Swopping My Diff

[StokeyStag]

Evening all,

Pulled out my (badly) leaking diff today and am replacing it with (hopefully) something a little more fluid-tight. After some argy-bargy the diff came away with the rear mounting plate leaving the nose cone still in situ. Putting the replacement diff in has been a little more fraught and reminded me why I started leaving all this kind of stuff to others many years ago.

I've got to the stage where I can line the diff up with the quill shaft and need to lift the diff up whilst pushing it forward but have found that the two bolts for the rear mounting plate are a real pain in the ar5e as they seem to prevent me from lifting the diff high enough to push it onto the quill shaft (and forward so that the bolts line up with the mounting plate). Am I missing something - the ROM and manual say to attach the rear mounting plate to the diff before refitting - have I got this right or is there a smart trick that anyone can share? Please don't tell me that it's all about brute force & ignorance to finish this

Also, whilst the diff was out I looked at the mounting for the nose cone/quill shaft housing - how does that come out without dropping the subframe ?

Off for a bath and then something amber and 40%-ish whilst I read all of your helpful and illuminating replies

Thanks

Mark

[stagmuffin]

i would have the nose out as well and fit new bearing and seal, if you loosen every thing off remove the wheels it is all poss with a bit of wangling and a bar .bit of a struggle doin it this way but is doable ,cant tell you what or how to wiggle its gonna be fairly obvious but a bit of a grunt that is with the diff complete with nose attached .use a hydraulic jack to lift diff put some rubber in the cup or other non slip material .fill it with oil before you fit as well.
steve

[Motorsport Micky]

40% ish will sort out any problems all right you'd have a terrible head next morning lol.

Micky

[ChasR]

i would have the nose out as well and fit new bearing and seal, if you loosen every thing off remove the wheels it is all poss with a bit of wangling and a bar .bit of a struggle doin it this way but is doable ,cant tell you what or how to wiggle its gonna be fairly obvious but a bit of a grunt that is with the diff complete with nose attached .use a hydraulic jack to lift diff put some rubber in the cup or other non slip material .fill it with oil before you fit as well.
steve

Forgive me for seeming like a simpleton, are you saying that you removed just the nosecone and diff without the rest of the subframe and brake assembly? I ask as a diff/nosecone is a job I have lined up for the summer (my current diff whines with the nosecone leaking oil at quite a rate; I have a spare diff and a recon/uprated nosecone to put in its place).

[davidf]

If I recall, you can get the sub-frame to drop far enough at the back by removing the straps under the outboard mounts, and loosening the bolts through those mounts. Alternativley, it is probably easier to remove the whole sub-frame.

[StokeyStag]

Job done !!

Thanks for the help Steve, I found that by judiciously placing the axle stands under the rear suspension arm (and specifically directly under the springs) plus wedging a small wooden block above the nose cone (between it and the body) that the subframe flexed enough downwards to allow me to push the diff onto the end of the quill shaft. After that it all went as per the manual.

I take your point about doing the quill shaft bearing and seal but as I don't really know how good the replacement diff is I had always planned to get my original diff reconditioned and will do the nose cone when I put it back - that is when I have the courage to do this job again !!

Mark

[StokeyStag]

HI ChasR,

Just noticed that you avatar was taken in Castle Street - I used to live in St Nicholas Church Street until 2009. Knowing how plentiful driveways and garages are in the town I would just say that I would never do this job with the car on ramps with axle stands - there just isn't room to get the required leverage whilst lying on your back. Make sure you have the car raised on a proper lift or use (as I did) a pit.

Good luck for the summer (maybe see you at the folk festival).

Mark

[stagmuffin]

Forgive me for seeming like a simpleton, are you saying that you removed just the nosecone and diff without the rest of the subframe and brake assembly? I ask as a diff/nosecone is a job I have lined up for the summer (my current diff whines with the nosecone leaking oil at quite a rate; I have a spare diff and a recon/uprated nosecone to put in its place).

yes its all doable that way ,bit of wangling itl come down and go back easy enough . make sure to prop the body with a timber under floor pans at rear to allow the whole rear suspension set p to flex easy when loosened.
steve