1800 Rear Axle removal?
 

Hi
I'm planning a rear suspension rebuild on my 1969 1800S. There is also an oil leak where the prop shaft joins the diff so the seal needs replacing and I'd like to attend to some surface rust and underseal flaking underneath the body and in the wheel arches.
Seems to me the best thing would be to remove the whole axle assembly and work on it in the relative comfort of the garage. Notwithstanding seized suspension bolts etc., is this something that I can expect to do at home without major difficulties? I'd say I fit into the 'competent', but by no means 'expert' bracket.
Thanks
Simon

I think the physical removal and replacement of the axle falls into the "competent" category.

(You need things such as axle stands - quite high ones to be able to pull the axle out from under the car - and a decent trolley jack. If you have super tall axle stand you could even roll the axle from under the car on wheels!)

The problem as I see it comes to the pinion bearing. There is a procedure in the workshop hand book for doing this - you need to read this. You also need to realise that if you get the torque on the pinion nut wrong and it is too loose you knacker the pinion bearings - too tight - you knacker the pinion bearings - and in both cases potentially cause uneven wear to your pinion and crown wheel which will mean the effing thing will never be quiet again.

I reckon the pinion seal falls somewhere near "expert" or at the very least advanced "competent". Anyway decide for yourself - you know you better than most people. A local garage should be able to do this work for you - though of course these days due to the lack of an OBDII interface on your rear axle there might be confusion...

Simon ....Army is 100% . Take it from a retired mechanic and out source the work if you are not confident . Isn't there are garage is the SW that everyone raves about where there is a mechanic who is a Guhru? I am sure I saw it on one site or other.

Thanks for reply Army.
My garage is adequately equipped for the majority of diy tasks and yes, I'm aware of the pinion bearing difficulties and would hand that over to a garage but that wasn't on my list to replace unless there was a noticeable problem. I was only going to do the oil seal.
But that then begs the question as to whether the pinion bearing, the half shaft seals and the wheel bearings (?) should be changed while the axle is out. Anything else I should consider whilst I'm there?
Simon

As soon as you release the tension / undo the nut on the pinion shaft you need to have a way of putting it back correctly - you need to remove the nut to get to the seal.

If you are replacing the pinion bearings then you need to have a way of making sure the crown wheel and pinion cogs mesh correctly. This is a large part of what would be considered to be a differential rebuild.

A "whilst you are there" approach to this problem may not be the right way forward. It is difficult for armchair mechanics to say exactly what needs to be done. If you hear whining from the differential when the vehicle is coasting after accelerating then I'd say it is probably time for a differential rebuild - but even if you can do that work yourself - the costs aren't insignificant.

As for the wheel bearings - is there a problem? If not - why change perfectly good parts for new? Especially these days where quality standards aren't necessarily as good as they were. I tend not to replace bearings unless I see signs of overheating (blue tints)...

...I think the best way to decide what to do is to identify problems in a critical test drive and then take stuff to bits and look at the condition of the components. I realise it is nice to have a whole load of parts before disassembly but in practice there is more often than not something that gets missed off the list / forgotten so be prepared for delays - don't do this type of work if you are in a hurry!

OK thanks, that's makes sense. I've had another look at the manual and that's clearer now. I'm not aware of any problems with the diff or the wheel bearings and I'm not keen on replacing items for the sake of it either.