85 cushman truckster rear hub removal

rcleopard

I would like to rebuild the wheel cylinders on my truckster but ran into a problem trying to remove the rear drums, after a lot of pounding and pulling and finding no success, I managed to mushroom the axle spindle on one side, any insight would be appreciated

BGW

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CharleyL

They make a special puller for that. It's just a piece of steel with a blind hole in one end that's threaded to fit the axle. It does take some serious pounding to get them off. A little WD40 or LPS helps too. The puller is available from www.directparts.com or www.denniscarpentercushman.com and maybe a few other sources for just a few bucks. It screws onto the end of the axle, so hammer blows don't damage it. But now that you have mushroomed the end of the axle, you are going to have to somehow repair it or look for a new axle, which is going to be very difficult, and expensive, to find. If you can get the hubs off, and can hone out the original brake cylinders, early 70's Ford F-100 rebuild kits are a perfect fit. The same years of Ford F-100 cylinders are close in shape, but need a bit of modification of the mounting to fit on the Cushman. It will take some grinding to remove a bump on the casting. Buy the right ones if you can.

If you can successfully hone the inside of the original cylinders to remove all of the pitting, it might be worth rebuilding them, but the cost and time of doing it will be higher than just buying new cylinders. The correct Cushman version of the wheel cylinders cost me $24.95 each a year ago. I bought mine through the local forklift repair shop. It helps if you have a parts list and can give them the Cushman part number for what you need. I bought a new master cylinder off-the-shelf for $14.95 from them too. It seems that some forklifts use the same brake parts. I also bought brake shoes from them for $10 each (not pair).

The reason why the brake lines and cylinders rust out so bad on these vehicles is that the DOT3 brake fluid that is used is alcohol based and the master cylinders are vented to the atmosphere. Changes in atmospheric pressure cause humidity in the air to be drawn into the master cylinder where it readily unites with the alcohol in the brake fluid. Over time enough water will be into and united with the brake fluid to begin rusting the brake system from the inside out. A silicone based brake fluid (I think it's DOT5) can be a replacement, but it's expensive and 100% of the DOT3 fluid has to be removed from the system before it can be used.

I looked for a sealed master cylinder to replace the vented one in my 87 Cushman Truckster, but didn't find one that could be used without major modification, so I ended up just replacing it with one of the original design. Now, every 2 years, I bleed out all of the old fluid and replace it with new.

The flexible brake lines are also available. I bought mine from ORiley Auto Parts. Take one off your Cushman and they can find one like it for you. I believe that the flexible line between the chassis and my front axle assembly was for a 1968 Dodge D100 Van. A metal brake line can be replaced with one from the auto parts store, but you will be getting a straight one of the approximate length and You will need to shape it yourself.

I've had to almost totally rebuild my 87 Cushman, so I can help with many other problems that you might encounter. Don't hesitate to post your questions here. I'm not here every day, but try to get here at least a few times per week. Member "Unforgiven" is a good source for Cushman help too.

I don't know what model your Cushman is except for the year, but the manual and supplement for my 1987 are available on www.sillylittlecars.com. Go to the Manuals in the choices at the top of the first screen, then click on shop and maintenance manuals, then click on each of the 826767 manuals. The main manual contains most of the part numbers and exploded diagrams. The Supplement contains
the motor information and electrical diagrams. Cushman didn't change much from year to year, so these two manuals should be a big help to you.

Charley

rcleopard

Thanks for your reply. I have the police version. I spoke with Direct parts and they are shipping the knock tool for the rear hubs, sure wish I had heard of it before I tried a puller. Think I will try to cut the damaged part axle off before I try to replace it. At this point I figure i have nothing to loose. Thanks for the tip on the brakes, let you know how it goes.
Rick

CharleyL

The puller doesn't make it much easier to get the hubs off. It just keeps you from wrecking the threads on the end of the axle. My hubs still took pry bars from the back side 180 degrees apart while my son hit the puller with a 20 lb sledge, and they still didn't come off with the first hit.

While waiting for the puller, soak the joint between the hub and the axle with WD40 or CRS. These hubs want to rust on. A thin layer of Never Seize on the axle and key will make them easier to get off the next time you need to remove them.

My Truckster spent 13 years sitting untouched on the edge of a pine forest in Central NC
before I brought it home. Everything was rusted together, and everything needed attention to get it working again. I hope you have better luck restoring your Truckster.

When you get to the motor, do yourself a huge favor and don't use the original fuel pump. Get an electric fuel pump for a small car at the auto parts store and install it. They are self regulating and you will always have the correct fuel pressure. The original fuel pumps are no longer being made, new old stock originals are very expensive, and fail quickly due to age deteriorated rubber parts in them. A new electric pump is less than 1/2 the price of what they want for the original OEM pumps, are easy to install, and work much better than the original mechanical fuel pumps ever did. You won't need the bypass filter or the fuel return line to the gas tank either, but you will need to plug this return inlet at the tank. I used a short piece of hose with a bolt in the end, and two fuel line clamps.

They install easy. You put a fuel filter between the tank and pump, run the output of the pump direct to the inlet of the carburetor, connect the black wire to a bolt in the frame, and the red wire to any place that has power when the ignition key is switched on. Bolt the pump to the side of the frame down near the level of the tank outlet. I mounted a flat steel plate to the frame and then bolted my pump to the steel plate. It was easier to do it that way for me.

Your gas tank is also likely full of rust, and you won't likely be able to buy a new one. Mine had a 3/8 thick layer of crusted rust in the bottom. I bought a motorcycle gas tank repair kit from KBS Coatings through Amazon. It comes as a package containing an acid etching solution, a neutralizer, and an epoxy like tank lining material. It'll take a few hours to do this, but the results are amazing. It will even fix pin hole leaks.

I used a fat Christmas Decoration style pipe cleaner to clean the excess epoxy out of the fill and return tubes just before letting the material harden. I also bought two replacement fuel caps (original was bad), used one to seal the tank during the etching, neutralizing, and coating steps and then replaced it with the second new cap when I installed the tank back into my Truckster. The inside of my tank is like new and will never rust again.

I parted out a 3 wheel 1989 Police version a while back. I saved the motor parts and drive train, but not the front end. I sold the frame and body to a guy in Florida who had a 1989 with a heavily rusted frame. If you can't find something that you need I may be able to help.

Charley