22 replies to this topic

[newenglandmini]

How do I remove the offset sphere joint from the final drive gear assembly?  Haynes suggests that it is pried off using the aluminum housing as a lever point, but I want to be sure that I'm interpreting the instructions correctly before I do so.

 

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[nicklouse]

http://www.minispare...600/18G1240.jpg
http://www.minispare...|Back to search

Is the tool for it or you can prise it off as it is only a C ring holding it on.

[Spider]

Put a dolly behind it (on the diff side of it) and give it a sharp belt with a hammer.

[newenglandmini]

Is this the correct pry location?  I put a substantial bend on the pry bar without success, and I'm concerned that I may fracture the housing.  I haven't tried to hammer it yet.

 

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Edited by newenglandmini, 19 March 2015 - 09:15 PM.

[ChopperHarris]

Clump with a copper faced mallet works for me

[Dan]

You should have prised against the bolt heads before removing the diff side plates sadly. You are right to worry about prising against the ally, you will distort the side plates which are now no longer available. As Moke Spider says you can drift them off fairly easily now you have it on the bench like that.

[Alex_B]

Pretty sure you should be prying off one of the bolts that mounts the diff side cover to gearbox, the ally housing would likely deform without support. 

Since its off you might have to get creative but it doesn't take too much effort to remove them. 

[nicklouse]

As your diff it out. Dangle it by the cup and hit the ring gear with a dead blow hammer of soft faced mallet. Watch out for your toes. Don't let it fall too far.

[newenglandmini]

Thanks to all for your generous assistance.  I have the gearbox on the workbench, and I can assemble finger-tight to pry against the bolt heads.  I'll have at it again tomorrow and I'll report progress to close-out this thread.

[rww]

Thanks to all for your generous assistance.  I have the gearbox on the workbench, and I can assemble finger-tight to pry against the bolt heads.  I'll have at it again tomorrow and I'll report progress to close-out this thread.

 

    These can be EXTREMELY difficult to get off or they can come off with no problem at all. I had to abandon all mechanical sympathy on one of mine by positioning two tapered metal drifts each side of the diff output shaft and driving each of them down into the gap between the joint and diff. cover. The drifts are driven in a little at a time equally and the tapers ease the joint off the shaft. It marks the diff. cover but it was the only way that this particular joint was coming off the diff.

 

Best of luck.

[Dan]

That was acceptable until recently, diff side covers were cheap and plentiful and pretty much required regular replacement anyway. In the last year or two they have become NLA new, and used ones are almost always distorted. Output shafts and pot joints however are easier to source. If you have to force it off cut the shaft, cut the joint, pull the plug out the middle of the pot joint and drive or drill the shaft out, but look after the side covers whatever you do.

[rww]

That was acceptable until recently, diff side covers were cheap and plentiful and pretty much required regular replacement anyway. In the last year or two they have become NLA new, and used ones are almost always distorted. Output shafts and pot joints however are easier to source. If you have to force it off cut the shaft, cut the joint, pull the plug out the middle of the pot joint and drive or drill the shaft out, but look after the side covers whatever you do.

 

  I have had to use the tapered drift method several times. As I said it, 'marked' the centre raised radius of the diff side covers but they were completely re-usable.

 I suspect that the difficulty in getting the joints off is a miss-match of pot joint and output shaft circlip groove machining. 

[newenglandmini]

Success!  I modified my ball joint pickle fork to create a suitable wedge tool.  The force of a heavy ball pein hammer was insufficient and I had to resort to using my engineers hammer.  I supported the side covers with a bit of scrap wood to avoid damaging them.  The side covers survived the ordeal.

 

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[newenglandmini]

The side covers are available from mnispares.

http://www.minispare...ch/classic/diff cover.aspx|Back to search

[Dan]

I believe these are reproduction, but they are very good news.