Rear Axle rebuild

[skinsgamer]

So, I thought my drive shaft was toast. Now I wish my drive shaft was toast. Shop told me the rear end is shot. So I had her towed (flatbed) back to the house. I now need to begin the rebuild process.

First of many questions I'm sure, do I have to remove the rear axle to inspect the condition of the differential? If so, where do I jack the car so I can remove it?
Not sure how bad it is, but when we pushed it into the garage the differential would bind and make a clanking sound. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif

 

[jcatnite]

Since you are dropping the axle, you can put jackstands right in front of the rear spring hangers. I used a couple of about 12" 2x4's between the tub of the car and the jackstand saddle to help distribute the weight. I also found it seemed a bit more stable to put the front end up on stands as well. To lift it I just put the floor jack saddle under the differential housing and lifted both wheels at the same time. To pull the axles, there are two screws that hold the brake drums on and them another that holds the axle to the hub under the brake drum. The ones on the passenger side of the car might be left hand threads. You may have to fashion some type of puller to seperate the axle from the hub but it will come apart. Then you can slide the axle right out. Of course you will have to remove the drive shaft from the differential before taking it out of the pumpkin/housing. There are many choices for used differentials out there. It shouldn't be too hard to locate one if yours is shot. Might want to think about replacing the bearings inside the axle tube and hub since you are so deep into it. May just be a broken axle? I've seen stranger things but you won't know for sure till you get a peek at it. There will probably be lots of ideas here to help you as there has been a lot of discussion regarding differentials on here in the past month or so...
Hope this helps,
JC

 

[aeronca65t]

I think if you search this Spridget site, you'll see a lot of info on rear axles snapping. It's pretty common and fairly easy to fix.
Of course, it could be the actual differential, but that's far less likely.
Please use the "Search" portion of British Car Forum and restrict your search (of "axle") to the Spridget area.
G'luck!

 

[skinsgamer]

Well, I hope it's the rear axle. Sounds much easier to deal with. Thanks for the detailed info, JC. I'm off to search "axle" right now. I was searching differential.

Thanks!!

 

[skinsgamer]

I found a complete rear axle (guaranteed) at my local salvage yard for $200.00. I'm gonna clean that one up and install on my midget. It's from a 76' 1500 so should be good to go on my 78'. Once I have the swap done I plan on rebuilding my original so I'll have a spare.

 

[George Zeck]

Just did the same to my car last week. I agree with the above postings about Spridgets are known for weak axle's and are prone to snapping. Especially if you squeal the tires pretty well.

To remove the diff, you must first jack the car up. Remove wheels and brake drums (3 simple bolts - nothing fancy). Drain the fluid from the diff (3/8 socket head will work but will be slightly loose).

There is a LARGE nut holding the axle in place that's (you'll need probably a 2" or larger socket to unscrew).

Then you can pull the wheel / bearing assembly. You'll need access to a press to remove the bearings if you choose to do this ~ $40 for the kit from Vic Brit for both wheels and it includes all the seals you'll need).

After this -- you can pull the axle shaft out (if you have one piece, look for the problem in the diff). Repeat for other side of car.

Unbolt the drive shaft from the diff housing.

Unbolt the 8 to 10 bolts holding the diff into the housing. You might need "some help" from all of our friend "Mr. Hammer" to get the assembly out once removed. We actually used an air chisel.

Replace diff if you've gotten this far. I might be messing up the ratio's -- stock for my car was a 3.9 (1964) and moved to a 4.1 (late 60's to match my 1275). I might have these backwards but you get the idea. If you can obtain a 4.55 -- even better, but much more expensive and more difficult to obtain for many of the racers snap these up quickly.

Be carful about the gasket inside of the wheel bearings -- it took a bit of hammering on these with a sharp chisel. It should have been the easiest part but turned out to be the most
difficult.

Be liberal with RTV / gasket seal on the diff housing when reassembling and the wheel bearing housings to prevent leaks.

Used 90W Gear Oil to put back in.

I did this upgrade for two reasons: the person who rebuilt my engine told me that since moving from a 1098 to a 1275 -- it'd be a good idea and I messed up and punctured a seal when I replaced the rear wheel cylinders last fall and was leaking the diff fluid. Be careful of direction of the clip for those guys.

email me if you would like to talk or think pic's would help.

Good luck --

George
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif

 

[skinsgamer]

Thanks for input. I pulled the axle shafts and differential last night (only took about 45 minutes). The axles are in good shape. Unfortunately, the main gears (two big ones) are chewed up. Spider gears and all look fine. Good news is I pick up the replacements after work today and gaskets/oil seals are being delivered as I type. With any luck my LBC will be back on the road tomorrow. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif

 

[aeronca65t]

Just to clarify George's comments:
You do not need a press to remove the bearing from the hubs. They can be tapped out with a hammer and "drift" (a 1/2" piece of round aluminum or brass about 8" long makes good drift).
The large nut on the end of the axle housing is 1-7/8" (and one side is left-handed).
You can remove the axle without pulling the hub and bearing assembly.

 

[skinsgamer]

Yea, kinda new that. I thought he may have been referencing a wire wheel car. I put the new differential on last night and plan on putting the rest together today after work.