FB axle swap

j4cko · April 17, 2012, 11:13:57 AM

We\'re looking to swap the rear axle on our FB for one without a welded diff. Does anybody have a walkthrough for doing this? We\'ll be putting some new springs on too.

Cheers

shaunwil · April 17, 2012, 12:54:07 PM

Are you just swapping the diff out or the whole axle ?

Shaun

j4cko · April 17, 2012, 01:25:50 PM

Well it all looked sort of one piece to me, i admit I haven\'t really studied, the car\'s too bloody low to look under. So i\'m up for advice on how to do it really. I have a whole rear axle with standard diff

Goopyperformance · April 17, 2012, 06:21:52 PM

Gives us more info and we can help guide you.

shaunwil · April 17, 2012, 06:28:34 PM

If I remember right its just the following :

Remove Prop-shaft
Remove rear brake Line.
Remove the Dampers
Unbolt the Trailing arms
Unbolt the cross arm suspension

Should then roll out as a complete unit.

What is your email address ? Can email you the workshop manual for the FB.

Shaun

Casey · April 17, 2012, 08:15:24 PM

Having done this task recently, Shaun has got it it pretty well covered. The only item missing is to remove the handbrake cables from both sides too. I then dropped the whole axle, carefully, onto two hydraulic jacks and rolled it out.

Biggest issue was several rusted up bolts on the Watts link - several bolts sheared and will have to be replaced.

Ian65 · April 17, 2012, 09:50:17 PM

a few of us have taken the axles off our 1st gens lately...

http://www.rx7fb.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=268&start=40

.

shaunwil · April 17, 2012, 10:51:21 PM

That is from memory doing it about 18 months ago :Giggle

Shaun

j4cko · April 18, 2012, 09:09:19 AM

Thanks for the help. Does the axle need dropping to change the springs?

Ian65 · April 18, 2012, 10:41:23 AM

no, jack the car up under the chassis to allow the axle to drop and then use spring compressors to take the rest of the tension off the springs.... you can then take the springs out, transfer the compressors to your new springs to compress them and put them onto the car.

j4cko · April 18, 2012, 10:51:04 AM

oh i don\'t think the ones on there will need compressing, they\'re held in with jubilee clips! cheers

David Nock (RIP) · April 18, 2012, 06:00:00 PM

Quote from: j4cko;819944Well it all looked sort of one piece to me, i admit I haven\'t really studied, the car\'s too bloody low to look under. So i\'m up for advice on how to do it really. I have a whole rear axle with standard diff

If you\'re just looking to change the diff then you don\'t have to change the full axle.

Make sure your spare axle is Series 2 because for one thing the splines on the halfshafts are different to S3.

Get the whole backend of the car as high as poss without the wheels.
Cap the brake fluid reservoir with a plastic bag, (to air lock it and stop it draining fluid as much as poss).
Clamp the brake flex from chassis to axle and remove the brakes, calipers as well.
Remove the brake discs.
With the axle drained, pull out the two half shafts.....a slide hammer is not usually required as the machining fit is just right. Mind the backplates; they come out with the shafts, don\'t bend \'em.
Mark the prop shaft joints with centre punch marks (to help make sure it\'s still balanced when refitted) and move it to one side. I can\'t remember if it has to come out of the gearbox splines....I don\'t think so. You will have to drain gearbox if it doesn\'t stay in situ.
Unbolt the ring of bolts around the diff and pull it out. Its bloodv heavy so be careful here.
Reverse the process to reassemble, I think I used Osotite sealant last time on the mating faces of the diff. It\'s done good.
Bleed the brakes all round, starting at the rear O/S one (furthest on the pipeline from the master cylinder) and finish at the front O/S one (nearest to master cylinder).
Sell welded diff, advertise as S2, someone will want that piece of kit.

Hope that helps.
Dave

j4cko · April 18, 2012, 08:19:35 PM

Yes it does, thank you for the help

j4cko · August 09, 2012, 09:13:38 AM

Right we\'ve started unbolting bits, haven\'t had any nightmare bolts so far! What is the procedure for removing the half shafts? Cheers

Casey · August 09, 2012, 09:33:33 AM

From memory, when I did this job last year....

Once you have removed the brake caliper and brake disk, then unbolted the three bolts from the rear of the stone guard (I can\'t recall if there are a couple of other bolts too, but it should be obvious), the shafts should then just pull out. You may need a hub puller to free the bearing from the axle, but I didn\'t need too when I did the job, it just wanted a good yank to break free. Be careful not to nick the rubber seal on the captive oil seal in the axle as the spline on the shaft comes out.