GT6 Halfshaft and Hub woes

[cook1e]

Those of you that read the blogs on the forum may have seen that I've been trying to rebuild the halfshaft assembly on my GT6. It failed the MOT for a 2nd consecutive year with a nearside rear wheel bearing. The last bearing only l;asted 1200 miles and tyeh one before that 3000 miles so something wasn't quite right. I've rebuilt the halfshaft with a new bearing, rotoflex coupling and a replacement 2nd hand outer halfshaft and hub as both the hub and shaft components were worn on my car which may have been the issue.

Having stripped the thread on one of my 2nd hand halfshafts and used my reserve spare I've now got the whole assembly and upright built up with brake drum etc. I had expected to be able to refit it to the car tomorrow night, however I've now got another issue.

I've got some serious lateral run out on the assembly, about 2mm at a radius of 55mm (just outside the wheel studs) on the drum face. having checked in case teh drum wasn't seated prioperly I've ascertained that the same run out exists on the hub face. Calculating this out it owuld be an enormous 12mm of run out at the wheel rim, definitly too much!!

The bearing is running nice and smoothly so I suspect that it's a bent outer halfshaft, but I guess it could also potentially be the hub.

I tghink what I really need is a compete 2nd hand rotoflex halfshaft and upright assembly that is of known goof order. Not easy to find. I think I'll be off to Stoneleigh this weekend but I know I'll be licky to find one.

I Wish I'd bought this one which was on ebay very recently.



The listing got removed so I guess it was sold outside of ebay in the end, looked really good and although it was £295 it would have been worth it to save the hassle. The listing said it had been rebuilt using the Churchill Tools and with all new bearings, bushes and rotoflex coupling etc although I doubt it was a metalstick one otherwise it would have said so. It was for sale somewhere in the North of England from memeory. If anyone knows who was selling it as I suspect iot was a business seller I'd be interested to know in case they are building anymore...


Anyone else out there who has any halfshafts or hubs that are definitly good give me a shout if you want to sell them....

[Nick Moore]

Hmm, I've got some, but the freight would be a fright. Have you considered biting the bullet and fitting a CV conversion? In theory the CVs will last long than the rotoflex couplings. I used the Nick Jones kit, and there's not a bent bit in sight!

[mikew]

Its most certainly a bent shaft.

Have you not thought of cutting down the nyloc nut, so its of similar dimensions to the originals - it would then let you use the other 1/2 shaft?

[tiggrr1]

Another vote for drive shaft conversion here, I have Nicks conversion fitted and not a single issue with it in 4 years :)

I reckon you won't have any bother finding a ready made roto drive shaft setup like your advert a Stoneleigh (hope I'm not wrong)
but I have seen them every year recently. Usually at about the same price as that ebay listing.

[GT6 M]

Andy, stripped thread on good one,!!!

a couple of ways to restore it, but ye need a split die, and a thread file.

put die on, and open it fully.

then with a hammer, wack the end of thread down, IE wack it into the shaft,
this will compress the metal
clean threads with thread file, then run die nut back up.
this way, die aint cutting off metal, but forming threads  made by file.

keep dooing this untill its come back good.


other tip is to get a bigg deep nut, as big in depth as the threads,    If not got one, then get a smaller nut with inside Dia, but deep,  and tap it to the size of the threads, if it is a smaller ID.
it be very hard to find a nut as deep. but they are out there.,or weld 2 nuts t,githa.
Ive made a few from smaller ones, and re tapped.

going this route, puts the load owa moer threads,than just the 4 ish that a nyloc does,
the nylocs are great for nakkerin threads up, as they not bigg enough.
you will fin that the threads stripped if wid a nyloc,are weel doon the thread.
so bigger nut,will clear this area.

so maybe all not lost.

M

[garyf]

Andy

I know a Guy called Tony Lindsey Dean (You may have heard of him from Kingston Sport cars back in the 90's?) has been selling rebuilt Rotoflex Halfshafts recently on e-bay, I don't know if he has anymore available though?

He's based in Bury St Edmunds and goes under the e-bay name of - t4sport6.

I have a couple of spare Rebuilt rear assemblies but need them as spares for my Car.

It is a bit of a lottery buying secondhand half shafts, chances are they've been apart before and have been split without using the proper tools :B  

[Tim Bancroft]

Andy,

I have the following;

2no Shafts with fubar rotoflexs

2no Complete driveshaftt units.

PM if interested.

Can bring to Stoneleigh.

[Nick Jones]

Andy,

I've got some outer shafts - condition unknown but cheap.....

Mike Papworth usually has assmbled units at Stoneliegh or you could ring him first to pre-order?

Let me know if you need me to bring a shaft or two?  Probably got some hubs too as that could also be bent....

Nick

[TimW]

Andy i also have used outer shafts of unknown condition. Unlike others mine would be free to a fellow club member :P :P :P :P :P 8)  I'm going to stoneleigh

[Richard B]

Andy are you going to Stoneleigh, or would you like James or I to bring anything back for you?

[Tim Bancroft]

Blimey, I need to sell these parts to raise money for the GT6 bonnet conversion that is happening in a week or so!!

Andy: You need to buy my driveshafts.

[cook1e]

Cheers Guys Lots of Options :-)

I didn't expect to go to Stoneleigh as I thought I'd be putting the car back together but I reckon I could well be going now.

I'm going to have another look at my unit tonight to see if I can work out whcih bits bent. The ammount of run out ought to be obvious and I can always use my old worn halfshaft to quickly rebuild as a test to see if it's the hub. At least I know it's straight.

[cook1e]

OK Guys, sussed it, put the rear face of the hub on a flat surface and measured the distance around the flange and it differed by 2.6mm around the circumference so I've got a bent hub flange. I stripped and rolled the outer halfshaft on a flat surface and it looks straight.


Anyone got any decent rotoflex hubs they can take to Stoneleigh?. failing that I least I know new ones are available from Canleys although they are pricey...

[CHRIS211083]

Chic doig sports cars cookie!!! Usually the cheapest and has loads of bits no one else does???

Chris.

[Nick Jones]

Andy,

I've got one or two (and one absolutely shagged one - almost as bad as the first one you took off).

Did the bent one come from me?  Can't remember if you had a hub and shaft of just a shaft......  Can bring hubs to Stoneleigh.  Can't help wondering if new might be a good investment though as the originals are all pretty hard used by now.

You'll need a proper bearing puller to get the bearing off your old flange without damage.

Nick

[cook1e]

Yep, got a proper bearing puller.

I only had a shaft from you, not a hub. The shaft from you is the one I'm using, i had one that looked better but that's the one that stripped is thread. Althouhgh the shaft is the bit you can't get new anymore  there seem to be a few around. probably because people have been moving over to CV joints and their old shafts are going soare I suspect!

Tim W is bringing a couple of hubs up to Stoneleigh, I've also had a mail from Canley's they have some 2nd hand ones in stock that have been tested with a Dial Gauge so if I get stuck I know I can get one that'll defintly be good for less than a new one. However If you've got a couple that you could bring up it may be useful in case Tim's are not good. I'll be bringing up a vernier and possibly something flat so I can doe some basic checks I think.