Rear Dif Mount

[phazed]

Thundersports said:

Nope can't undo a couple of the alan key bolts dispite putting a huge amount of force through them.

That's why you have to go in through the rear!


They should be torqued to about 30 ftlb iirc.

[spend]

Can you turn the bolt, if so is the inner sleeve turning with it?

If the sleeve is holding, you may be able to spin the bolt out (the heat can make a difference).

If the sleeve is spinning & broken the bond to the rubber you may be able to spin / push the sleeve out with bolt still attached.

[lwt]

OP. Going in via rear shelf (not boot) certainly makes life easier, especially if you intend to drop the diff out too. It's going to make getting the old bush out a whole lot easier too (I could not get it to move using the drift method so it had to be the junior hacksaw method). Measure the width between chassis tubes from underneath, subtract a tube width then mark out on top. Use a cutting disc in a Dremel, or similar, to cut out the floor. This way there is little chance of the cutter attacking something it shouldn't. The bigger the hole the easier, so no point keeping it small. To put it back, rivet the fibreglass cutout to a piece of sheet metal slightly bigger than the cutout and use the 'wings' to screw it back on (e.g. self tappers). Glue new foam matting to it and cover it in carpet. Now you have a nice access panel for getting to the diff, the inner cv joints, fuel filter, brake pipes and the handbrake cable too.

Ian

[Thundersports]

spend said:

Can you turn the bolt, if so is the inner sleeve turning with it?

If the sleeve is holding, you may be able to spin the bolt out (the heat can make a difference).

If the sleeve is spinning & broken the bond to the rubber you may be able to spin / push the sleeve out with bolt still attached.

I can turn the bolt but the sleeve is not moving.

[Thundersports]

Thank you all for your help. It looks like i'll be making a hole somewhere.

[spend]

Thundersports said:

spend said:

Can you turn the bolt, if so is the inner sleeve turning with it?

If the sleeve is holding, you may be able to spin the bolt out (the heat can make a difference).

If the sleeve is spinning & broken the bond to the rubber you may be able to spin / push the sleeve out with bolt still attached.

I can turn the bolt but the sleeve is not moving.

Plenty of turning to free it off (driver / air ratchet) then taping out as it turns often frees awkward fittings - obviously an awful location so probably a two man job to tap & turn. Brake fluid is an excellent fluid to free things BTW.

[davelittlewood]

Thundersports said:

I can turn the bolt but the sleeve is not moving.

Can you actually see the inner sleeve? (did mine last year).

IIRC you can see the rubber part but inner steel sleeve is buried in the centre of the bush and you can't see it with the diff bracket in place.

Sound like the inner steel sleeve is bonded to the bolt, hence rotating when you rotate the bolt.

Cut through the bolt bolt or the diff mount. You'll then have to get the bush out.

Drill through the rubber in as many places as you can and then cut the rubber out (use a junior hack saw, put the blade through and then make up the saw). Use some oil to lube it.

Then use a hack saw blade to cut through the outer sleeve and then drive it out with a punch.

Some people burn through the rubber to free it. It's right next to the fuel tank, my bks aren't that big...

[Thundersports]

Hi chaps thanks for your help. I got the rubber mount turning now with the bolt along with diff jacked up and I still can't bash the bolt out. I started creating a hole in the shelf floor this weekend.

[Thundersports]

Update. Made 3 holes in the floor with a hole cutter then cut/drilled away the rubber bush before using a hacksaw blade with a handle to saw through bolts. Dropped it out on to my arm which hurt!

Edited by Thundersports on Tuesday 27th May 21:47

[phazed]

Well done, it's downhill from here!

[Thundersports]

Again thanks everyone who posted for your help. I'm going to do a little chassis sanding and priming while the bugger is out! I'm going to use Gravesend transmissions to do the re-build but they can't do it for a couple of weeks. I cut through the bolt I assume it's high tensile and one of the TVR parts specialists can supply?

[Thundersports]

Me again........Diff rebuilt but I can't get the outer sleeve out of the chassis bracket. I can't get a hacksaw blade in there and a brake pipe is close so I don't want to go belting it in case I miss. Any advice?

[Steve_D]

Thundersports said:

Me again........Diff rebuilt but I can't get the outer sleeve out of the chassis bracket. I can't get a hacksaw blade in there and a brake pipe is close so I don't want to go belting it in case I miss. Any advice?

You have to find a way to get the hacksaw in there.
Don't know of any other way to get it out.

Steve

[Barreti]

Sorry, but I haven't read the whole thread.

Are you talking about the rear upper diff mount.
You've got the bolt out but the outer part of the bush is 'welded' in the chassis bracket?

I had this issue.
I bought a cheap junior hacksaw and cut the handle off.
Then I took the blade out, threaded it through the bush and refitted it.
Over a period of a few days I slowly cut through the bush. It was bloody hard work but a bit at a time and you'll get there.

[Thundersports]

Yes the top mount and Barreti has just come up with a solution to getting a hacksaw in there thank you.

Edited by Thundersports on Monday 23 June 09:11

[Thundersports]

All ready to go back in any advice for doing this?