Well, now that the car is driving well and the vibration in drive shaft is gone, the car is seriously overheating.  It actually started running hot at the Thanksgiving show in Ormond Beach and when I got home, I parked the car for a few months because I wasn't going to be able to work on it.  Just fixed the drive shaft issue most recently, so now time to tackle this.

Here's the scoop:  After just 2-3 miles, the car overheats badly.  Looks like a steam locomotive going down the road.  I believe there is some sort of blockage in the radiator;  there are some cold area(s) on radiator and I think the water/coolant is just not circulating properly.  It was suggested to me that I back flush the radiator to see if that helps.  I would like to try this or any other suggestions before I pull out the radiator and take it to a local shop.  A couple of guys in the Model A club suggested some places in town I could take it to.

So, thoughts on this one?  What's the best way to back flush this thing?  Should I circulate some sort of radiator flush prior to back flushing (the Model A guys said I should)?

As always, thanks for your help...

Took the car out today for a run...Wow...it has never driven smoother!  Must have gotten it right along with the new tires (installed in the fall).  It felt like I could have driven comfortably anywhere...thanks everyone for their help!

However, another issue arose...now the car is overheating after a couple of miles...looked like a locomotive coming home  I guess it never ends!

Thanks everyone...last night I put an extra washer behind each bolt head that comes in contact with the discs.  For what it's worth, they were "hardened" washers that I found at Lowe's and these are also what I used in between the discs where I did not have a buckle washer.  When I ran the car in gear at different speeds while it was on jack stands, there was no vibration whatsoever while out of the car observing the driveshaft in motion.

With the addition of the extra washers, it gave me a little more clearance than before...it looks to be about 1/8"-1/4" of an inch.  This makes me feel a little more comfortable.  I installed the all the castle nuts and put in the cotter pins.  I'll let you know how it works out on the road!

Doug - can you take a photo of the back side?  Between the differential and the drive shaft?

Thanks!

I agree.  All nuts should be on the inside or facing forward toward the drive shaft.   That is the way it is on the front joint - nuts facing rearward toward the drive shaft.   I tried that and can't seem to get the bolts in that way so I put them in the way you see it.   I thought about shorter 2 1/2 bolts as opposed to the 2 3/4 bolts like the originals I have.  I will try again.

Does anyone have a photo they can show that shows their set up so I can see the clearance?

Quote from: chetbrz on April 11, 2012, 07:08:29 PM

When I did mine the buckle washers were between every disk and also behind the bolts that came in direct contact with the disks.   If you are short on buckle washers my guess would be to use what you have between the disks and flat on the outsides. 

Basically put it together the same way it comes apart and you should be golden.

Chet...

That's what I did...I used what I had in between and flats on the outside.  At the front of my driveshaft, the buckle washers are behind the bolt heads (against the discs) and I assume there are some on the inside.  I have a feeling the front of mine has never been touched.

If you look at my photos, I still have some concern about the claerance of the bolts facing the rear...any thoughts?

Here's a few photos of what I've got right now...this may change by the end of the day:


(NOTE - cotter pins are not in yet until I'm comfortable with the set up...)

Thanks John...by the way, I got your email and replied with some photos.  Just concerned about the clearance with 3 of the bolts facing the rear toward the differential.  The end of those are very close to making contact and the clearance seems to be 1/8".  For what it's worth, all the bolts are the same length (2 3/4") like the originals that came out.  I tried to reverse the 3 in question and make them forward facing, but I can't seem to make that work. 

I think I've got enough to work with and make it work...will have to drill out 3 more bolts and get a few more castle nuts...It should go back together better than it was!  (fingers crossed!)

The attached photo is what I have to work with...the 3 bolts on the left are the only 3 that have holes for cotter pins and castle nuts.  The other fasteners is what else I came up with (similar to what else was on there, but worked!).  I assume that ALL bolts should have cotter pins and castle nuts like my front/transmission side has???

Also, I only have the 8 buckle washers for the rear...that's what was there...looking at the front side, looks like there are more visible...

(3 new discs shown/new front discs not in photo)

Should all 6 bolts for the rear discs be identical in size and all have a hole for a cotter pin?

Chet...sounds like you fixed my problem (I hope!).  So, just to be clear, the arms on the driveshaft and the arms on the differential are to alternate or overlap with one another and NOT line up with each other like it looks like I have done???

I never did anything to the fronts, but the problem was never there before...however, I have the discs to do both front and rear so I might as well do both now.

Thanks for your help...I will get to it this coming weekend (hopefully) and let you know what happens!

Ted

Now you've got me thinking on how I bolted it up...On the three arms with bolt holes coming off the differential, should they or should they not bolt up to the three arms with bolt holes on the drive shaft???  I did it that way, "metal to metal"...I swear that's that way it was, but now you have me thinking...maybe this is why I had the problem earlier with getting the bolts to back in???

If I screwed up, sounds like it's an easy fix now...do you have a photo to compare on how it should be?

Well I got the car totally off the ground and up on jackstands...got it running in 1st gear as I looked underneath to see if I could see any obvious vibration, hoping I would.  And there it was, it was very obvious how much the driveshaft was bouncing around under there because something just wasn't right.  It look like the driveshaft was warped!

Now I'm sure the problem is with the discs, since that's what I messed with, yet only the rear ones.  So, I will be getting some longer lag bolts, drilling holes for the cotter pins and installing the new discs that I had bought.  Hopefully that will help (never had the issue before!).  Before I attempt the front discs, I'll see what happens after just doing the rears...if that goes well, I'll tackle the fronts.

I didn't think those things (discs) could be that sensative...I'm assuming the old ones are well worn and when I put them back on, I must have done something wrong...

If there's anything else I need to know about this project, please let me know!

Thanks...

I'll check the bolt clearance - I'm pretty sure it's ok - but the ticking sound seems to be coming from the shifter/transmission area.