What a torsion axle should not look like

[John and Jaci]

We have replaced the axle on our 1972 Boler. The original axle was locked in the up position about 10 to 15 degrees up. After we replaced the axle John cut the old one in two so we could see just how bad the axle looked on the inside. Its quite impressive what 38 yrs of wear and tear looks like. Thought that others would be interested in seeing what it looks like.

[Mike Bromley]

I'm about to find out. My hard-riding '73 Boler axle is being exchanged as I write.

[Roy in TO]

Thank you,
That picture should become a "sticky" for everyone to see why they should replace their axle when it looks OK from the outside.

[Raya]

Just curious: What would a cross section of a good axle look like?

Raya

PS: I don't doubt this one was shot; just don't know how a good/new cross section would look as I have never seen one cut open.

[Mike Bromley]

I would imagine that the rubbers would be in the corners of the outer tube, with the inner tube at 45 degrees to the outer tube, nestled in the nice bouncy rubbers, and not all filled with rusty grundge.

[Mike and Sarah K]

Just curious: What would a cross section of a good axle look like?

Raya

PS: I don't doubt this one was shot; just don't know how a good/new cross section would look as I have never seen one cut open.

typically the center tube is at 45 degrees to the outer tube and the rubber on each corner would have been symetrical. The way I have been told to tell if it is burnt out is to measure the angle of offset of the inner tube from the outer tube. I don't know how far they can move before they are too far gone but the picture of the cut one above you can tell they are probably gone.

[Kevin K]

This is what mine looked like also before I replaced it.


Arm should be pointing down NOT up.

[Roger C H]

This is what mine looked like also before I replaced it.
Attachment 27878

Arm should be pointing down NOT up.

Hmmm. Maybe if you removed your anvil collection from the trailer...

[Highway68]

Thanks for those pics, that is just what I have been wondering, I'm preparing to replace axles on two trailers, nice to see the inner workings!

[Michel, Bouchard]

This is what mine looked like also before I replaced it.
Attachment 27878

Arm should be pointing down NOT up.

It looks exactly like before mine was replace 2 days ago, even the arms did hit the floor a couple of times (from what I can see, before I bought it). My Boler looked like a low-rider, now it's ready to go camping on some rough roads to go fishing.

You can see how my Boler was low before and how it is after, I also provided the link to where I had it done in that post:
Boler axle replacement

[Roy in TO]

Just curious: What would a cross section of a good axle look like?

Cut away views can be seen on the torflex documentaion here:

http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1080235/f/Torfl...ation_4-04.pdf

The square axle and tube are at 45 degrees to each other and the 4 peices of rubber are round fitting nicely into the triangular spaces between them.

Maybe someone here knows how to copy a picture from the PDF to post it.

[Mike Bromley]

Maybe someone here knows how to copy a picture from the PDF to post it.

Yup!

[Roy in TO]

Way to go Mike!

Does that help you Raya?

[Raya]

Yes, thank you!

So it looks like the rubber "bands" should be more round and the inner square should be at 45º to the outer tube, as you-all mentioned. Thanks!

Raya

[Alf S.]

Hi: All...Ok!!! Who's going to sacrifice their new axle for a "Cut AwayView".
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Roger C H]

What is the advantage of using rubber? Does it provide a dampening action like a shock absorber?

I recall when torsion bar suspensions came out on cars. It was a steel bar secured to the frame at one end and to the wheel at the other. Much simpler than leaf or coil springs. They also required shocks, though.

[Mike Bromley]

A torsion bar is basically a straight spring. A coil spring is torsion bar wrapped up in a helix.

The rubber has a viscous response when deformed, hence it is also a shock absorber.