Diff Pinion Tail Bearing Removal

[rbalding]

What started off as a pretty straightforward replacement of the pinion oil seal on my (early) Herald differential has now turned into something rather more ugly.  In my eagerness to prise off the old seal, I cleverly managed to damage the tail bearing beneath it.  I am now about to remove the diff from the car, and am wondering if it might be possible to pull the bearing from the nose piece housing without the need to dismantle the diff - which would require tools and skills I do not have.  The only other (drastic) option would seem to be to replace the diff with a reconditioned unit.  Any advice would be welcome please . . .

 

Bob  

[Pete Lewis]

Hi , you should be able to remove the tapered bearing race but access to removd the outer cone does need a special internal legged puller and this needs to fit down the small gap between the pinion shaft

and the ring you need to remove, I doubt if it will prise out like you can the seal

 

Changing the outer bearing wont upset any mesh settings , but may need some checks that the preload needed is about right or you will get noise on overun if its slack

 

if the diffs out its possible to remove the bevel gear carrier with the shimes and then knocknout the offending brg cone fit new and reassemble, you are supposed to spread the case to fit the carrier and shims but many get away with out it especially if no shim changs are made.

Let us know how you get on

 

Pete

[rbalding]

That's so helpful Pete - and you've given me the courage I need to move forward!  I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Merry Christmas.

 

Bob 

[Pete Lewis]

Bob if you get stuck give me a call

 

 

as a thought its unlikely you have done damage to the bearing just the pressed steel cage

 

can this be reformed if its a bit wonky , it only seperates the taper rollers , and keeps them equi spaced

 

just a thought before you dive in head first,

 

Pete

[rbalding]

Thanks Pete. You're right about the cage. Trouble is, I've trashed it further in a wild attempt to remove the rollers! There's a moral here I think. Ho hum.

 

Bob

[rbalding]

Hi Pete.  Removing and dismantling the diff was quite straightforward.  I replaced the outer pinion bearing which, unfortunately, affected the pinion pre-load.  This posed two little challenges.  The first was getting hold of suitable shims, which seem to be no longer obtainable through the usual Triumph spares suppliers.  Luckily, I found a reasonable substitute on Ebay with the correct ID but with a slighter larger OD (+2 mm) and manufactured from 'carbon spring steel'.  The other challenge was to find something to accurately measure a pre-load of 12-16 lb/in - in the absence of the recommended Churchill tool.  I settled on a cycle tool - a torque wrench made by Park Tools (model TW1) which caters for the range 0-60 lb/in.  This seemed to do the job pretty well.  The next problem was re-installing the diff carrier without the Churchill spreading tool.  After fiddling around for a bit, I hit on the idea of angling the bearing cones to form a slight wedge shape and then patiently easing the carrier complete with its bearings and shims into place by very gently tickling it with a hide mallet!  To my surprise, this worked an absolute treat.  I have now refitted the diff to the car, having also renewed the rear bushes (the front mounting rubbers still seemed like new - even after 50 years!).  I should be ready for a road test in a few days, once I've finished some other bits and pieces.  I'll let you know how it goes . . .

 

Bob     

[Pete Lewis]

well done Bob  

 

good call of success from a nightmare  

 

Glad its all gone well, 

 

 

Pete