Taper joints.
Words to strike fear and loathing into any soul, and that's just for
the small ones (tie rod ends, etc). When they get big, one enters a
whole new realm of terror.
The Aston Martin DB2 has huge taper joints in two places. The rear
hubs are joined to the axle shafts via a joint about an inch in
diameter, with a keyway, about 2 1/2 inches long.
"Remove the road wheel, brake drum and hub. The hub should be
withdrawn with a suitable (sic) extractor, after removing the axle
shaft nut, washer and split pin." After breaking a Craftsman 7 ton
wheel puller on this, I totally disassembled the rear end and hauled
the axles to a machine shop, where they pressed the hubs off to
the accompaniment of great thunder and lightning with a 40 ton
hydraulic ram. Makes one wonder about the structure of the "suitable
extractor".
The front suspension trailing arms are also attached to the anti-roll
bar shaft with taper joints. These are about 1 3/4 inch in diameter
and about 1 1/2 inches long, no key.
"The trailing link is fitted to the outer shaft on a taper. The arm
can be removed from the taper by holding a suitable (there's that word
again) block of soft metal on end of shaft and driving off from the
opposite side (which is wholly inaccessible) by a long bar placed as
close to the taper as possible. The stub axle will now slide off the
shaft." Right.
I never did get these things apart.
While it is most likely incorrect to include exact quotes from the
manual, since these instructions are of no conceivable value my
conscience is clear.
A. B. Bonds
30 Rolls PII, 52 TD, 57 A M Mk III and (as of last weekend) 73 MGB
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