1970 1800E Prop shaft advice sought!

[sleek lemur]

1. Am trying to replace the centre bearing carrier, but just cannot get that 2 ¼ inch nut undone to split the shaft. I have the shaft in a vice and a massive adjustable spanner for the job, but it just won't budge.

2. Whilst doing this I notice the rear spider is very stiff. Managed to get the retaining clips out (which was a bloody #€&@**). But can't get the spiders to budge, even with a fair old smack from a hammer and drift.

At present, am doing on hourly squirts of WD40 penetrant. Am unsure how much brute force is advisable

Thanks as always!

[Ron Kwas]

sl;

1. Support well but don't deform it(!)...use (proper) penetrant, and try some impact...heat from a gas torch will encourage the penetrant...

2. By spider, I presume you are referring to the cross of the UJ...again use a proper penetrant (or a favorite handyman cocktail of 50/50 acetone/ATF), and give it some time.

Good Hunting!

[Burdekin]

I don’t know but is it right or left hand thread?

[Derek UK]

Its a normal thread. Righty tightey/lefty loosey. I used an opposing pair of Stilson wrenches when I undid mine. I was going to do it on the ground but had the prop lying in the back of an estate and tried it there. Came loose easier than expected. A vice can crush or damage the tube and still doesn't grip very well. The opposing Stilsons lock on the tube and nut and the equal forces in both directions are a big help.
WD-40 is useless as a penetrant, use Plus Gas or similar. If you need to soak something, diesel works quite well.

[sleek lemur]

Bearing.jpg

Managed to remove rear spider with a frightening amount of brute force.

I think I found the issue....see attached.

[Bob Meadows]

If these are anything like the 240 model (grub screw- no grease nipple) the screw is removable and a nipple can be substituted.
Bob.

[sleek lemur]

Thanks Bob. No grub screw, but by the looks of the parts (and difficulty in removing them) I reckon they've been in since 1970. Be interesting to see if I notice any difference in vibration when back on (assuming I can split the prop shaft to replace the carrier!

[c1800]

Originally Posted by sleek lemur

Thanks Bob. No grub screw, but by the looks of the parts (and difficulty in removing them) I reckon they've been in since 1970. Be interesting to see if I notice any difference in vibration when back on (assuming I can split the prop shaft to replace the carrier!

Make sure you reconnect the prop shaft splines in the same orientation as you took it apart. There are marks on the 2 halves to assist with this, but sometimes very hard to find. If you cant find them, mark them before disassembly.

[sleek lemur]

Certainly will, C1800. At the moment they're not aligned. Just awaiting stilsons to be delivered, so battle can recommence with the large nut!

[Ron Kwas]

sl;

Its always nice to buy a new tool, but...I just looked up "Stiltsons Wrench" and found it to be a simple, what we call here Pipe Wrench! As far as I'm concerned, with its straight serrated jaws, it is no different than chucking it vertically (with low contact area) into a vice, and it can and still will, scar, crush and deform the Driveshaft every bit as easily...

I suggest you chuck it horizontally into the vice, with the entire width of vice making contact, perhaps even with a protective piece of leather protecting it from the jaws (which still allows high anti-slip friction), and wrench away on the bearing nut. In this config, a hammer blow can also provide some impact to help with breaking free the nut...even if it slips a bit with each impact blow, there's less of a chance to deform the shaft, and a high likelihood of the nut loosening with each blow...

UJ cups without Greasing Nipples often look like your pic after they've been in service for a while and grease is all gone. They are called "Maintenance-Free"...I prefer to call them "Unmaintainable"! Which would you prefer for cars which last as long as ours? I suggest replacing with UJs which have a GN... Tip: GN will foul on UJ yoke, so these must only be mounted in a way that clears...!

When reinstalling driveshaft, spine location is not the target (although IF correct before, it would allow you to correctly reinstall)... UJ and yoke alignment and UJ phasing are the critical items to get right. See: https://www.sw-em.com/Driveshaft_and...t_yoke_phasing

Cheers