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TR4 REAR AXLE SERIAL NUMBER


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I have rubbed the casing flange to bare metal where the parts book indicates the number is, but there is nothing there! Can anyone advise where I will find it?

All that is on the casing near the vent is TC2 [in upside down position!]

 

Yours hopefully Willie

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Very odd Willie, It's not stamped on the underside in the same place I presume ? Mine is stamped in the conventional position but whilst the numbers are clear the first letter is a bit indistinct and look like BT. The numbers are 31 numbers lower than the engine number so I presume it is the original one for my car. What year is your TR4 ?

 

As you probably know, with engines that were reconditioned factory units, the original number was obliterated and a plate placed over the top with an FRE suffix number. I wonder if they ground off the original number on reconditioned rear axles ?

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Count the turns ?

 

Lock one hub so it can't turn, then rotate the other hub by exactly two complete rotations - and count the exact rotations of the propshaft input.

 

Whatever number of turns of the input for two complete rotations of one road wheel (the other being stationary) is the ratio - 3.7, 4.1, whatever.

 

Cheers

 

Alec

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  • 3 weeks later...

Willie

 

You should see the part number stamped on the casing, sometimes also a date. Some early TR4 axles appear to have a serial number stamped on the CT etc but not all. Factory axles are usually stamped in such a way relating yo the car, and in particular axles prepared by the comps department have a unique identifier on the top flange.

 

I don't want to post a picture, but if you'd like to see such an axle out of the car and the various numbers please PM me and come round to my place. If you have something interesting I'd expect to see a 4.1 or a 4.33 CW&P inside, plus a few other things which are less obvious unless you've seen it before. I can show you those too.

 

Regards

 

Tony

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Willie~

 

I found my axle ratio by removing the rear cover and counting the number of teeth on the crown wheel.

My 3A was fitted with a 3.7:1 ratio and therefore I painted a Green 'flash' on the diff cover.

This was how the factory indicated which gear ratio was fitted to various axles.

 

Tom.

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Tom,

Very helpful info. I followed Alec Pringle's advice [26th Nov] and found the wheel turned less than 4 revolutions, so it appears to be a 3.7:1 ratio. Although I stated that I had rubbed the axle casing back to bare metal, I'm not so sure now. I think it has been powder coated or something, and the truth may still lie beneath!! However, at least I know the ratio. I'll probably have another go in the near future as it is the only serial number I don't have a record of.

 

As a matter of interest, was the 3.7:1 installed for non-o/d cars and the 4.11:1 with o/d, or is that too simple?

 

Best wishes to all Willie

Edited by Willie
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TR Tony,

I have just aborted another frustating attempt to find the axle serial number. You mentioned you have a picture of the location. I would appreciate it if you would send me a copy, just in case I have been looking in the wrong place! I have looked & scraped where the parts book suggests it will be found. [That said, the g/box number is on the side of the boss whereas the book suggests the top!].

 

My e-mail address is johnwilliams06@btinternet.com

 

Best wishes Willie

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  • 4 weeks later...

Final (?) update, but observations welcome!

 

I have rubbed the casing flange lip top AND bottom, and definitely no serial number. However, the casing has no drain plug, just a round blank casting. Does this mean anything to anyone?

 

As far as I am concerned, the set up is standard TR4 with Girling shafts.

 

Best wishes Willie

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  • 6 years later...
On 1/12/2014 at 2:21 AM, Willie said:

Final (?) update, but observations welcome!

 

I have rubbed the casing flange lip top AND bottom, and definitely no serial number. However, the casing has no drain plug, just a round blank casting. Does this mean anything to anyone?

 

As far as I am concerned, the set up is standard TR4 with Girling shafts.

 

Best wishes Willie

Sorry I'm late...

Long ago and far away, man was seeking answers to the elusive existential question..." where the bloody hell is the serial number???...*@#@$**!", and settled for '..standard TR4 with Girling shafts'....

..Teleport or just generally trudge along to current troubled coughy times, and man (a man, anyway) still seeks answers, but may have found a hint.. I have found a serial number on the top face of a rusty old diff housing, but on the upper face of the diff housing, not the flange where it's supposed to be, but the numbers appear to have absolutely no connection to any published TR4 documentation I can find on line of in the manuals.

It's a 3.7:1 diff, with the 2-straight, 2 inner curve flange, and it's a solid axle off a LHD late TR4 (not 4A). I don't have the commissioning number as the body was sent away for some work, dipping etc, and the body and comm plates were removed and put somewhere very safe so it couldn't be lost, so safe in fact that it is currently still so safe it can't be lost..nor found. But from memory, photos, the chassis and some other indications, it's a late TR4 with a 370xxCT body number.

Anyway, the numbers as far as I can see are _(possibly G)ET(or 7)36898 - possibly a G as first digit in the prefix? Did anyone ever look on the top surface of the diff casing rather than on the rear casing  flange where the manual says to look?

 

Can anyone shed any light on this odd serial number?

IMG_6269.jpg

IMG_6274.jpg

Serial No reduced.pdf

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On 3/20/2020 at 5:55 AM, SeidelVC69 said:

The prefix of the TR4 rear axle serial number is "BT" , as far as I know.  "BT"  is clearly shown on all of my 3 spare axles.

Dieter

Thank you Dieter, I'll pursue that as a good starting point. 

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I later found the serial number exactly where yours appears to be!  Mine too is BT and the umbers sequence is close-ish to the commissionnumber.  My thoughts now are that late in the production run on TR4's [mine built July 1964] the factory had used up the live axles and started to use the TR4A live axle casings which do not have a drain plug. See shot of my serial number exposed through the powder coating after much searching!

Best wishes    Willie

P1020028_LI.jpg

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On 3/29/2020 at 10:28 PM, Willie said:

I later found the serial number exactly where yours appears to be!  Mine too is BT and the umbers sequence is close-ish to the commissionnumber.  My thoughts now are that late in the production run on TR4's [mine built July 1964] the factory had used up the live axles and started to use the TR4A live axle casings which do not have a drain plug. See shot of my serial number exposed through the powder coating after much searching!

Best wishes    Willie

P1020028_LI.jpg

Hi Willie, Thanks for replying with the update - it's reassuring to confirm the numbers.

By the way, did you ever find a number anywhere on the chassis? It is rumoured there are some with stamped numbers on the LH front suspension turret support brace, but I can't find one even after stripping, cleaning and light bead blasting..

I hope you are still enjoying the TR all this time later - coming into your summer, I would suspect you should be ready for the first Spring blast down the nearest country lane.. Hope your area isn't swarming with traffic  'safety cameras' like ours is.

Best regards

PeteB

Edited by BigBogan
Clarification of LH turret support brace
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21 hours ago, BigBogan said:

 

By the way, did you ever find a number anywhere on the chassis? It is rumoured there are some with stamped numbers on the LH front suspension turret support brace, but I can't find one even after stripping, cleaning and light bead blasting..

 

Best regards

PeteB

Numbers are only stamped there on CKD cars built at the Melines factory in Belgium.

Stuart.

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