I'm having trouble...

[Essex Nige]

I'm trying to drop the box out and not having much luck. I've undone the 4 bolts on the prop at box drops so far then doesn't drop anymore which I suppose is due to the prop, so I suppose I'm askin how to remove the prop?

[axeman]

u am guessing that you have not undone the t gearbox mounting nuts and bolts that mate the box the the chassis? as you have un done the 4 bolts the mate the box to the prop,

they have these rubber mount through them


neil

[Essex Nige]

u am guessing that you have not undone the t gearbox mounting nuts and bolts that mate the box the the chassis? as you have un done the 4 bolts the mate the box to the prop,

they have these rubber mount through them


neil

Yep I've undone those, the box has dropped a bit, does it just drop or will the prop stop it

[Aidan]

You have to take the prop off
at least at the gaerbox end as the box has to come down to clear the chassis rail before it goes forward to clear the clutch,
generally I take the prop and prop bars off just so there's some room to work
if it's on a ramp then you can let the prop bars hang down at the front, but the prop must be supported if not removed from the front diff too to save stressing the UJ - if prop bars are hanging down don't forget or you could end up damaging them or worst case scenario knocking van off one or more legs of ramp if lowered inadvertantly

[Syncrobaz]

Take the prop off only 4 nuts & bolts,mark the flanges so when you replace it's not out of balance also make sure it goes on the right way round! flexy at front for diesel,rear for petrol!! the box will need to come forward about 3" to clear the spigot shaft from the clutch.make sure you don't hang the g/box on the spigot shaft when removing/replacing as you could bend the shaft which would destroy the clutch in no time.

[Essex Nige]

Cheers fellas, well its out and back in again, well nearly, turned out the clutch was the right way round so back to the drawing board i wouldn't mind it worked when i took the JX out, but sadly the AAZ went in and the clutch doesn't work, on the up side i thing i've sorted the rear locker

[syncropaddy]

mark the flanges so when you replace it's not out of balance

Makes no difference whatsoever as the prop is balanced off the vehicle. It would make a difference if the prop was balanced on the vehicle but it isnt!

[Aidan]

so when you changed the clutch first time did you just remove the slave cylinder still attached to the hydraulic line and leave it on the trailing ram or did you break into the hydraulic system ?

Was it a case that the old clutch was well worn and now the brand new one won't release ? How much free play is there at the pedal ?

When I replaced my clutch at xmas I had to adjust the pushrod on the master cylinder/pedal too as there wasn't enough travel in the system to release the new thick clutch, the old clutch wasn't actually slipping but it didn't take much pedal to release it - took me a while to realise what was going on, I bled system twice before I figured it out; I'd got used to the sloppy pedal as you do, now I have a sharp pedal and I'm used to that.

[Syncrobaz]

Marking prop standard practice in this country!! Been doing it for over 40 years!! I bow to your superior knowledge Paddy!!

[syncropaddy]

Marking prop standard practice in this country!! Been doing it for over 40 years!!

Does that make it right? Explain the science behind this practice please bearing in mind that the prop is already balanced and isnt matched to either the gearbox or front diff. Also what happens when you replace the prop, how does that affect the flange markings?

[syncrosimon]

so when you changed the clutch first time did you just remove the slave cylinder still attached to the hydraulic line and leave it on the trailing ram or did you break into the hydraulic system ?

Was it a case that the old clutch was well worn and now the brand new one won't release ? How much free play is there at the pedal ?

When I replaced my clutch at xmas I had to adjust the pushrod on the master cylinder/pedal too as there wasn't enough travel in the system to release the new thick clutch, the old clutch wasn't actually slipping but it didn't take much pedal to release it - took me a while to realise what was going on, I bled system twice before I figured it out; I'd got used to the sloppy pedal as you do, now I have a sharp pedal and I'm used to that.

This is what happened to my clutch Aidan. When we put the gearbox back in the new clutch was smooth, but as you describe above. I too bled the thing about three times as it felt as if there was not enough movement. The clutch movement starts very close to the floor, but I have got used to it, and will have a look at doing your modification too. Cheers. Simon.

[Aidan]

Re prop marking
when I got my first syncro I read everything I could about it and got up close and dirty with the mechanicals - back then most of the internet stuff was on the american sites and they are really hung up about prop marking and locktiting the bolts and loads of other faffy home mechanics stuff - working on the vehicles more and more, especially working alongside Baxter who is a trained and experienced mechanic I came to realise that most of that faff is just that, and unnecessary - nowadays I never mark the prop, and never had a problem with vibes due to that, or locktite the bolts as they lock tight enough as it is and undoing ones with threadlock on especially with their less than 13mm heads can be a real pain. Noone has had a prop fall off that I've heard of and I've seen a few with totally unsatisfactory bolts in there.
BTW GKN said standard pitch M8s, 8.8 were fine itho, though I prefer the originals despite the issues around doing them up and undoing them - 1/4" socket drive with narrow wall socket and wobble bar/snap on spanner works well for me.
Far more important is to treat the prop with a bit of respect, don't drop it or allow it to fall over if stood up, don't put anything ontop of it if stored and don't persuade it out of the diff flanges with a big fo hammer, release the tension by undoing the front diff mounts and prise the front diff forwards to release

[Essex Nige]

so when you changed the clutch first time did you just remove the slave cylinder still attached to the hydraulic line and leave it on the trailing ram or did you break into the hydraulic system ?

Was it a case that the old clutch was well worn and now the brand new one won't release ? How much free play is there at the pedal ?

When I replaced my clutch at xmas I had to adjust the pushrod on the master cylinder/pedal too as there wasn't enough travel in the system to release the new thick clutch, the old clutch wasn't actually slipping but it didn't take much pedal to release it - took me a while to realise what was going on, I bled system twice before I figured it out; I'd got used to the sloppy pedal as you do, now I have a sharp pedal and I'm used to that.

Aidan, the clutch is the original as it looked new, i never removed the slave cylinder either, all i did was drop the JX out and put the AAZ in, i didn't touch the box, i originally thought id put the clutch on the wrong way, but it says gearbox side on the plate which i suppose i saw when putting it back because it was the right way round

[Aidan]

which flywheel did you use ?

[Essex Nige]

which flywheel did you use ?

the one off the JX as i was advised