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HELP! something broke in the rear end...

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I'm with Randy, I don't believe the pumpkin itself will fit between the frame and the body. In any case, I've always done it by the factory method, which is to remove both backing plates, slide the housing to one side until the opposite tube will drop below the frame, then slide it the other way. On my TR3, I don't even have to drop the exhaust.

The shock links don't have to be disconnnected on a '3, as they attach to the plate under the springs (which you can just leave dangling).

Just put my axle back in night before last. Taking longer than expected, but I'm finding some other things to attend to (like the leaking shock, new brake lines, rebuilding one of the cylinders, etc.) In retrospect, I probably should have installed the new hard lines first, rather than waiting until after it was in the car.

As far as finding a used one in decent condition (I would/did still replace the seals and clean as much as practical), the thing to look for is a wrecked car or an abandoned restoration project. I sold the one from my wrecked car last week, so I'm using one that came with a restoration project many, many years ago. As I mentioned before, I think Ted Schumacher got one of the other axles that came with the same project.
 
Cool video my Belgian, German and French is a little rusty (non-existent) but fun to watch. The saloon version of the 3 was neat to see.
 
Agreed, that video was cool. Lots of TRs at that event!

Randall,

Thanks for the heads up on the factory method. That sounds like a plan.

Whatever route I go I am assuming there are some seals to replace, bearings to check and general clean up all around. The usual, "While I'm in there" situation. I hope to not have to mess with the rear end too much in the future so if I'm in there now I'd like to knock out as much as I reasonably can.

I'll give Greyhound a call and see what they are willing to ship, thanks for the heads up. Anyone have an idea how much these axle assemblies weigh? I'm pretty sure that is one of the main drivers for Greyhound.

Thanks again,

Eric
 
And I think 100 lbs should just about cover the assembly, including axles & drums.
 
Question, it looks like when Triumph switched from the Lockheed axle to the Girling axle, they continued using 10" drums for awhile. Are the 10" drums on the Lockheed axle the exact same as on the Girling axle?

Thanks,

Eric
 
I disagree. Both drums were Stanpart 301126.
 
Sorry, I should have been more specific, I meant the entire drum brake assembly. Basically, can I bolt the drum brake assembly from my Lockheed axle onto a Girling axle, or can I at least transfer over the main components (wheel cylinders, shoes and drums?

Sorry for the confusion.

Eric
 
Everything but the drums is totally different. Backing plate, shoes, cylinders, adjusters, pipes, even the 3-way junction.

In fact, I'm not positive offhand that the later hose will fit the earlier line. You may have to find a special hose to mate the two together.
 
I'm pretty sure that all the Lockheed pipe threads are different than the Girling. I remember first noticing this on my (Lockheed) Mayflower brake system after almost ruining one junction thanks to a previous owner having truly cobbled up a replacement pipe! But I'm not sure just what those Lockheed threads are???
 
Thanks for the clarification. So what does everyone do when they switch from a Lockheed axle to the Girling axle, with regards to the flexible brake line and/or junction block? Is the only option the special hose? If so, how would I get that made?

Thanks again for the help!

Eric
 
Oh yeah, it sounds like the 9" Girling brake assembly off a TR4 w/ the Girling solid axle will bolt up to the flange of a Girling axle off of a TR3A that originally came with Girling 10" brakes. Is this correct?

Eric
 
I finally got some time to take a look inside, and it is the half-shaft. big6 was very kind and came by early Sat. morning and we had both shafts out in about an hour and a half (mostly his work, I learned though). We pulled the broken one first, and then pulled the other side just to confirm it was ok (which is is).

Here are some pics:
IMG_2466.jpg

IMG_2470.jpg

IMG_2469.jpg

IMG_2471.jpg
 
6969ronin6969 said:
Is the only option the special hose? If so, how would I get that made?
Click to expand...
I haven't done it (made sure to buy a car with disc brakes :smile: ) but if you don't have a local shop that can make up brake hoses for you, try TSi https://www.tsimportedautomotive.com/ They make (or have made) the 'braided SS' brake hoses, which seem to have standard ends and then adapters to fit the individual location. Should be trivial to grab a Girling adapter for one end and a Lockheed adapter for the other.

Another alternative might be to cut the existing hard line and install a Girling nut on it, then re-flare the end. I think there should be enough extra line (like around the jack hole) to make up the 1/4" or so you would lose that way.

Thanx for the pics. It's interesting to see the distortion in the splines, even though the shaft broke at the end of the splines.
 
6969ronin6969 said:
Oh yeah, it sounds like the 9" Girling brake assembly off a TR4 w/ the Girling solid axle will bolt up to the flange of a Girling axle off of a TR3A that originally came with Girling 10" brakes. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Yes, that's right. Later TR3A also came with 9" Girling brakes which I believe were identical to the TR4 brakes, except that later TR4 switched to .70" bores instead of .75".
 
Question, I am going to be putting the Lockheed axle back together, what wheel bearing grease and differential oil are people using?

Thanks,

Eric
 
Hey Eric,

Glad to hear it! After 40 years of dealing with used parts, I always feel it's better to stick with a known unit rather than starting from scratch with an unknown. The Lockheed should serve you well for many more years...

You should pull the differential carrier out since you have it down that far. It's only an additional 4 bolts. Pull it and clean it thoughoughly with brake cleaner, then look it over closely, especially the bearings on each side. You are looking for stray metal from the axle and any pitting on the roller bearings and races.

If all looks good, just put the carrier back in, install your axles and you're back on the road!

I used Royal Purple 75W-140 this time around, although I think any of the new synthetics are light years better than what was available when these were built, so hard to go wrong. Any good High-temp grease will also be fine.

Good luck!

John
 
John,

Thanks for the encouraging words and feedback. One question, I thought about pulling the carrier, but was concerned that if I pull it out I will need to adjust all the play between the gears which I must say sounded a little intimidating. Is my concern correct or does it just pull out as a unit and slip back in with no additional requirements?

Sorry for all the questions, as I said before, this is the first rear axle I've had to mess with so it is new territory for me.

I may switch to a Girling rear in the future, but the price was right on the halfshaft I need right now and installation shouldn't take much time at all. When big6 came by he knew enough to not mess with the brake lines so all I have to do now is slide the halfshafts back in and button everything back up, and I'm on the road! Can't wait.

Thanks again,

Eric
 
<span style="text-decoration: underline">IF</span> you were to pull the carrier -- and put it back with its shim pack as-is, things would be no worse than they are now.
<span style="text-decoration: underline">HOWEVER</span> -- you really need to remove the whole axle from the car to get it out. <span style="text-decoration: underline">AND</span> -- the carrier should be under a pre-load that requires a special tool, called the "case spreader," to remove/install the carrier and its bearings. Macy's Garage has a fine write-up, with pictures, detailing the process. It's not for the timid, nor under-equipped to rebuild one of these diffs.
Just removing the carrier and its shims to clean out the rear end would be doable. But, if you're going that far, there's really no point in not going through the rest of it. When my carrier was removed, for rebuild, it just came out without need of the case spreader. That was an indication that the bearings were shot. Otherwise, you need the case spreader to remove it -- and surely need it to re-install it correctly.
 
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