Differential - Pt 1

I have got a 3.54:1 Powerlock differential. It has a very smooth operation and very little backlash. I only intend to replace all seals, side shaft bearings and give it a really good clean up generally.

Before re-furbishing

Removing the rear cover proved rather more difficult than I had hoped. It was really difficult removing the two pendulum studs through the diff cover. Looks like they have been off at some point in the past so the heads are a little damaged. Still, I was able to find a couple of replacements from Jaguar Heritage at a very reasonable cost.



I needed a rather long extension to my spanner!!!



Removing the side shaft. I had to resort to my trusty slide hammer
as someone had decided to superglue the bearings in!

It took some time in getting the bearing collars off as these are an extremely heavy press fit. The only option is to cut them off. A combination of an end mill in my pillar drill and the depth stop very carefully set. Then a good go with the angle grinder and off they came. No marks on the shaft so I was really pleased. Good job the bearings are being replaced as well as the seal. The splines are a little worn but should be OK. Only time will tell.

Finally all out and the bearing collars removed

With the side shafts and the diff cover removed the nest task (after sealing the inside off from dirt ingress) was to very thoroughly clean the diff housing. There was patchy paint and a lot of rust. I decided to use POR-Strip for paint removal and this worked a treat. One thing to bear in mind is to use proper safety gear and use it in a very ventilated area (outside is best). Read the instructions very carefully as this stuff doesn't take prisoners! After this it was carefully cleaned and all traces of the stripper were removed and then I set at it with wire brushes. In the end with all rust and paint removed it looked pretty good.

Stripped and wire brushed. A bit of a labour of love but definitely worth it.

All masked up and painted. I chose to use Eastwood paints, Extreme Chassis Black,
primed and then followed by 2 coats of satin black.

More to follow later when I get the diff cover back and start reassembly of all the parts. I still need also to change the pinion oil seal as well.