers have been stacked beside one another with the occasional metal ring in between. Axles were leaking, hence my replacing them. I was surprised they are VERY sloppy around the axle shaft: at least 0.2 inches of slackness. My question: how tight should new seal material be? I plan to buy packing material, as I have no way of punching such large sizes in felt. Other ideas? They cannot be too tight about the shaft or the seals would spin in their housing. Looking for some guidance about fit. Seems to me if I follow a similar procedure, stacking a series of strips till they fill the 1-1/8 roughly spacing, staggering the join, I should get a good seal. Thanks, Mike Barnes, Vancouver, Canada

[JV Puleo]

I'm not certain what you mean by "packing material" but I doubt it would work... especially if you mean the string or braided stuff used to pack pump gland nuts. Were I faced with this problem, I'd work on the felt solution which clearly worked for a long time. I believe the hole in the felt washer should be about 1/32 smaller than the diameter of the axle... so that it touches, but only just. Take a look at the attached link to "The Old Motor"... where they are dealing with the same problem.

http://theoldmotor.com/?s=thomas+felt+seal

Another solution would be to use a modern oil seal, or two but this depends on finding one of the right dimensions or making a press-in housing to hold a modern seal.

jp

[MochetVelo]

The felt seals were not very good. Try to use a modern rubber seal instead as JP suggests.

Phil

[nickelroadster]

Oldcar bearings in North Carolina can supply you with new felt seals if you wish to go that direction.

[mbenseignant@gmail.com]

Nickelroadster: do u hav contact info for oldcar bearings? Much appreciated all comments! Mike Barnes

[nickelroadster]

Sure. I should have called them olcar instead of oldcar bearings. Tel. 910-693-3324. Probably has the ones for a common car like a Cadillac but will also cut some to whatever size you need at a reasonable price where you can afford to get an extra set. They should be fairly snug around the axles. Your old ones have probably worn away quite a bit.

Edited November 14, 2013 by nickelroadster
addition (see edit history)

[Friartuck]

McMaster Carr offers felt sheets in various thicknesses. You could punch out the size you need using a sharpened sheet metal strip formed in a circle to the radius you need. Use a hand or hydraulic press against a hardwood base. May take some trial and error. This would allow you to make nice and tight seals.

[Rusty_OToole]

You can cut felt with steel tube ground to a sharp edge and hit with a hammer. Hydraulic press is better if you have one.

[Ivan Saxton]

For this I would be inclined to try a combination of felt rings and "Liquid O-ring" mouldable stick packing. The people who make this are Balmar, of Lafayette LA. Their web site shows they make a range of similar concept preparations, though many are in large quantity for oil industry or similar.

They are cited to work with even worn or pitted surfaces. I have had no luck so far sourcing anything here; though a refrigeration mechanic apparently had and used some. So there may be availability in quantity that is useful for our purposes. The Balmar product that looks useful is 636G. I would be interested to know, if you try this, how you get on; and where I can get it in quantity suitable for parcel post.

[mbenseignant@gmail.com]

Here is what I opted for: motor/pump seal packing material from McMaster Carr. I picked the thickness which took up the space between hole and shaft: 7/16 if I recall right. A coincidence that 2 thicknesses side by side exactly fill the slot as well. I staggered the joins by about 45 degrees, and the material bulks up nicely so I think I should be leak proof. The old felt seals I pulled out were about 1/16 inch larger than the shaft, yet were only leaking one side of the car, so I know things don't have to be too tight! Thanks for all contributors to this thread. In a few days I will have a higher speed differential mounted in the 1924 Cadillac, so should be cruising faster than ever (except for that shimmy). Happy driving, Mike Barnes, Vancouver, Canada

[pont35cpe]

Sure. I should have called them olcar instead of oldcar bearings. Tel. 910-693-3324. Probably has the ones for a common car like a Cadillac but will also cut some to whatever size you need at a reasonable price where you can afford to get an extra set. They should be fairly snug around the axles. Your old ones have probably worn away quite a bit.

I agree, George "The Bearing Doctor" is the Best!! He`s always had any bearing or seal I`ve needed and at reasonable prices, and everything I`ve got from him is "Made in USA". What I like the best about George is, he takes your order and ships items with the bill, then you send payment.. Not many people like him anymore.. Tom

[mbenseignant@gmail.com]

I tried to buy from George at Olcar, but the order was too small to interest him. He did not want to ship to Canada. Mike Barnes

[pont35cpe]

Mike, sorry to hear about your experience with George. Some people won`t ship to Alaska or Hawaii, and they are U.S. states.. Must be too much BS involved shipping out of the continental U.S... Tom