diff drive shafts

[jeff jackson]

Hi all,
Trying to renew my diff oil seals. In the manual it says "remove
circlip, and gently tap out the drive shaft" Yeah right.
Mine refuses to budge, circlip is removed. Any tips on getting them out?
Kind regards
Jeff

[stupidemail5 at lycos.com]

try cleanig the crud, mne [some years ago] just about fell out. Perhaps a gentle persuation via a prybar vs the case

["steve_071"]

Hi Jeff,

You may need to use a slide hammer. Bolt a piece of plate to the
drive shaft "ears" then attach the slide hammer to the plate. When I
did mine one shaft slid out by hand, the other required a bit of
force.

Steve.

[jeff jackson]

Hi Steve,
Thought as much. Just been in the garage for the past two hours beating
hell out of a piece of angle iron wedged between the ears of the shaft
and the diff. Slide Hammer seems the way to go. Also put loads of heat
into it. Left it now till tomorrow.
Thanks for the advice.
Regards
Jeff

[kampena]

Alternatively use it on each flange successively to avoid it getting
cocked.

Also gentle heat on the diff case boss. And a little heat on insertion.

Sometimes they "fall out" but usually require a number of good pulls. If
they fall out I look at the case for potential wear.

Good luck,

Rich

[jeff jackson]

Thanks for the reply Rich, I have had another go today, and I think that
even a slide hammer won't shift this shaft. My reckoning this has never
been removed in 33 years. ( I have history of the car).
Last resort may be to take the diff out, I have often heard horror
stories of them never coming out, so my next question would be, is there
a technique to easily get the diff out? I am aware that the diff comes
out the left hand side. Does this mean the nearside ( for those in the UK)?
Regards
Jeff

[M100]

Clean every bit of corrosion etc from round the bearing hole, give it
a spray with a good penetrating fluid (NOT WD40!) Let it soak for a
couple of days. Clean off the penetrating fluid and rub some soap on
the casing. Play a hot air gun or blowlamp on the casing until the
soap just starts changing colour (to a browny/black). The bearing
should now almost fall out with a light tap from a rubber mallet on
the ears.

If you feel the need to remove the diff then it WILL come out.
Sacrificing a farmyard animal at midnight under a full moon before
commencing this operation sometimes helps.

Remove the diff from the left hand side.

Remove the top brace if fitted, rotate the diff anticlockwise (as
looking from above) until the left ear fouls the chassis

Then lift the right ear up as far as you can and slide it out from the
left hand side, tilting it downwards as you remove it.

In the finest Haynes manual tradition refitting is the reverse of
removal (sacrifice of a second farmyard animal might be needed)

--
Martin
72/45

[Frank Howard]

Jeff,

When removing the differential, chances are the chassis plate right under it
has been bent upward due to a PO jacking the car at this point. Before
attempting to push the round peg through the square hole, take a sledge hammer to
the left side of the chassis, right below the differential, and knock it back
down so that you have the clearance necessary to remove it. Good luck.

Frank Howard
'71 S4 SE
Minnesota

[frearther]

As far as I know, left means just that, without regard to right- or
left-hand drive. I remember that getting the shafts out of mine took
a liberal dose of heat from the heat gun. Don't use a torch for fear
of distorting the castings from uneven heating.

Art

[tvacc]

The diff easily comes out the left side.or the drivers side in the USA and
the Passenger side for those in the UK. The reason it only comes out that
side is that the frame is slightly bent up where the upper ears have to pass
out. I once bought a brand new Lotus Galvanized Frame and the frame was not bent there.I had to pound the flange in..to match what came out of the car.

Somewhere I actually have pictures of the difference.

Tony Vaccaro

[Elan45]

Over 30 years ago, I made a ?" thick plate with the driveshaft pattern on it and a threaded hole for my slide hammer. Instead of using the whole slide hammer, I just use the sliding part of it on a 8" long bolt screwed into the center of the plate. Works every time. Takes longer to bolt it onto the stub axle than it does to extract it.

Roger

[Elan45]

AND REMEMBER THE FUEL LINE IS RIGHT ABOVE THE DIFF!!!!!!
DANGER WILL ROBINSON--- DANGER

Don't even think of lighting a torch if you've still got the old
plastic fuel line!

Roger

[jeff jackson]

Hi Tony,
Thanks for the information. I have ordered a slide hammer, and it should
arrive tomorrow. Just in case I can't shift the drive shaft, I'd be
interested in those photo's if you can find them. I must admit to not
being able to see the difference in my frame!
Kind regards
Jeff

[tvacc]

I am going to have to look at my "hard" photos to find that set. If you
look up from the bottom it is the flange area under where the frame goes up
to the top where the Lotocones mount.

One side is pushed up.other side is not..

I will look for the photos.

Tony Vaccaro

[M100]

There is a curved flange at the bottom of the rear crossmember (the
one the upper diff mount are bolted to - as far as I can see these are
the only true curves on the chassis, the rest such as the front
crossmember are all angled bends. The top face of the crossmember,
the bottom face of the suspension tower and just about every other
surface in that area is designed to be flat. Everything looks totally
symmetrical too. I have long suspected, but never proved that with
the body off the chassis the diff would come out on the right hand
side as well as the left.

--
Martin
72/45