Rear axle clunks... 2!

[TR Paul]

Hello again my fellow TR6ers... As some of you may remember, a couple of weeks ago I was probing your massive intellects for info regarding the classic clunks suffered at the rear axles of our beloved TR6s (& all other IRS TRs for that matter). Last Sunday, I removed the suspected O/S drive shaft, cleaned & greased the sliding splines as well as greasing both UJs (the outer one hadn't been done in at least 10 years).I detected a small amount of play in the splines, but fresh grease seemed to cure that, & a 15-20 mile test drive seemed to reveal that the problem might be cured.... However, the next day I went to visit a friend, in TRoy (my TR6!), & (surprise, surprise!) the clunk had returned (although not as audibly as before). I suspect that the grease on the splines had redistributed itself during the initial run, & everything had settled.

My next step is to fit a new drive shaft (I've got one I picked up at the IWE a couple of years ago), but I'm not sure what to do about the hub. The one that's on there seems in good shape, and has no play, but who knows how old the bearings etc are? Whilst everything's apart, it might be worth fitting a recon unit. Also, I'm not confident at my skill to change a U/J. With a new hub, I could take it all to my friendly local garage & get them to do the U/J. This also brings up the question of where's the best place to go for recon hubs...? There seems to be a big difference in prices (£125-£200+).

As ever your advice on these points will be much appreciated,

Cheers,

Paul.

Edited August 20, 2017 by TR Paul

[Peter Cobbold]

Paul,

I bookmarked this thread. Hub failure can result in a nasty accident when the wheel comes off without warning

http://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/58532-rear-hubstub-axle-failure/

For me recond hubs are a no-no.

 

I also bookmarked post 58 here:

http://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/62754-cv-halfshafts-warning/page-3&do=findComment&comment=538822

But am also hoping my ca 150k mile hubs see me out.

Read post 49 too ! And he's not the first to have experienced sudden three-wheeling

 

DIY UJs are not difficult given a bench vice and circlip pliers.

Someone will know of a youtube.

 

Peter

Edited August 20, 2017 by Peter Cobbold

[TR NIALL]

Paul,have the Diff Pins ever Been Reenforced on your Car and if not have you checked them very carefully,

If you have checked them how did you do it?

[TR Paul]

Hi Peter, thanks for the hub info; sounds like a new hub is the way to go, especially as Moss have got a 15% sale at the moment.

Niall, the diff pins haven't been reinforced. I checked them when I had the diff out 3 years ago, to change the diff front mounting plate (which had broken). After that incident, I now check the nuts on the pins for tightness, every time I check the diff oil level (3 or 4 times a year); I assume the pins would twist when I put a spanner on the nuts..? I believe (& hope!) my problem is driveshaft related, as when I 'serviced' the d/s last weekend, the clunking did go away (for a short while...). I'd imagine if the problem was with the diff pins, none of this work would've made any difference; but it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong about these things!

Cheers, Paul

[Guest ntc]

You could always swop left to right to get a few more miles.

[RogerH]

Hi Paul,

TR IRS are now getting to over 50 years old (40 years for a later TR6).

They can be refurb'd but only for the bearings/seals and crush tube. The stub axle is not replaced IF this fails you lose the wheel

 

If you are thinking about doing anything with the shafts and hubs buy a new hub. Both Moss and Bastuk do new hubs.

 

Whatever hub you go for check the free play (should eb very minimal), and stiffness of rotation could be a little stiff due to the seals but not rigid

 

Roger

[TR NIALL]

Hi Peter, thanks for the hub info; sounds like a new hub is the way to go, especially as Moss have got a 15% sale at the moment.

Niall, the diff pins haven't been reinforced. I checked them when I had the diff out 3 years ago, to change the diff front mounting plate (which had broken). After that incident, I now check the nuts on the pins for tightness, every time I check the diff oil level (3 or 4 times a year); I assume the pins would twist when I put a spanner on the nuts..? I believe (& hope!) my problem is driveshaft related, as when I 'serviced' the d/s last weekend, the clunking did go away (for a short while...). I'd imagine if the problem was with the diff pins, none of this work would've made any difference; but it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong about these things!

Cheers, Paul

Hi Paul you could have 2 problems seeing as your Mounting Plate had been broken before you would then be putting a lot of stress onto the Diff Pins and that causes them to crack up on top of the Bridge,they will not Twist or Rotate so tightening the Nuts will tell you nothing the Pins do need to be strengthened and Boxed In so now is a good time to do a full investigation and do the job properly seeing as you'll have the Shafts out its then only a matter of dropping the Diff and getting on with the job.