Bewick:
coomsey:
windrush:
I have always wondered why hub reduction was used on single drive axles as well Dennis? Foden used them on their units and also on single drive eight wheelers, presumably it was to ease the strain on halfshafts?Pete.
Pete n Dennis being just a driver n not needing to know about drivelines where did Kirkstall axles stand in reliability? Seem to think most of my motors had them.
Pete & Coomsey, Although the Kirkstall D85 axle was very reliable as I don’t recall we had any trouble whatsoever with any but as far as I was concerned they had more moving parts with having the hub reduction gears. Fair enough if your operation meant quite a bit of “off road” like building sites and road works etc.the hub reductions were better. But all our Eaton axles gave excellent service and also the couple of Rockwell axles in two Sed/Atks. ERF were major users of Kirkstall axles, they being ERF’s standard axle. I ordered both “B” and “C” Series ERF’s with the Eaton axle and for some reason the “C” Series were all badged as C38’s and the Kirkstall axled units were C 40’s. It didn’t bother me as the ,then, max GVW was 38 ton. But if I had been able to spec every Atky and ERF I bought they would have all had the Eaton axle. Unfortunately I had to take what I could get sometimes so they came with both Seddon Group and Kirkstall D85’s.
Cheers Dennis.
Kirkstall was regarded as THE back axle in the 1950s / '60s for the “loose axle” market and for the chassis assemblers rather than the fully integrated vehicle builders. As Pete says the theory, and practice, of hub reduction was less strain on the half shafts. Albion axles were hub reduction and very well regarded.