my traveller came home on the back of a tow truck this afternoon...
Was changing gear at a roundabout and there was a donk and lost drive.
Checked the forums and propshaft is turning happily when ticking over in first gear so guessed diff or halfshafts. Got the car on axle stands and removed one of the halfshafts with no problem but the other one wont come out- looking down the hole from the other side i can see that the splines are pretty graunched up on the end of the halfshaft and cant drift it out cos of the pinion shaft being in the way. Any advice on how to get it removed so I can carry on removing the diff and find out what horrors lie inside!
Cheers
Steve
That is unusual since the shaft usually snaps outboard of the planet wheel so there is nothing to stop its removal. I can only suggest that you
try something like a very thin chisel between the shaft flange and the hub flange as it is probably this joint which is preventing removal. Keep
the flat part of the chisel blade on the HUB side to avoid possible distortion. (the half shaft does NOT run in the diff bearing it merely passes through it so there is quite a bit of room there so if it is a burr on the broken end it must be quite large).
Not easy if the splines are damaged, you may have to get tough with it and maybe use tyre levers between the hub and the shaft flange to see if you can get any movement, or if you have a big enough gap between those two parts perhaps you could use two bolts with nuts that are placed opposite to 'wind' them apart. If it's stuck badly expect to do damage! If you just try pulling be careful you don't pull the car off the axle stands or whatever.
This is a real shot in the dark (Anyone in the know feel free to poo-poo this as I've had a few glasses of wine ) but if the shaft has broken like this http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-1/1 ... okensm.jpg
perhaps the shards of metal are jamming the shaft in place. Perhaps you could do something clever to free the half shaft, like release the handbrake cable on the affected side, apply the handbrake and select reverse gear and carefully disengage the clutch. [/img]
Older and more confused than I could ever imagine possible.
Well, anything is worth a try but usually with a broken shaft the jagged end grinds the diff bearing inner surface very badly if the diff is operated
so it is advisable to try the 'leverage' options first.
Thanks for the tips so far guys.
One thing i didn't mention was that if you turn the hubs by hand the propshaft turns some of the time then it feels like it loses grip and the prop doesn't turn if you know what i mean.. so the halfshaft that won't come out may still be in one piece just with knackered splines holding it in. (As the grip/ungrip effect was the same for the good side I removed) .I'll try to take a pic looking in through the hole where the good halfshaft came out and post it tomorrow- might shed some light on things!
cheers
Steve
Thanks Roger, think I'll def bid for the stuff in bedfordshire and was watching the diff!.
Here are a couple of pics - not all that clear as hard to take a photo down a long tube! http://www.multicamsystems.com/halfshaft.htm
I had one go on a mark 1 escort years ago, I ended up shifting it with a 5' piece of 3/4" re-bar slipped in from the opposite side and beaten liberally with a sledge hammer! 3 good whacks and out it popped!
) but if the shaft has broken like this 
