I recently separated the rear axle from my TR3's frame. To my
dismay, only about a tablespoon of oil came out of the differential.
Now, I have never driven the car, and prior to my purchase of it, the
car sat in a garage, undriven, for ten years. I don't know whether
the oil leaked out slowly onto the garage floor, whether it was
drained by the shop who inspected for another potential buyer when I
was looking at it, or whether it was driven dry and then parked in
the late '80s.
At any rate ... there is some perceptible play in the rear end.
There is hardly any in the crown gear/pinion, but there seems to be
quite a bit (.010"? hard to measure) in the bevel gears inside the
diff. I can hold the diff input still and freely rotate each hub on
the rear end about 1/16"; in other words, there's about 1/16" of play
in the hub rotation.
What would an acceptable amount of rear end play be? How much
difference will having gear oil in between the gears make? (right
now the parts are pretty darned dry) I imagine it will make a
noticeable difference, as the stuff is pretty thick, but I'm
wondering if anyone's been in this situation before.
Another question on the rear leaf springs: one of mine left the metal
from silent-bloc bush behind. It seems like it's fused to the pin on
the frame. I've tried hammering a little, and a big lock-pliers, to
no avail. Anyone seen this? Can I safely cut through the tube with
a hacksaw to separate it? I obviously don't want to cut the pin off
too....
Hoping I don't need a new rear end...
Dan
Des Moines, IA - where the snow has given way to mud
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