Live axle or IRS?

[Chris71]

I know the dynamics must have been done a million times before, but I'm thinking more of the convenience... Is a live axle car any more difficult to work on or source parts for, for example?

The idea of having all the bits locked away inside an axle casing seems a bit off putting, but I can't honestly say I've ever had to change a driveshaft or anything on an IRS car for comparison. Also, is it fair to assume that Sierra IRS bits are easier to come by than Escort/Capri live axle bits?

In other words, dynamics aside, are there any other reasons to favour one particular approach?

[Sam_68]

You could argue that live axles are slightly less convenient to work on, yes. They're a hefty lump of metal to man-handle out from under a car and removing the half-shafts or changing the bearings can require a fair amount of brute force and ignorance.

On the other hand, IRS has potentially (depending on the design) more issues with accuracy of set-up and has a lot more bolts and bushes to assemble.

To be honest, this element of the driveline is generally reliable enough not to worry either way, though. It's not as if you'll be stripping it down every 6,000 mile service

[CorseChris]

Westy IRS car, built it 18 years old, not many miles really, about 35k, had to rebuild a diff recently (can't blame the IRS for that!), only other job it's ever had was slave cylinders, shoes & drums. All the spherical joints and bushes are still sound, although some of the powdercoat is coming off now.... Getting the old diff out was easy, probably would have been harder work on a live axle actually....but not a lot in it, and as commented, don't expect to be doing this every oil change! I also changed the diff ratio at the same time, and the orignal diff was taken from a very old MkII Escort and all I did when I built the car was replace the oil seal in the nose.

So, not a lot to choose between them as far as maintenance I guess.

I'll avoid re-starting the usual debate