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Posted by Dan Shockley on Thursday, December 06, 2007 at 07:54:47 :
In Reply to: Lets Talk Third Members and ........ posted by Paul (in NY) on Wednesday, December 05, 2007 at 16:00:44 :
My 2 cents:
My understanding was the Third Member is Detroit Axle plant Term. In plant 2, 3 and 6 of American Axle in Hamtrammak, MI, they have several "third member" assembly lines. These lines assemble the third member for salsbury type axles (as opposed to banjo type axles: Ford 9" or Dodge Power Wagon axles). These third members are the casting, differential case and gear set. They are assemble before the axle tubes are pressed in and welded in place.
My interpretation of "third member" was that the axle housing of a salsbury type axle comes in three major components: Right Axle Tube Assembly, Left Axle Tube Assembly and the third member. The third member is the third subassembly that makes up the axle housing. This origin of the term makes a hell-of-a-lot more sense then any of the other explainations to me. But, I do not know this to be the actual origin of the term.
From the reading that I have done and the many manuals that I have read, third member may not be technically or originally correct for a banjo type axle, though it has become common usage.
Regards,
Dan
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