Replacing Torsilastics on Eagles

[DoubleEagle]

I recently documented replacing a Torsilastic on my Model 10, step by step, from removal to reinstallation, which is posted on the Bus Grease Monkey forum with seventeen pictures and details about tools required. To access this you need to be a member of BGM, which is free, but you must sign up. The reason it is posted there is because of the tremendous support and interest on that forum when I posted details of an axle removal and replacement last year.

The Torsilastic posting is in the Bus Maintenance and repair section, titled "Replacing Torsilastics on a Eagle Coach", and the axle replacement is there as well under "An axle for Cody's Eagle", started in June 2023, and has over a hundred pages of postings.

[dtcerrato]

You did a really fine documentation of the works both times Walter and you are an assett to the bus community besides a great friend. Nice work! I did notice the big difference in what you documented to your actual work was done under less than optimum conditions (outside on natural earth) and solo on your latest R&R! We're looking forward to seeing yours & Cody's Eagles at this year's RAOC rally less than a month away! 

[luvrbus]

Replacing torsilastics on a Eagle  is not for everyone lol that why is so many add air bags.The boogie are not that bad but the other 4 suck BTDT on my 05 I replaced all 6  I walk by 4 we cut out still on the frame and not interested removing those and selling the 4 to much work even without the bus on the frame.For those that do F/B the process is there to on video some are  real funny 

Walter was the axle broke in Dans model 10 ?

[DoubleEagle]

Cliff, no, it was Cody's 1982 Model 10 up in Northern Michigan, about 700 miles away, last year. The Eagle had sunk down in the dirt up to the rims from sitting for years after Cody's wife died. He then tried to drive it out, but the drop box or the pinion gave out and locked it up. I concluded that maybe the best thing to do was to replace the whole unit because I had one with the same ratio. We had two teams that worked on it, Gary from Indiana, and Alex from Wisconsin, went up to raise the Eagle (on soft ground) and remove the old axle. Then I went up with the axle and met with Jason from Ontario to install the replacement, so it was an international event. Everybody donated their time, parts, and tools.

These were all guys on the Grease Monkey Forum, which I know you are not a fan of, but it is separate from Scott's activities, and has become a very active and useful forum like BNO used to be. You are still welcome to join at any time, it's much more active than Eagles International.

[luvrbus]

Cody and Dan are the same person, Walter some of us call him Dan and others call him Cody, Van was going to help Dan but his health went south, I offered Dan a drop box free but never heard back from him . If Cody ran the 2 beams like he said  he did from the front to rear how did you get the axle out ?

Walter I have one 8v92 coming out of the shop this week another going in ,plus a upgrade cooling system on a MCI 5 ,at 85 years old I done with buses lol I don't even want to own one .Now it is about life without Sonja  and that is the toughest job I ever embraced.  Only problem I had with Scott is he and the Cat Lady screwed Kevin  and Scott told me he would pay Kevin for all the parts and fluids if the Cat Lady didn't and he did so its over with me ,The Yvan deal was between him and Scott I tried to stay out of that one,Yvan  is good person to


I saw your write up on the EI board

[DoubleEagle]

The axle at Cody's was blocked up and then lowered by jacks slowly, and then dragged out with a jeep. When I took the replacement axle out of my spare Eagle I used two chain hoists attached to framing above the axle to lower it down into two military storage box halves so I could winch it out on the soft ground, and then winch it another 50 feet to get it out. When I got to Cody's it was picked up by a neighbors loader and slid under still in the box halves. Then we simply chain lifted it up into position. (I tried to post some pictures here, but they would not load up) The one picture on EI shows the axle being winched out in the box halves.

The one very unusual thing about Cody's Eagle is that he appears to have a Model 01 Torsilastic on the driver side attached by 7/8" cap bolts and nuts, and a Model 10 Torsilastic on the other side attached by "Special" 12 point bolts. We were able to attach both to the axle. It makes me wonder if the Model 01's could handle a newer Torsilastic.

[Van]

That is great what y'all done to help Dan out, cudos to all! Yes I originally tryed to go up to see what the issue with his birdn glad it all came together for him.  I just now got off tthe phone with him (1hr 20min call) and he told me how yall planted his butt in a chair so he could watch the magic being performed lol! It is what a good community does when one is in need, most of us have been there at one time or another, I know I have😉🙂❤️.

Pay it forward😉

[David Anderson]

It took me a week to get my axle out when I was on concrete
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZT11g1ZVWU

I can't imagine trying to do it in soft dirt. Yikes.

David

[DoubleEagle]

It can be done, you just have to be prepared to lose a few blocks that get driven down a foot or so by the weight. I used plastic military cargo box halves to put under the brake drums to slide the axle out and back in. That made it easier to move it across dirt and gravel, otherwise dirt would have accumulated in the brakes. Your use of pallet jacks was a great idea on concrete, but I'm sure there were a few difficulties with the bolts. The pictures I posted on Eagles Int'l show the axle being slid out in the boxes.

[luvrbus]

Walter was there a reason for changing the axle housing that is a lot of work just getting the rusted bolts out, I have changed the drop box and differential several times in dirt and gravel plus 1 in the Texas mud but never the axle housing,I have changed the housing on concrete leaving the torsilastics in place and dropping the housing down the 8 bolts holding  it place came out fairly easy I had trouble getting stabilizer bars off each side some one had welded the bars on  , it wasn't a bad job 25 years ago lol

[DoubleEagle]

We changed the whole axle because it was not known what had failed, whether it was the drop box or the pinion, and Dan (Cody) and friends had tried to pull the axles, but could not. Given that the Eagle was on soft sloping ground in a very remote area, I concluded that the simplest solution (what was I thinking?) would be to put in a complete running axle. The bus that I took the axle from was an Eastern bus that had seen a good amount of winter salt, so none of the bolts came out easy, and it was on soft ground as well. It all worked out well, and Dan has used his Eagle for a couple small trips this summer, and he expects to come to Nappanee, Indiana for the Random Acts of Camping Meet at the end of this month.

I have his old axle in my yard, and some day I will take it apart and find out what failed. If it was just the drop box, I have one more spare I could put on and make it good again. I forgot to mention that the donor axle was so rusted to the Torsilastics that I needed two 20 ton jacks to separate them.

[luvrbus]

I told Dan he could not pull the axles with it buried I guess they beat on till they gave up and called it quits ,I have one rebuilt drop box and 3:73 3rd member for a Eagle if you see anyone that needs one ,I need those gone, I am glad you guys helped Dan he needed it ,he got off his meds and went off  on some Eagle owners over something dumb and they wouldn't help him I asked for him some help and Van was going to help but his health went to hell in a hurry