Broken Half Shaft - Help Needed

Hi,
Having pulled out most of the remains of a broken rear (Short) half shaft at the weekend on my 1978 88" Series 3 I am now left with the splined end still sitting in the diff, together with a lot of mashed up metalic debris. Can anyone tell me if there is an easy way of removing the stub left or do I have to take off the diff.

If the diff has to come off does the axle need to be removed or can this all be done in place and am I likely to find damage to the diff from the broken shaft ?

Help!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks
Callum

You might get it out with a strong magnet on the end of a broom handle, but if there's debris in the diff, you'd best whip it out.
No need to remove the axle, just drop the prop.

Treworgey 90 said:

You might get it out with a strong magnet on the end of a broom handle, but if there's debris in the diff, you'd best whip it out.
No need to remove the axle, just drop the prop.

Click to expand...

Cheers,
Will the diff still come out even with a bit of broken half shaft stuck in it?

it depends how long the broken bit in the diff is - but it should do.

I had the same problem with my 2a, tried magnets but it was well jammed in so had to take the diff off in the end, i found lifting the tub floor out made it a much simpler job...

same as above really ,yes you might be able to get a long pokey thing down the other axle and past the pin in the diff ,but youve still got to get the remaining mess cleaned out ,whip the other half shaft out and get the diff out .that way you can make sure all is well and clean inside (and not missing teeth etc like my mates that he killed week before last

X Engineering make just the thing.
X-eng High Performance Off-Road Engineering

Does anybody know if there are manufacturers out there of beefed-up halfshafts for Series axles?

Could try Ashcrofts - dunno if they do em fer Series though.

TheSmiths88 said:

Does anybody know if there are manufacturers out there of beefed-up halfshafts for Series axles?

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why do you want uprated shafts ???? ,because if you uprate them they will no longer be the weak link ,summat else will ........diff/transfer box/main box ,etc .

there will always be a weak link in the chain ,the trick is ,it should be the easyiest/cheapest bit to fix ........ sounds like halfshafts to me

ive heard some people even say that they grind a light groove with a grinder on the halfshaft to make it fail in a easyier spot regarding dragging it out again afterwards

TheSmiths88 said:

Does anybody know if there are manufacturers out there of beefed-up halfshafts for Series axles?

Click to expand...

If you are really worried get a salisbury rear axle they are much stronger and have a 4 pin diff with an added benefit that if you did actually break a rear shaft you could punch the broken bit outfrom the other side, however I don't think you will break one as thay are 24 spline inners and outers and much bigger diameter than standard. You will however need to shorten the rear prop shaft by an inch or so as the diff nose' is longer. Jai

cheers for the advice. I kinda like the idea that it's the cheapest, easiest bit to fix, I see your point. I'll stick with that for now.

Can't fit a salisbury - long story, it's a 1-off special axle casing, too far down the road with mods. My gearbox however has the option of a permanent 4wd mode with centre diff (it's not a land rover engine or gearbox), range-rover style so I would spread the load across all 4 halfshafts if I left it in 4wd. Front axle will be turning anyway as there are no freewheeling hubs - so I'm not going to be losing much in extra drag.

I looked at Ashcrofts - didn't see Series on the list - but the others I think were about £300 is for a pair ... for which you can buy about 10 pairs of normal ones!

Still half interested though if anyone comes across normal Series (non-salisbury) uprated halfshafts ... not at £300 though!!