Further Thoughts & Information
The root cause of our broken axle
is one that all 1960's Airstream owners should
be concerned with. Seems the early Dura-Torque
axles had spindles made from forged steel (as are
most vintage conventional
leaf spring axles). This steel continues
to age and work harden until
it fractures, usually right at the inner bearing
shoulder - which was square. This is exactly
what happened to us with
dire results, it sheared off right at that stress
concentrating square shoulder. Henschen changed
the design in the late
1960's to early '70s, depending on axle size, to
cold rolled steel, tapered bearings and a thicker
spindle. The only way
to tell is at your next bearing lube, check to
see if you have a tapered inner bearing. So
far, no one can give me any sure dates on the changeover. It
only seems to occur on the 5 bolt small axle used
on the Caravel, too. While the larger 6 bolt
axles may be susceptible, there just doesn't
seem to be reports of it occurring.
With how much better the
trailer pulls and looks, the trouble from the broken
axle was worth it now. It is also an expensive
way to get a bearing
grease pack and new brakes too! A still
good axle should have the
arm angled downward with the weight on the wheels. Having
just replaced the axle on our '65 Caravel, I
was amazed how
much that angle is on a new axle - about 20 degrees.
The trailer
now sits a good 3 inches higher. (One inch
is due to the change in axle bracket design.) The
trailer tracks
and pulls with
noticeable improvement too, and I didn't think
it was bad to begin with.
The axle change went
rather
well.
You have
to drill 4 new 11/16th" holes
in the frame mount brackets. The only pain is getting
new shock mounts welded to the axle, as the modern
ones are in
different positions than the old. A welding shop
did it for me for $60.
As for checking out your
axle, any Airstream
dealer can do that. They can also replace
the axle if necessary - and they are the only
ones who can order an axle for you from
Henschen.
Henschen is a wholesale mfg, selling primarily
to OEM, and was getting overburdened by all the vintage
Airstream
inquiries. Their
other choice was not selling individual axles at all, so this is
better than nothing I guess. Cost is about $800 plus shipping ($80
from Ohio to California). The
other options are a Dexter
TorFlex axle and one from Axis
Products,
but you take all the responsibility for dimensions and specifications.
See
this Restoration Resource section for more information
on leaf-spring axles for older vintage trailers, and
don;t forget the FAQ
section.
