[jbrewer]

The front spindles on the "O" are totally worn...at least one is, in the axle shaft. I had a set I got off of Ebay but the seller "neglected" to tell me that the top bolt threads had been thoroughly buggered up and stripped out. Hmmm...

Anyway, I've been out of town and now am sick, so I've not had much wrench time to work on the "O", and this was a light job to tackle (and I don't idle well) . I got the right sized insert kit and drill , tapped the new hole and inserted the thread insert... quite easy. It looked like the DPO had peened the top surface in hopes of getting a couple threads worth of "purchase" in the buggered out hole. I'll file that a bit smoother so it doesnt grind away at the thrust washer.

I measured the axle shaft and it measures to spec, and ordered 4 new bushings from Chris. Hopefully I'll feel better by next weekend and have the new bushings by then and can make the swap next weekend.

John

PS: Actually on 2nd thought, I don't think I'll do anything to the buggered up top surface. If I took too much off, the top of spindle would be lower than the top surface of the front axle beam, which would be a big problem. The washer turns WITH the shaft as the wheels are turned, so there'll be no excessive wear I don't think.