Peter,
Correct, you don not need to swap entire rear ends to fix. The brakes
do not need to be removed, just be sure to drain the housing well
before you start and tilt the car slightly away from the side you are
pulling to avoid dripping oil on your brake shoes. Make sure you
remove all the broken bits from the housing and replace axles ONLY
into the same side it came from originally. Reversing sides will
stress the axle splines in the opposite direction and can contribute
to it's failure. There are hardened axles used for racing you can
buy, but are expensive and there is a procedure for turning the axle
shafts to reduce stress on the slines. Your best bet is to check for
the stronger type found in later cars. See my web site under "Tech
tips-> Spridgets Specs by Bob Spruck" for axle data.
Gerard
http://www.gerardsgarage.com/FS_Garage.htm
At 7:13 PM +0000 9/1/03, Peter Allen wrote:
>Hello spridgets,
>
>I bought my '66 midget at the beginning of the summer and the thirrd
>time I drove it, I borke the axle. Thankfully, I had a replacement
>available, so I swapped in a whole new rear end off a project midget
>which should be in pretty good shape. I chalked the break up to
>abuse by the former owner.
>
>So, I was out driving yesterday and I broke another axle. Let out
>the clutch at a stop light and it just jerked and then spun. It
>makes the same clicking sound turning over that the last one did.
>It's the other side this time, judging by how it feels to turn the
>left wheel versus the right, but being that it's a whole new rear
>end I think that's just coincidence.
>
>I just happen to have one more rear end, but now I 'm thinking maybe
>*I'm* abusing it, and I just don't know it. The clutch is really
>tight, but I'd expect that I would spin my wheels before I break an
>axle... Any thought on how to prevent this in the future?
>
> Also, reading the archives I saw that Jerry Goodman seems to be
>having a similar problem. From what I hear, the axle usually breaks
>right next to the diffenertial, so you will probably need to pull
>the differntial out to get to the broken part out so you can replace
>it. Of course it's easy to check where it broke (and to see if that
>is your problem) just pull the axles one by one - takes a few hours
>at most. I don't think you even need to disconnect the brakes, and
>you definately don't need to pull the rear end. If you're lucky, you
>can pull the broken part of the axle out from the side and just
>replace it (if the break was near the wheel, which would be nice).
>
>Thanks a lot,
>Peter Allen
>'66 Midget
--
One meets his destiny often in the road he takes to avoid it.
~French Proverb
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