propshaft and fueltank

[cerdad]

Finally taking the body off, two questions:
The propshaft bolts are impossible to get off in situ,will the propshaft just pull out of the diff when the the engine and box come out or will it pull out of the gearbox?

also, how does the fuel tank come out,have found the two bolts under the exhaust heatshield and the two up by the electrical boxes but it does not want to move .

as a footnote ,have found a rotary switch with two wire connected and a very small bore copper connected to it . The tube goes into the space where the servo is ,i only found this when taking the interior out,the switch was behind the sound proofing where the drivers right knee would be, any ideas?

[C3BER]

Think the switch your talking about is for aircon setting.

[TimJM]

The propshaft slides out the gearbox, it has four bolts onto the diff. You wont get the diff out without disconnecting the propshaft though.

[clive f]

you should be able to rotate the propshaft, you should find there is one position where you can get access to the front and back of the bolts, then rotate and do the next one and so forth etc.

[Mr Cerbera]

Swore at the chassis designer the first time I tried to separate the propshaft from the Diff, too.

BUT

If you've got two swan-necked spanners (were they 15mm ??), turn one of the wheels (in neutral) to rotate the shaft until each nut and bolt combo is at it's lowest point, stick it in gear then they'll give.

Did it on my own, twice !!

(Patience is a Virgin)

[Tanguero]

Mr Cerbera said:

If you've got two swan-necked spanners (were they 15mm ??), turn one of the wheels (in neutral) to rotate the shaft until each nut and bolt combo is at it's lowest point, stick it in gear then they'll give.

The propshaft bolts are 3/8 UNF.
Having the correct size imperial open ended spanners helps considerably.

[Mr Cerbera]

Tanguero said:

The propshaft bolts are 3/8 UNF.
Having the correct size ....spanners helps considerably.

Edited by Mr Cerbera on Sunday 22 September 21:53

[Tanguero]

If you are taking the body off, the prop shaft is the least of your worries. It to me about 15 min to unbolt mine today so it really isn't difficult. Just jack up the back of the car and turn the shaft so a bolt is at the bottom then you can readily get an open ended spanner onto each side of the flange.

[ridds]

You should use a Ring spanner on the front and a open ended on the rear of the flange.

The diff flange actually has flats that the bolt head should rest against to assist with tightening/loosening. If you try to use a ring spanner on this side it won't sit very well.

[cerdad]

Engine is out ,found the sweet spot with the prop, one very oily engine and a very sturdy chassis ,inverted the engine on a stand and ended up with a load more nuts and bolts