best way to get prop bolts undone..

[andyj007]

Having a total meltdown trying to get my engine in stuck at prop shaft gearbox tail alignment.. what shoudl work just does not -- in my case.. just cant get the gearbox tail at an angle that the prop shaft agrees with,, sump resting on the front cross member, gear lever boss on tail tight up against the metal crossmember under lower dash dash.
last thing to try is dropping prop..
Whats best way to get to the rear prop bots and get them undone,, i have no brakes to lock the prop,, and no room (it seams ) to get in there and get on them with rear wheels on..

It probably simple, but im loosing any sensible thought process through frustration of trying for hours over two days to get the prop and gearbox mated

[512BB]

Surely you are not trying to slide the engine and gearbox as a unit back in with the prop still attached to the diff are you Andy? Very difficult, but no doubt someone has done it. Certainly not possible on ones todd, as you could not align the yolk into the gearbox end whilst pushing the engine and box into the chassis.

You need to undo the prop from the diff. If you do hot have a pit or a means of raising the rear of the car, or the whole car, you are going to have to remove a rear wheel, and with 2 spanners, undo the propshaft bolts. The prop / diff does not have to be locked to undo all the bolts. Indeed, you need to be able to rotate the prop to get to all the bolts.

Once the prop flange is free, slide the prop backwards, part way past the diff. Then install the engine and gearbox and slide the yolk end of the prop into the gearbox. Simples.

Good luck.

Leslie

[andyj007]

yes i was putting the engine with gearbox back in as one as thats what BB book says to do along with most of the research I have undertaken on here .. so i thought that was normal .........

thank you for the pointers on the diff, I do have a ramp, but not in the same garage at present , but to get to that i would need to take the engine out fully and move the car.. so i will take the wheel off and shove my big hands in there to get more cuts and hope they turn loose ,, they are pretty much covered in oil since about 1986 when the engine leaked .. but knowing the luck i seem to be having the nuts will round off

[512BB]

Well, you can throw that book out Andy, personally I would not have it on any of my shelves. All you need is this site. Just for clarity, I did not say the job could not be done with the engine and box as a unit. I said it would be very difficult / near impossible to do it as a unit with the prop still attached to the diff and working on your own.

Anyway, something else to look out for, when you separate the diff and prop flanges, if there is a release of oil from the void in between, that means that oil is escaping from the diff down the splines of the input flange, which really should be sealed up. And make sure that the four bolts that hold the 2 flanges together are in fact bolts, and not set screws,ie.they have a short portion of plain shank and are not threaded all the way to the head.

Leslie

[andyj007]

thanks Leslie, appreciate the input , just been out and wd 40 the bolts .. will get that prop dropped mid week..
i think i may as well lift the engine all the way out and check it slides in by hand first.. sod it may even get the prop over to bailey and morris for a check over whilst im at it .. ..
r
andy

[512BB]

'may even get the prop over to bailey and morris for a check over whilst im at it'

At least someone is taking my advice. Well worth it, I promise you. Ask them to overhaul and balace it.

Leslie

[alan.barker]

Andy,
Remember when the Engine and Box are back in place the access hole in the Tunnel. Driver's side so you can slide Prop into gearbox easily.
Alan

[andyj007]

Thanks Alan I have both sides open already so im good to go on that part..
cuts on my hand to proove

[vstibbard]

+1 for gearbox first, then engine, is way easier. I fit engine and box together before installing to check all is aligned to be confident it will slip together.
To little room for error and frustration doing both as a unit.
Cheers
Vaughan

[alan.barker]

+1 fit gearbox first and after fit engine.
You don't then have the "Bellhousing" jam.
Alan

[andyj007]

the bell housing jamb was simple .. its aligning prop, i cat get the GB tail at a perfect angle due to teh sump pn teh cross member and the gearbox hitting the dash crossmember..

so what is easier at this stage,
my engine is in hanging past the bellhouse jamb position so do i
whip engine out fit gearbox / fit engine ..
or remove prop slide teh engine / gearbox jfull back , then slide prop in and re bolt..

[ericbushby]

HI Andy,
If you have got that far, then it is worthwhile continuing with it and fitting the engine and gearbox.
I found no difficulty removing and fitting the propshaft with the gearbox already in.
Disconnect the shaft at the differential end and slide it back a little at the left hand side of the diff. I don`t know why the left side. Someone once said, so I did.
Connecting the engine and gearbox in situ has it`s own difficulties of access to the bellhousing screws near the exhaust pipes. You won`t have that.
I have fitted the engine and gearbox both separately and together. There isn`t a good way and you have already done the awkward part.
Best of luck
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3SE DHC

[512BB]

The gap between the inside of the gearbox tunnel on the bottom and the top does sometimes seem as if it is to small, but the gearbox will obviously go in when everything is right.

If you have already got the engine and box practically in, I would not take it out again. I would just undo the propshaft and slide that back in the tunnel, lifting the prop flange over the diff flange and move it back about 6 inches. Then manhandle the engine and gearbox into the correct position and do up the engine mounts. Then slide the prop yolk into the gearbox.

Weren't you going to have your prop overhauled, as you will not be able to get it out if the engine and box are fitted.

Btw, depending on which particular iron housing you have on the diff, its easier to move the prop down the right hand side

Leslie

[Hawksfield]

512BB
the propshaft complete can be removed with the engine in situ, although it is easier to do this when the engine is out.

[andyj007]

Some progress.. diff bolts all out.. but shes not giving in that easily .. it appears teh diff and prop mounting plates are stuck, gentle taps did not shift.. how brutal can i be? perhaps a bit of heat ? or just a bit more hammer force