# Homemade Indepemdant Front Axle for AFX



## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

I started working on putting together a bunch of old Aurora AFX and MT chassis from parts I have in the parts box. While my goal was to use all old parts, I did use the following new parts - AW gearplates (with armatures), springs (mine) and either Dash magnets for the AFX or AW XT magnets for the MTs. Everything else is an old used part.

Turns out I did not have enough front axles to do all the chassis. I did not want to buy axles so I started trying to find replacement parts locally in hardware and/or craft stores. This got me to thinking about trying to create an independant front axle that would not require me to press fit the wheels. After some trial and error, I think I got it. And it's very inexpensive.

In my research, it appears Aurora used two different front axles on the AFX line of chassis. One is the pin head axle on which one hub is press fit and the other spins freely - this requires the hubs to have two different I.D.s. The other type of axle is pointed on both ends and both hubs are press fit and therefore have the same I.D. The pin head axle is .040" in diameter and the "spear" axle is .047".

My parts box seemed to contain front hubs with the larger I.D., therefore they were no good to pair up on the pin head axle. Plus, I discovered the larger .047" axle will not fit through the axle holes on non-modified AFX or MT chassis. Apparently, the larger axle was used on the four gear chassis.

So after trying different combinations and ideas, I now can create an AFX front end with two independant front wheels and a system completely reuseable.

Here's what you need:
(1) Front wheels with the opening for the .047" axle
(2) #19 gauge wire nails or wire brads, 5/8" long
(3) Spring pins with an O.D. of 5/64" and 7/16" long

You can probably find the wire nails/brads at your local hardware store. The spring pins I needed to order via McMaster-Carr. I got part number 90692A104.

Take two #19 wire brads (or #19 wire nails if you prefer) and slip one through each wheel. Then feed them through the axle holes and into the spring pin. The brads will easily slip inside the spring pin. The 7/16" spring pin fits perfectly inside the chassis.

With each brad 5/8" in length, the two brads will meet each other in the middle of the spring pin and slightly overlap. It is this overlap which will hold the brads inside the spring pin. You may need to use a wheel press to gently push the two brads together in order to get a tight fit (overlap) inside the spring pin. The fact that the brads/nails have a pointy end allows them to slip over/past each other. Once you get them to overlap, they seem to be locked in.

Clean, neat and CHEAP! And with different sized parts, there's no reason this can't be done for T-Jets. Here's a picture of the chassis and of the parts needed.

Joe


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

Nice!!


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

You could crimp the end of the roll pin just a bit and it would grip the axle really nice

Good tip

Boosted


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

Grandcheapskate said:


> Clean, neat and CHEAP!


... and that is exactly what I like about the method. I saw you mention this elsewhere Joe and it's one of those rare finds that's elegant in it's simple execution. Independent front wheels rates high on my list of likes and the simple push pin method reminds me of the G-Plus front end that I like so much. Great job mate, thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Michael. :thumbsup:

BTW guys, I have some inside knowledge of just how much work went into this. It might seem an easy enough task to find parts to do this so that us punters can duplicate it without the need to mod anything but that's not the case. Part specs and figures that work together on paper often refuse to play in practise. Joe nailed this (pun intended) with pure perseverance and a now very healthy supply of surplus hardware parts that refused to play nicely during his trials.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Michael - Thanks for the encouragement during the testing and the kind words.

Boosted mentions trying to crimp the spring pin so it can hold the brads/nails. These spring/roll pins don't really have any "spring" to them and are tougher than you imagine. I first tried using 1/16" O.D. spring pins and found out they would not open up at all, so you have to go with a spring pin that has a slightly larger I.D. than the brad/nail used for the axle and hope you find a way to jam them inside the pin.

Plus, if you crimp them, removing the brads may be quite difficult.

It may be possible to use a #20 brad/nail and the 1/16" pins, but I could not find #20 brads locally and McMaster-Carr only had #20 brads in packages of 4,500 - probably more than I need! Plus, I don't know if the #20 brads would be too loose inside the wheels and cause them to wobble. As it is, you may need to slightly ream out the stock AFX wheels so they are nice and loose on the #19 brads.

One other thing to keep in mind. You don't want to press the brads together so much that they are difficult to remove. Part of the charm of doing this is the reuseability of all the parts, especially the wheels. Removing the brads is probably best done by grabbing the head of the brad with pliers and pulling it out.

Now that I have a combination that works, there seems to be no reason this method cannot be used with any chassis having a solid axle. It's just a matter of getting the right sized parts. It also occurs to me that since it is the overlap of the brads which keeps the "axles" in place, using an even larger spring pin would not be an issue as long as the brads used, when overlappping, jam themselves inside the spring pin.

Thanks...Joe


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

THIS IS GREAT. thanks for the heads-up!

--rick


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Definitely one for the ages Joe!


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## partspig (Mar 12, 2003)

This "trick" or homemade axle set up is a variation on a "trick" that I used back in the day on Aurora G-plus and Super-mag chassis and others. It allowed you to use a full axle, but allowed for the axle to flex with the chassis, to a point, reducing the chance that the cheapo Aurora axle bosses would break. JMHO. BUT, I am so old I forgot, what was the question?? …………….. pig


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

One other thing to bear in mind. Not all of your brads (or nails) are going to be exactly the same. There will be slight variations in the diameter of the brads so that some will slide more easily into your front wheels than others. But since they are sold in packages of well over 100, you'll have plenty to choose from.

Using a standard wheel press may also not be the best tool for squeezing the brads together. The head of the brad is small enough to pass through the holes in my wheels press. The wire nails have a bigger head and would probably work with a wheel press.

Joe


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

great job on the front axel set-up! i too have come up with a fix but, i like this style too. and i,ll try this one in the future. nice joe n thanx for posting this:thumbsup:


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## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

Some more cool engineering techniques!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup: RM


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