MKII Escort rear axel
Rory Gaffney
anybody tell me where I might find some literature on stripping out the
internals and re-building. Failing that can somebody tell me should I
remove the half shafts before taking off the diff?
Gaff.
Ady
If its an english axle you have to remove the halfshafts befor the diff can
come out
For that you will need some sort of slide hammer, i used a piece of flat bar
bolted to two diagonal wheel studs, with a length of thredded rod fitted in
between. Slid the head of an old sledg hammer over the rod, fitted a penny
washer and nut to the end of the rod and whacked the washer. Came out after
a couple of hits
Best referance is a haynes manual
Hope this helps
Adrian
"Rory Gaffney" <roryga...@eircom.net> wrote in message
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AWM
"Ady" <adrian...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:YYhz8.18011$Mi.38...@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...
> Hi Rory
>
> If its an english axle you have to remove the halfshafts befor the diff
can
> come out
>
> For that you will need some sort of slide hammer, i used a piece of flat
bar
> bolted to two diagonal wheel studs, with a length of thredded rod fitted
in
> between. Slid the head of an old sledg hammer over the rod, fitted a penny
> washer and nut to the end of the rod and whacked the washer. Came out
after
> a couple of hits
>
> Best referance is a haynes manual
>
> Hope this helps
>
> Adrian
You only need a slide hammer if the bearings are really really tight in the
housing.
Usually just bolting on an old wheel and hammering the tyre with a lump
hammer while pulling the other side by hand works after 2 or 3 minutes as
long as you work symmetrically. Of course the 4 bake plate bolts need
removed first
AWM
Slow down unless you have a really good reason leave the diff in place
undoing the wrong bolts could mean you need to hire specialist help to reset
the meshing of the gears.
. Escort axles come in 2 flavours - the so called "English Axle" aka Timken
Banjo and the so called "German axle" aka "baby Atlas" or Salsbury
pattern.
Normal 1100/1300/Mexicio Mk1 UK Escorts used the english axle, MK2 Escorts
can use either.
The english axle is weaker but much ligher as it is made from thin wall
tube.
The way to tell them apart is that on the English axle the diif is contained
in a removable carrier which comes out from the front of the axle, the baby
atlas has an integral diff carrier with only an inspection plate at the
rear.
All Mk2 axles have metric wheel studs (these can be swapped either way) The
other diffrence between Mk1 and Mk2 axles is the propshaft flange, the
flange on the Mk is designed for Hardy Spicer circlip type universal joints
as fitted to most 60s UK cars, all Mk2 have a bigger flange designed for
propshafts with crimped in universal joints as used on the Sierra.
The propshaft drive flanges can be swapped and/or the oil seal renewed but
the flange should only be removed and replaced WITH GREAT CARE as even 1/4 a
turn over tightening of the centre nut will ruin the crush washer and throw
the pinnion preload out, but unless you have to do this leave the large nut
in the centre of the drive flange well alone.
With an english the diff carrier complete with can be removed after the
shafts have been drawn don't attempt to strip this assembly down any
further.
With the baby atlas don't even try to remove the diff as it can only be
replaced and reset with special tools.
The chances are the only parts you will need to replace anyway are the wheel
bearings.
If welding suspension brackets on to the casing on and english axle remove
the diff and take great care to suport the axle properly (ie not just at
the ends) and work strictly symetrically when welding.
Tony Bond (-AbFab-UncleFista)
"AWM" <am...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:aali6j$7vi$2...@paris.btinternet.com...
> You only need a slide hammer if the bearings are really really tight in
the
> housing.
> Usually just bolting on an old wheel and hammering the tyre with a lump
> hammer while pulling the other side by hand works after 2 or 3 minutes as
> long as you work symmetrically. Of course the 4 bake plate bolts need
> removed first
Pics of the different axles here http://www.domsat.co.uk/pages/Axles.htm
Toolkit
axle. If the pinion bearings or head bearings are worn or noisy they can be
replaced but its easier to get another diff assembly from a scrap yard. If
you have to change them they can be done and you can make the tools
yourself. To hold the crown wheel you need a BIG crowbar. To tension the
pinion nut you need a tool like a metal catapult with two bolts thru it. But
you have to get the bearings off with a press from your local garage. The
squash washer has to be replaced and torqued to about 185ftlbs. The side
tensioner on the crown are just screwed in to obtain the correct mesh
pattern. The instructions are just a guide to help you set it up but in
practice you just have to get the mesh right or it whines. You should see
how they taught us to do it at Ford Training Daventry!!! If you must
attempt it put pinion in first using original shims in SAME order. Then
screw side bearing adjusters in till you get the scuff pattern in the centre
of the crown wheel teeth. Bear in mind that Timken axles had a large
call-back at the time due to the crown wheel bolts shearing under too much
torque. If you are fitting one of these axles to a high power engine just
bear it in mind. If anything other than bearings need changing..dump it.
Toolkit
sierras etc. The main complaint about these was noise. It was usual to
change the wheel bearings and mount bearings on them if a customer
complained. In 99 out of 100 cases of bearing change you could just pull all
bearings off and press new ones on to the original pinion providing you USED
THE SAME SHIMS IN SAME ORDER. Remember they were correctly set at factory
and only become loose and whine when bearings wear down. New bearings will
return c/w & pinion set to original mesh. Only time you had probs was when
you 'caught' the metal seat when pulling the old bearings off and didn't
scrape them down flat again, effectively altering the shim pattern. You
cannot do this with either if you change the crown wheel and pinion set.
The mesh pattern should be dull in colour and slightly to the front and
middle of teeth with original grinding pattern showing. If teeth are
polished shiny at all and the original grinding pattern has gone..scrap it.
Timken axles were quiet and light but weak with powerful engines. The gasket
broke the droan transfer.
The Salisbury axles were strong but heavy and moaned like hell because every
grind was transferred up the axle tubes. No gasket to break the sound
transfer. Ford tried all manner of mods to stop it but always seemed to moan
at one stage or another. (That's why Sierras have rubber buffers on top and
bottom of rear springs.) A moaning Salisbury is not a bad axle its just that
they transferred sound up the tubes which amplified every little sound.
Rory Gaffney
Thanks for all your advice, it is an English and the reason I need to strip
is to send the casing to Westfield for modification. I will not be
stripping the diff.
GL&T,
Gaff.
"Rory Gaffney" <roryga...@eircom.net> wrote in message
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