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Boring stuff!


At the direction of the Airflow Club Board of Directors, an update has begun for the club's Standards of Correctness Manual. We are beginning with the 1936 DeSoto S2 section, and a question has arisen about how detailed we expect judging to be in the future. For example, should we check cars to see that they have the correct number and type of zero fittings? We have agreed to separate the "How do we judge?" question from the "How were they built?" question, but looking ahead, I don't see us ever judging zerks. Maybe if they are missing from the visible rear spring shackles.... And it won't be my call. Nevertheless, I undertook a study to see if the information was available for S2s. Here's what I found.

I first went through the original, official 1936 DeSoto S1/S2 Parts List looking for zerks. They are called nipples or oilers, not zerks, although there is a requirement for a zerk oil gun in the tool section. My search engine doesn’t find every instance of “oiler” in my digitized parts list, so I read the sections I thought should contain them and found most of them. I then compared what I found with the lube chart from the Master Maintenance Manual to ensure I didn’t miss any. The clutch/master pedal assembly was a little hard to figure out. There should be four fittings there, all straight, as far as I can determine.

S2 Grease Nipples and Oilers -- Part Numbers

Front spring shock eliminator oiler (2) 110308

Front spring + cover assembly (2, bolt) 110308

Front spring shackle oiler (4) 109350

Rear spring bushing oiler (4) 109350

Front shock absorber link oiler (4) 661422

Rear shock absorber link oiler (4) 661422

Water pump grease nipple (oiler) 119512

U-joint spline 119512

Left king pin oiler (2) 119512

Pedal and master cylinder bracket oiler 109354

Clutch release torque tube oiler 119512

Clutch release lever oiler 119512

Drag link oiler (rear) 109352

Steering tie rod end oiler (2) 119516

Rear axle drive shaft bearings (2) 119512

110308 appears to be 45° on shock eliminator plate 29

109350 appears to be 45° on plate 29

109352 appears to be straight but may be smaller thread on drag link plate 4

109354 appears straight on plate 15

119512 appears to be straight on king pin plate 3

661422 used only on shock links - no drawing

119516 used on S2 tie rod ends only

Indications:

119512 is a straight fitting and is used in many places.

119516 is used only on tie rod ends on S2s

109350 is angled and used on shackles and springs

109308, angled, used only by shock eliminator

109352, straight, probably came with the drag links and is special

109354, straight, is used on the pedal assembly pivots

Comparison with Lube chart from Master Maintenance Manual.

  • Chart shows 2 oilers on drag link; only found 1 in parts list. The one on the round end is evidently not visible in Plate 4.

  • Chart implies the driver's side spring bolts are in the shock eliminator (correct)

  • Chart says 2 king pin oilers on le

ft, one on right.

Conclusions: All zerks are straight except those on springs and shackles, the shock eliminator (which functions as a shackle), and possibly shock absorber links and tie rod ends, for which we lack drawings. (Note the right angle fittings on the clutch mechanism in the photo below. This mechanism is from a 1935 SG DeSoto, and is apparently slightly different from the 1936 S2.)

Thanks to John Spinks for the photos and comments on the preliminary study.


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