Ben Baxter Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Right, I think I know the answer to this already but am halfway through the job so I might as well keep going:My rear N/S UJ has been knocking so I'm replacing both the driveshaft UJ's, and in taking off the first one I've noticed that the two lower bolts that secure the flange to the differential are loose by about 3mm - could it be this which is causing the knocking instead of the UJ inside the flange? And as a result is there anything that could've been inadvertantly stressed as a result of this that I should check?I'm damned if I know why the bolts are so loose (and struggling like hell to find enough access to get a spanner and ratchet to them with cold fingers), could either be that they've worked loose or a washer has corroded and gone on both of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valencia1 Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 if they have been loose for a while, they may have elongated the holes. you need two combination spanners to tighten them, well thats what i found best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted User Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 post removed on request of author Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 davesideways wrote:Always fit new driveshaft outer flanges if you want it to last.Except there are some seriously crap ones in circulation. A customer's new built-up halfshaft (NOT built by me!) threw a circlip, I spent ages under the car trying to seat a replacement, until I eventually found that the yokes weren't parallel! I've seen a few more like this since.Make sure that the correct bolts are used, not the setscrews which so often get used instead. The threads should exist only where the nut is seated, with an unthreaded shank to locate the flanges.5/16" bolts (with matching flanges) were standard on all Heralds, larger engined models used the larger 3/8" driveline fastenings. The exception is the Vitesse 6, which has an odd mixture in the driveline. The torque from larger engines can shake loose the 5/16" nuts, hence the move to the larger type. In practice, the 1300 engine is often man enough to cause the same problem, though I've yet to encounter it with a 948 or 1200,Cheers,Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelman Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 After hearing a clattering sound from the rear end of my 13/60 on deceleration, I found that all four bolts on the O/S UJ to the diff flange were loose. I replaced all with new bolts (not setscrews) and nylocs. This is not the easiest of tasks as there is only one position to the rear of the diff with a cutout that allows you to remove the old bolt. Looks like these fixings need to be checked for tightness on a regular basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 This 'working loose' does seem to be a problem on the smaller bolt sizes especially if used on more power cars (13/60 upwards seems to qualify!).Using decent quality shouldered bolts (ie not set screws threaded all the to the head) and new nylocs does help. Doing them up tight helps too but don't overdo it as you want to leave them strong enough to keep your wheels one (yes, they do!).Threadlock also helps as does using aircraft spec 'metalock' nuts (I suspect they have a proper name but I don't know what it is). The latter are not so easy to find but my local fasteners supplier was able to get them quite quickly.The bigger 3/8" bolts seem to suffer much less from this.NickNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieB Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 "Aerotite" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Baxter Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 Ah well, at least I know now and for the future. What's odd is that everyone I've mentioned this to has said that every case they've heard of has been where a larger engine has been put in, though that isn't the case here.Due to the vagaries of having the Herald as my only roadgoing car it looks like the old bolts are going to have to stay for the second, though I'm going to put some new Nylock nuts on them. Looking at them I honestly have no idea how you'd remove them anyway bar getting the ever handy dremel to them with a cutting disc - same for getting new bolts in (unless the nut went at the back, which is a bit of a nono in terms of structural strength). Difficult enough just to get the bloody nuts off as it was.But yes, considering how loose mine were (3mm on two bolts is one hell of a lot for a major part of the rear axle) I'd strongly recommend that everyone just sticks their head under there at some point and if nothing else check that they are fingertight, especially if you're running an engine bigger that my 1200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 b_baxter wrote:Looking at them I honestly have no idea how you'd remove them anyway bar getting the ever handy dremel to them with a cutting disc - same for getting new bolts in (unless the nut went at the back, which is a bit of a nono in terms of structural strength). Difficult enough just to get the bloody nuts off as it was.Looking at the outside face of the diff, a bolt must be inserted or removed with the hole in the flange aligned at 3 o'clock, then turned 90 degrees so that the next one can be done. The bolts won't go in or out at any other position. If they won't go in at this position, a previous owner has probably replaced the diff output shaft incorrectly, without aligning the plate in it's intended position,Cheers,Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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