Peter Zaborski wrote:
> Sometimes one hears about the IRS TRs being afflicted with a condition
known
> as 'spline lock' in reference to the splines on the rear half-shafts. Can
> anyone please describe to me what this means?
>
> 1. What are the symptoms of a car which suffers from spline lock?
> 2. What causes spline lock?
> 3. How does one eliminate spline lock?
As Berry wrote, "The axle shafts have to be able change lengths to
accommodate suspension movement". If the splines don't slide to accommodate
the change in length, bad things happen. Anything from a hard "clunk" sound
as the splines come free, to hearing the free ends of the broken axle stubs
trashing your suspension pieces, to watching a rear wheel and hub go rolling
off to one side of the road as you go rolling off the other.
Spline lock is most likely to happen during very hard cornering when
suspension movement is coupled with high acceleration or braking forces
being applied to the axles. In a well maintained car that isn't being raced
or autocrossed, it's not likely to happen at all.
In addition to the suggestions for proper maintenance, there's also an
available aftermarket set of CV joint axles for the TR6 that eliminates the
sliding splines altogether.
Jim Hill
Madison WI
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