Is Monel suitable as a thrust wear surface?

[jeff10049]

I am working on repairing a damaged thrust surface on the back of an engine block this surface takes the thrust pressure when the clutch is depressed. The rest of the time loads are minimal as the trans has straight-cut gears and the crankshaft has its own thrust control. The original system used floating washers of phosphor bronze the system didn't work well the washers ate into the cast iron of both the block and clutch hub and also tended to try and part off the hub luckily my hub is ok.
My fix will be to attach a wear plate to one side, attach a thrust bearing material to the other, and ditch the floating arrangement. Materials I have on the shelf are 954 bronze for the thrust bearing and some monel 400 that I was going to use for the other half for no reason other than I have it and i think its suitable that and shipping/material cost sucks right now. will these play nice together? I also think this area receives poor splash lubrication but I may be able to improve on that if needed. Or if someone has an entirely different and better idea I'm open to suggestions.
Thank you
Jeff

 

[jeff10049]

You've already decided... off the back of what 'research', we know not.. given Monel has been around for "a long while" and there is no shortage of lore.

No need to "sell the idea" to us .... nor ask permission to experiment.

"JFDI"..... and let us know how it works!

Actually I haven't decided that is why I asked if anyone knows if it would be a good surface for the 954 bronze. I'd like to use in stock material if I can if not I'd much rather order something than experiment. That said it's a bit of an experiment in areas as in 1911 the engineers were still experimenting. However I don't need to experiment with material someone knows. Before asking I did what I thought was a fair amount of digging and could not find an answer. Or if no one knows I will just order something that I know works and that's fine just thought with the knowledge base here someone might say NO it will fail or hey it's done all the time and works great. Maybe your response is a joking way of letting me know it's fine. I can also see where my post makes it seem like I'm going for it but I'm not.

 

[implmex]

Hi Jeff:
I only have experience with 954 aluminum bronze against steel, and in that combination it works well.
I have no idea how it would wear against cast iron but I doubt it would do well...cast iron is just so damn soft.
If you make the wear plate out of hardened steel (like A-2 or nitrided 8620) it will run for a million miles.
If you make it out of Monel, I expect bad things like galling...the two alloys have copper in common and are of similar hardness which is never good.
My prediction, utterly unsubstantiated, is that they will seize together and make a godawful mess, accompanied by an unpleasant noise while they do it.

If you don't want to harden it, make it out of that shit they make digger buckets out of, I believe it's called "Hardox"
It'll probably outlive you.

Cheers

Marcus
www.implant-mechanix.com
www.vancouverwireedm.com

 

[jeff10049]

Hi Jeff:
I only have experience with 954 aluminum bronze against steel, and in that combination it works well.
I have no idea how it would wear against cast iron but I doubt it would do well...cast iron is just so damn soft.
If you make the wear plate out of hardened steel (like A-2 or nitrided 8620) it will run for a million miles.
If you make it out of Monel, I expect bad things like galling...the two alloys have copper in common and are of similar hardness which is never good.
My prediction, utterly unsubstantiated, is that they will seize together and make a godawful mess, accompanied by an unpleasant noise while they do it.

If you don't want to harden it, make it out of that shit they make digger buckets out of, I believe it's called "Hardox"
It'll probably outlive you.

Cheers

Marcus
www.implant-mechanix.com
www.vancouverwireedm.com

Good point about the copper I don't know why that didn't occur to me. maybe it doesn't matter but that's enough of a reason not to use it. I will just make a small order for something.

 

[BoxcarPete]

Forget the presence of copper, I just simply don't associate nickel nor its alloys with wear applications. As Marcus said above, a steel of some hardness above "unhardened" will do the job nicely.