1950s 55/56 Turn signal switch bearings, Gnat Gnuts

[Cadman-iac]

  I've been busy fixing things unrelated to my Cadillac for a couple of months, but I recently found a source for the little itty-bitty teeny-weeny tiny bearings that Cadillac used to slide the turn signal switch on in the 55 and 56 models, and probably several other years as well.

 5 or 6 years ago, when I was rebuilding the steering columns I have for my 56, I discovered, (as many of us probably have), that some Cadillac engineer had a sick sense of humor by using Gnat Gnuts as bearings and that if you are not aware that they are there when you are taking the switch out they tend to get lost during the disassembly process.
 I was lucky in that I had 3 columns, so I was able to get enough of these Gnat Gnuts to fix 2 of them, the 3rd one was left for parts.

 However, last week I was modifying my dump trailer and adding a couple of grease fittings. One of these was damaged, and as I removed it it came apart. Well it turns out that the check ball inside a grease fitting is the same size as the Gnat Gnuts Cadillac put in the turn signal switch for 55 and 56, (and maybe more).
 If you file the bottom end of the grease fitting to remove the small crimp that holds the spring in place, it and the ball will fall right out.
 I haven't actually taken a caliper and measured the original ones in the columns yet, (they're buried in the storage room at the moment), but just from what I remember, these grease fitting check balls are perfect for the turn signal switch in your 50's Cadillac.

 So if you've lost your Gnat Gnuts and can't get your turn signal switch to work properly, find yourself a few old (or new) grease fittings and disassemble them.
 I don't know of another source for teeny tiny itsy bitsy bearings. It's a little bit of work, but it beats trying to make your switch move without the Gnat Gnuts in place.

 Rick

[Cadman-iac]

Here's a picture of the signal switch bearings for a 55/56. The diameter is just .093" which makes them extremely easy to lose.
 If you have lost one or more, you can replace them with these unless you happen to have a source for individual ball bearings. I wasn't able to locate a source other than pilfering from another column.
 Leaving them out might work; I didn't try it, but I doubt it would work well.
 Hope this helps.

 Rick

[dn010]

I found a 3/32" ball bearing from a bearing kit will work. You can buy the size alone or a kit of numerous sizes on amazon cheap. I like the kit because I tend to lose check valves in carbs or transmissions from time to time.

[Cadman-iac]

Dan,
What do you mean by a "bearing kit"? I've never heard of this before, but that's not unusual for me.
It would have been nice to know when I was doing these. I dropped one and was scouring the floor looking for it. I don't know how many little slag balls I found in the process, but for just a very brief moment I considered using one of these if I could have found one that was round enough to work.
Fortunately I had a spare column to use for parts, but it would be nice to be able to put it back together now too.

Rick