Left hand thread pinion screw plug

[dipstick]

Quick question, 48 pan. Did the end of the pinion shaft have the left hand screw? Shaft on mine has the slip fit gear if that helps. TIA

[RUBONE]

Quick question, 48 pan. Did the end of the pinion shaft have the left hand screw? Shaft on mine has the slip fit gear if that helps. TIA

Not when new, the left hand screw started in '51, however if rebuilt along the way it may have it. Easy to tell, if there is a screw slot in the end of the shaft then the plug is in it, if it is only a small hole it does not. They are dramatically different in appearance.

[RooDog]

My book shows this as "24020-51, Flywheel gear shaft plug, 1951-53 Big Twins"
Left hand threads, & staked in situ....

DSC02078.JPG (197.38 KiB) Viewed 542 times

PS: And there is an aftermarket Andrews cam, and Knucklehead Lightening gears, not original to this engine, but then, not much is anymore......
....RooDog....

[dipstick]

Thanks Roo, only info I could find was 51 and up. I definitely don’t have the shaft in your picture.

[dragstews]

You may have a hard time finding a right hand thread screw for the 50 and back pinion shaft ..
Aftermarket don't seem to make em ..

Be a chore to break down the crank and buy a new pinion shaft and build back the crank just for having the left hand screw ..

May be best to call around some of the older shop, might get lucky ...

[RUBONE]

You may have a hard time finding a right hand thread screw for the 50 and back pinion shaft ..
Aftermarket don't seem to make em ..

Be a chore to break down the crank and buy a new pinion shaft and build back the crank just for having the left hand screw ..

May be best to call around some of the older shop, might get lucky ...

H-D never made a "right hand screw". Earlier shafts have a countersunk dimple for truing and such, no plug. The screw in plug appeared in '51, and disappeared in '54 with the advent of the small bushing pinion shaft.
Sadly the aftermarket ran with it.
I personally always convert to '55-'57up style shafts, with '55-infinity type bearings, pinion gears, etc. Why screw around with the splines when tapers and keys are available eliminating so much gear noise!

[RooDog]

Robbie....
Please explain what an "infinity bearing" is.....
And you are absolutely correct about upgrading to the later shaft with the keyed & tapered pinion gear, and may as well go with the 1973 and newer oil pump drive gears while you're at it too.....
....RooDog....

BTW:
V-Twin lists the left hand thread 1951-53 pinion shaft end screw in 5 packs, # 10-0518, OEM #24020-51, in stock now....

[RUBONE]

"Please explain what an "infinity bearing" is....."
To the end of time.....

[RooDog]

I've a Lexus, I don't know about Infinities....
But the Honda Accord, like the Paris Peace Talks of 1972, made the world a safer place.......

[nifty]

Hilarious segue from pinion bearing to Paris talkfest
Cracked me up having my first morning coffee
Nifty