Needle bearings

Look for drill rod; it's available in A2 or D2 in almost any 0.001" diameter. Simply cut to length and polish the ends to get rid of rough edges.

0.079" is 5/64". (0.078125")

Music wire?

-jsw

I hadn't looked; sorta' presumed might be a toughie to find but seems like there are a lot of possible candidates. So, I'll switch to Gunner's tune--just order a new one...far better solution albeit can undoubtedly cripple along as above.

Even from 1948, music wire or drill rod is not likely to compare with the special alloys Timken made for high-load bearings. They were especially resistant to spalling (flaking), which is a problem with ordinary high-strength steels in bearing service.

I'd go with Gunner's recommendation. There are just too many failure modes for roller bearings of any type.

1948? Just for the heck of it I tried Rockauto's website. They show U-joints for: 1948 PONTIAC STREAMLINER 3.9L 239cid L6 : Drivetrain :Universal Joint 1948 PONTIAC STREAMLINER 4.1L 249cid L8 1948 PONTIAC TORPEDO 3.9L 239cid L6 1948 PONTIAC TORPEDO 4.1L 249cid L8

Prices varied from $6.19 to 29.99. It looked like that same parts (4) offered for all of the different models. See:

The clutch gear rollers in my 1939 Harley trans will likely be the ones I made from drill rod . Depends on how much I have to lap it to make the outer race round again .

On 03/09/2015 4:00 PM, Ed Huntress wrote: ...

See my update to my earlier posting... :)

I've made new rollers this way for things like the old barn door carriers that are unique and irreplaceable for the aesthetics but they're something different than a drivetrain, for sure...I'm sure could limp along for a while but it'd be spooky to take for any long duration drive and at speed I'd always be wondering when/if...

Good move. FWIW, for a quick rundown: Most bearings and many races are made from SAE 52100 (chrome steel) or some proprietary relative of it, like the steels that Timken uses. But it's usually VAR (vacuum-arc remelt), a very expensive, very pure version. Timken sells the steel as well as bearings -- or it did.

To get long life out of bearings as heavily loaded as those in automotive drivetrains, the heat treating is critical. You need a very hard case and a carefully controlled interior. If the case is too soft, you get microcracks in the interior -- even of a needle bearing. These work their way to the surface and cause spalling. If the core is too hard, you get fatigue cracks.

This ain't no hobbyist job. You can make bearings, and, if they aren't too heavily loaded, or run too fast, they may last. But not for a car's driveline.

If I was driving a car made in 1948 I'd always be wondering when/if even with new U-joints.

I'd do the job right before driving in traffic, but make do with what I had to move it in and out of the garage.

-jsw

Yes, you could borrow from the other three and have all 4 dead in a month. Wot a brilly plan, suh!

Rotsa ruck. How about this? As little as $8.98 + s/h.

Or google "1948 pontiac universal joint" for more options, perhaps closer to home.

On another note, I was in a classical music mood tonight and listened to Claire de Lune, The Blue Danube, and then I found this interesting little ditty:

I really felt at home right after the tubas at 2:39 or so.

Let's break this down. There is a cross piece with polished, hardened ends. These get surrounded by needles which in turn are contained by caps. Two of the caps have integral EARS which bolt to the differential flange. Not one of the bearings suggested have ears illustrated. My local Napa has the 'correct' bearing in stock. No ears. Would have to 'borrow' the needles from the 'new', bearing and re-populate my 'old' outer race with the ears. Also a half-assed approach. Will keep looking. Thanks, Ivan Vegvary

Can you post an image of what you have?

I'm no expert but there are a lot of good tinkers here that may have some other ideas/sources if they know exactly what you have ;-)

Hmm... maybe it looks like this?

Another one here at a cheaper price:

Well, as suggested, there's always the drill stem in virtually any diameter you want/need to fabricate some or, if you're in a location with a large population so have a chance there's also the salvage route of going and stripping some needles from an old junker to fill out the full complement...either is also a "limp-on" solution but depends on how the vehicle is intended to be used.

Your situation is kinda sticky Ivan. What I would do is first look at the parts you have where the missing needles should go. If they look good then measure them to see if they measure the same as the parts without missing needles. If they measure the same then buy the "correct" replacement part and see if it measures the same as yours. If it does then just use the needles like you suggest or even better use the new cross piece and needles and only the old bearing caps with the ears. I'm curious though about the mounting. Do the ears have reamed holes with shoulder screws going through them that locate in similar holes in the flange? Or are there ground surfaces on both the flange and the bearing cup with the ears for locating? It seems there must be some way of locating the bearing cups fairly precicely on the flange to avoid the vibration that would result from an off center location. It may be that the original cups with the ears had two flats ground on them. If this is the case then the new bearings without the ears may have the same flats ground on them and also include a strap that goes over the outside of the cup and retains the bearing cup the same way the ears do. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is the case. Eric

Ivan , I think you'll find those ears are on the yoke that the cross goes into . I have yet to replace a universal with the yokes as an integral part of the unit . But then I've never replaced one from a 1948 Pontiac either , so i could be wrong .

Moog #508 U-Joint. Fairly common part in the late 40's through the 50's

Best price looks to be at RockAuto