Blinking halfshafts!

Post by **mike-b** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 4:06 pm

Got stranded 10 miles from home today, with a suspected halfshaft failure.

Lost all drive to the back wheels, but the propshaft is still spinning. Turning the R/H wheel makes the prop go round, but the L/H wheel doesn't. Is that a L/H drive shaft failure, or could it be the diff?

If it's the half shaft, do I need to replace both sides (will the r/h one be well on its way too?)?

Are there any other parts I should order up before tackling it (wheel bearing, seals etc)?

Post by **mike.perry** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 4:24 pm

Yes it's the left halfshaft that's gone. It is not necessary to change both, the other may last for years but as you will need to pull both out to get the diff out you may decide to replace it especially if the splines are showing signs of twisting. You will probably need to strip the diff out as the shafts usually break on the splines and fill the diff with swarf and the broken shaft will probably be jammed in the diff.
you will need a new diff / axle gasket and a pair of half shaft gaskets and a couple of pints of EP90 oil. Don't forget to drain the diff before you start. I'm writing this from memory so I advise you to read up in the workshop manual.

Post by **Luxobarge** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 4:53 pm

If you haven't read it already, you may also find this recent thread interesting:

http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... ic&t=22307

All the best!

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 12:12 pm

It's usually the left shaft that breaks - but you should inspect the other one anyway. If buying a second-hand shaft, try to get one that has been used on left side of car - it's not a good idea to swap them from rh to lh. Was there any special 'event' that caused the shaft to break ?