Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all, just after a bit of advice... again! I'm in the middle of changing the VC on my van. I've got to the stage where I've unbolted the prop and removed all the bolts from the rear-most section of the front diff (after some unpleasantness with the protection bars ).

Problem is I can't seem to get the two halves to seperate... I've sprayed the join with plus-gas and tried levering it, pulling at it, tapping at the join with a hammer (with a bit of wood as a buffer), but it doesn't want to budge.

Is there some kind of trick to it, or do I just need to keep at it? Pretty frustrated at the moment tbh , thought it was gonna be easier than this... any help much appreciated.

Just gentle pursuasion and persistence. Long time since I did mine but I seem to remember it was reluctant.

Make sure you have all the bolts out too! I did that once with a Type 1 engine when I was trying to split the case! There was a whole load of gunk covering the last bolt so I didnt see it and was battling on for ages trying to crack the damn thing!

as said before double check all bolts removed,then tap with soft faced hammer,itll come off,cj.

There`s 10 bolts, then a gentle tap with soft face should do it.

Just wanted to say a quick thank you for all your advice. I used a rawhide mallet to tap gently at the housing and after a little while it opened up!

Managed to get the VC changed and was able to drive the van for the first time in several months... all the way down to Bournemouth and back over Easter weekend with a big grin on my face .

One quick thing... I noticed now that there seems to be a small amount of vibration at speeds between 45 and 55 mph. Had a search on the forum and saw that someone else had this symptom... somebody suggested the prop-shaft... does this sound right and how much of a problem is it?

Hi there, the vibes are not an uncommon problem, often associated with an out-of-balance propshaft (eg. due to wear of UJ's or internal bushings) or driveline misalignment. As you've just had the front diff disconnected from the prop and moved about a bit, the latter seems more likely.

When you fastened everything up again, what sequence did you follow and what did you do to 'centralise' the diff ?

Hi, to centralise it all, I left the 3 rubber mounts loose, but not completely unbolted. Then I bolted up the prop to the input shaft and shifted the whole housing around to get it aligned before tightening up the mounting bolts.

I measured from the centre casting line of the housing to the sub-frame on each side and did my best to get the measurement the same on each side.

Does that sound about right...? I have to say I'm not too sure how well I managed to get it all aligned properly. May be worth me having another check now that I've driven it about for a bit?

Check the alighnment of the gearbox as well, i got rid of my vibration by trial and error.

Yes, I'd agree, if the propshaft UJs are not obviously knackered, then trying different alignements of the box and diff can help resolve vibration... and not necessarily all in a straight line (the least likely chance of smoothness, theoretically and strangely too )
Very common indeed, also drivehsaft CVJ wear can exacerbate, both front and rear, inners usually... but try shfiting transmission about a bit first.

> Does that sound about right...?

Yup, pretty much what I do, I may just have been lucky but not got any vibes this way. The kombi developed a slight one last year but I'm putting that down to worn bushes, as it rings a lot now.

Andy

Thanks again guys, looks like I'll have to spend a few hours underneath the van again

Does anyone know what torque the Diff and Gearbox mounts should be tightened to? The Bentley helpfully suggests just to "tighten them back up." I think I did them to 35Nm for some reason at the time that I can't remember now!

I think the sleeve design act as a stop, fixed length , so just tighten them, a bit more than 35 Nm though, which is only about 20 ft-lbs, these are M10's. About 35ft-lbs, 50 N-m ish at a guess

the threads corrode so wire brush them up a bit and lightly lube

Ok, thanks... I'll make sure I tighten them up some more.

Engine to gearbox are about 30 N-m, the mounting to body bolts, similar so don't go mad, as long as they're tight and pulled right down.