Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi, I have taken the rear near side hub off my 1957 Morris 1000, and the thread on the axle is damaged, does any one know where I can get a die to restart the thread? or any other ideas?
Cheers Andrew

Depending on how bad the damage is a small file to either reshape the offending threads or possibly removing part of them.
Don't think you'll have much joy in getting a die that size. I think one side is a left hand thread.

Hi, yes it has a left hand thread. I'll get my file out and sort it. I just thought that other members must have come across this problem before, just wondering what they did? Thanks for the advice. Andrew

Just another thought, if you've got a spare nut you could make a single cut through it, spring it open a little and get it over onto a decent bit of thread, squeeze it closed somehow and work it back along to the end of the thread, it might help clear the damage.

you can buy thread files from good toolshops if you know how many Threads Per Inch or millimeter pitch it is

How did the thread get damaged? Did the chisel slip???

Hi, Thank you Les, I never thought of that, I will have a look at this tomorrow.

I've heard before of cutting a saw slot into a thread to use that item as a crude tap or die.

Would work both ways, cut a slot lengthways down a bolt to use as a crude tap. Or cut a slot lengthways down the inside of a nut to use as a crude die.

The sharp edge of the saw slot provides a means of cutting to rejuvenate the thread.

This scraps the nut/bolt though.

So if you're really desperate, buy a new nut and use you old one as a die.

The threads on the new nuts currently being sold are very very badly cut.
Regards
Declan

Hi, problem solved. I used the old nut as a die after cutting through the nut. After a bit of oil and turning the die/nut both ways. The new nut went on a treat. many thanks for the advice.
Andrew

Great success!

Ah
this would be tragic if it were not funny. I was searching for clues as to what people do when they have a damaged left hand thread on the rear axle. Indeed, asking if a chisel slipped is irreverent though not irrelevant. Actually, the other side came off a treat with a few sharp blows with a punch. But the nearside was reluctant. This will be a left hand thread, I thought.

So I checked the BMC manual. This being such a thorough text (and a comparison against Hopkirk/Haynes) I trusted it implicitly when there was no mention of thread direction prior to the instruction on removal. So, presuming myself wimpish I hammered on and the nut eventually came loose. It looked quite second hand, so I tried to get one off the axle I'd just removed (because a half-shaft had gone). Not realising what was happening, I chanced upon the nearside again. I was aware of that, but still the text in the manual had not changed and there was no mention of a left hand thread. I proceeded to knacker up this one too.

A couple of days later, I found a tiny paragraph at the very end of the chapter, announcing that from car number (something or other chassis number) on, the thread would change to left handed.

The lesson there is to read each complete chapter before you even start a job. Even go and line and look for trouble. But at that moment this didn't repair either of my axles.

I was advised to contact Rob Thomasson which I will do next if I can find his email, but also remembered we have an engineering shop locally who can probably do a substantial repair of some sort. In the meantime, I read that cutting a nut and using it to clean the thread can work - it seems worth a try. The nut couldn't look more second-hand anyway. I presume this also reduces the inside diameter of the nut thus making it a better fit on the axle stub. One might therefore get the nut welded (JB Welded?) up with the reduced diameter creating a satisfactory repair?

Meanwhile, I found a short part of thread still bit on the axle that was going into the car. So I lathered the damaged thread with JB weld and eased (see hammer and punch) the nut on as far as I dare. I then ran a seam of JB weld round the exposed end of the stub. 24 hrs later, I was able to hammer over the locking tab, so the axle was rebuilt and fitted.

It drives fine but I am conscious of a probable widening of rear axle width.

It will be rebuilt with a more traditional repair asap, but I tried JB Weld before on recommendation from a bike forum. Some bloke had repaired part of the kickstart on a 650 Triumph, where it is constantly bathed in oil and bashed relentlessly each time the bike is started. Not to mention the heat and thrust in both directions at it swivels on the first gear shaft too. It hadn't moved in months.

I did the same repair to my 500cc Tig over a year ago. It also fixed the thread on an alternator stator stud which lasted six months (there was less room for JB Weld in this tiny shaft) until I heli-coiled it.

So beware of left hand threads (I'm hoping these words will come up in a search) on Morris type axles.

And I should add before all the scare-mongers and professorial high-horses come galloping through this, that it is meant to illustrate a temporary repair. I am not a rep for a glue factory nor an engineer (who'd have guessed). I am aware that considerable forces go through axles as should anyone who attempts a repair be. This comment is about reverse threads catching people out - if I come across a repair worth mention I shall post it.

Actually, if I had time I'd go through every post on Morris repairs I could find and condense the lot into a searchable, succinct document. This would save hours of reading people back-and-forth wittering on forums. They have their uses but they become a barrier to learning when the answers are buried in text not dissimilar to this really.

I sincerely hope this is a rather late 'April Fool' - please, don't drive the car like this......I'm not on a 'high horse' - never am, I offer low cost/practical repair advice all the time - but seriously - this is NOT even a temporary repair for your axle - the wheel WILL come off...

I'll see if I can order a new nut and follow the plan using the old one as a die. It's on a fair bit of thread as it is and maybe I'm just lucky but I've done two loaded-up gigs and driven around with no probs so far.

The plan is to open it up soon and check. It's biking weather at last so at least I'll be mobile while I do that. Thanks for the concern:)