Broke a front Spring Perch????

Wow!!!! It was a chrome Pete&Jake long to commodate the typical lower shock mount bracket. It broke right in half like in the middle of the axle, so, aside the the shock, its still driveable.

Lets here some statistics. Boy I hope this is the only one.

 

Not the T. A buddy's AV8 highboy roadster with a SBC

 

How is it still drivable if it broke in the middle? That would mean your spring is not bolted to the axle as well. Can you clarify and maybe post a picture?

 

My '32 3 window had a S.A.C. chassis. I hit a humongous pothole and suddenly the front end started shaking on the freeway. Eventually, the shaking subsided and I continued on to the car show. When I got there, I was cleaning the chrome P&J shocks and discovered the shock had snapped off at the mount. I took the surfaces streets home and ordered new shocks. When I put the new shocks on, I discovered that the shock mount had torn and twisted away from the frame. It must have been some pothole! Nothing that a little heating, welding and paint couldn't fix.

 

Midlle(bottom half). So gravity holds it in only, meaning, it's diveable but not safely.

 

casting ?

 

Was it loose?

 

Often, with a couple of pix from two or three angles would speak reams. Any pics?

 

A friend broke his by running a tube axle with split bones. The bottom of the perch bolt sheared off.

 

The current owners of Pete&Jake assure us they only use American-made materials and hand-craft what they sell. I don't see how to analyze the problem if we don't have pix to take a look.

Why start guessing, unless we start at the beginning of trouble-shooting? Give us more to go on.

 

Is it the split wishbones the cause???? They are 40's split with a Superbell 4"drop axle.

 

Sorry no pix, It a buddy asking, so I thought I'd ask the PROS

 

Eyeball and Andy: both very valid points to consider! Both scenarios significantly impact the stress in the perch. When parts are used under loads they are not designed for, stuff will break! P&J stuff is ususally good quality from my experience.

 

I have never seen a spring perch break in the middle of the axle. It is not a stress point.

 

I wonder if the shock was bottoming out and that's where the stress came from?

 

Is the cotter pin still in the castle nut on the bottom half of the perch?
It sounds to me like the perch was loose in the axle due to either a non-castle nut/cotter pin fastener or failure or lack of proper torque on installation.
Never saw a Ford factory forged perch broken, not that it hasn't ever happened, but only have seen them bent badly.

Everybody better get out there and check thir perches/axle bolts for tight, Ford originals or not! Should be part of the Spring Safety Check we've all done all our lives! HA

 

They are cast iron not forged like HENRY FORD,s! And on top of that when you chrome it they weaker yet! That is not the first time I have heard of that.

 

Not cast iron, cast STEEL. Cast iron would snap when the spring got tension.
Chroming is not so bad if the nitrogen is baked out after the chrome job.

 

this is a first I've heard of too. It had nylocs & it was tight, if it wasn't, the shock mount would rotate/move & it didn,t.

I can visualize how a common wishbone split can cause an unavoidable bind at the axle connection/perch

 

Your Super 4" dropped axle a Tube with cast steel ends or an I-beam?

 

It occurs to me that all the perches/axle bolts I've had fit quite snugly through the axle.
I would check the wear pattern on the tapered nylock nut (it is tapered, isn't it?), the pattern on both sides of the shock adapter bracket (they are tapered male on top to fit wishbone and female on bottom to receive tapered mounting nuts, aren't they?) and the patterns in the tapers in both top and bottom wishbone knuckles. That should tell you something.

AND look at the one on the unbroken side when you get it apart.

The shaft of the broken perch should tell you how long its been cracked/broken by showing a shiny break point and rust in the previously cracked area, or perhaps a bunch of smooth showing it has been cracked a long time and pounding up and down on the bottom until it popped.

 

I know the Super Bell I-beam axle along with their tube axle ends are cast; but I thought Pete & Jakes perch bolts, spindles, and steering arms were forged. Anyone know for sure?

 

I had a similiar problem a few years ago with a P&J lower shock mount, I was tightening the nut againnst the shock and the stud sheared off before it was tight.
It was a casting issue as there were pores in the casting, I called Jerry and he replaced them with stainless shock mounts, but I have been leery of P&J cast parts ever since including axles.

 

Got a question for you is it grooved to accept a steel shim to help it from rotating

 

if it had p&j lower shock mounts it wouldnt be tapered.

 

I'm betting that it's a Superbell tube axle with split bones,,the tube axles will not flex and if you hit a pot hole or railroad track hard enough a spring perch bolt can snap,,,,It happened to me with a 40 Ford.

Live and learn. HRP

 

Mine snapped off just going 45 MPH on a smooth road. I heard a bang and something heavy hit my fender. I knew that I had not hit anything in the road so I pulled over, walked back and picked up the shaft part of the perch. Then I knew where to look on the truck.

I didn't build this truck so I never disassembled the axle to check for cracks. I'm guessing that it was cracked for a long time before it finally gave way. I replaced this one with a cast steel unit. Anything made by man can break. I don't think that it is an epidemic but I won't use the stainless steel variety again. Of course my early Ford building days are probably over.

The axle is a dropped original Henry item along with the Stock wish bone.

 

Hydrogen, eh?

Bob

 

no, neather is groved. The lower shock mount is tappered at the top but the bottom is flat with a nyloc.

Split wb's/lower shock mount/plus it's tearing up the old streets of l.a. Potholes/cracks/traintracks/etc. That's the combo. I think i might start to shy away from those lower shock mounts.

 

Its an sb i beam and plated perches not s.s. S.s. Is weaker. I trying to upload a pix, but . . . Fu&^%$*(&*(^(&*%#$^@(*^

the broken perch looks like tommy's but about an inch longer which left it somewhat "driveable" with a dangle'g shock.