D Type inner axle felt seal change

[merlinart]

Hello chaps, I need some help please?

Being a newcomer to the Seven...well I've not touched it all for a year now, I 've decided to strip down the Ruby D Type rear axle. The axle is now split and shaft assembly & cwp all removed.

Being a daft old newcomer...how do I remove the spring clip enabling the felt inner seals and bits to come out so that I can replace it all?

I seem to be missing the obvious, but I fully compressed the seal by winding in the adjuster fully, then took the adjuster right out, but there must be a knack to removing the spring clip? Woodrow  shows it all in a diagram but doesn't mention how it is done. 

I found a website that mentioned to insert it all by using a length of threaded rod with washers and nuts each end....should I be doing this to remove the lot too, and was this the method back in the day?

I'm sure that it is one of these things that once done is simple to repeat, but currently I'm foxed!

All help will be much appreciated.

regards

Arthur

[Chris KC]

I winkled mine out with two small screwdrivers and a bit of perseverence. Once you have an end grabbable then move in with snipe-nosed pliers. There may be a better way!

[Ruairidh Dunford]

I use a long sharpened screwdriver, tap this in and behind the circlip then twist to allow enough room to grab with longnose pliers and extract.

[merlinart]

I use a long sharpened screwdriver, tap this in and behind the circlip then twist to allow enough room to grab with longnose pliers and extract.

Jolly good, will give this a go this afternoon. I was afraid of tapping too hard and causing damage. Will report back....lots more to learn!

[austin]

It has classic "pingf*ckit" potential, as I learnt the first time I did it as the circlip went sailing past my ear into the darker recesses of the garage after I tried to prise one out.

[merlinart]

I use a long sharpened screwdriver, tap this in and behind the circlip then twist to allow enough room to grab with longnose pliers and extract.

Jolly good, will give this a go this afternoon. I was afraid of tapping too hard and causing damage. Will report back....lots more to learn!

Worked well, just needed to do it! I did sharpen a knackered old screwdriver though!

Many thanks to all, looking forward to cleaning it all and rebuilding it.

Arthur

[Steve Jones]

Of course, now you've got to get the things back in again!!!

Steve

[merlinart]

Of course, now you've got to get the things back in again!!!

Steve

Ah, the threaded rod idea...presumably that works OK, will just have to try it. Not there yet, as cleaning and painting comes first. I'm amazed at the adjusters though, massive things to do just a simple job, though contemporary technology of its day, it did its job and must have been "ground breaking".

Arthur

[Bob Culver]

What prompted the dissassembly and what did you find? Common for the pinion nut to be loose. How do the teeth look? May need to remove wear step to simplify readjustment. if the bearings are unmarked it is an extravagance to replace. The pinion bearing must have minimal clearance. If an earlier pinion  with a ball race prudent to replace. What state are axle tapers? The adjusters are a wonderful convenience.  Most diffs have pressed in bearings and fixed shims; all fine with an assembly gauge but a nightmare without.Adjusters handed.

(It is common to shim used  a/c races to just eliminate any play. But recent reprint of instructions for earlier diff stated that the pinion a/c outer rings  shoud not be rigidly clamped. Dunno if anyone actually applies, or applies  to later, but this would seem to not suit shims, as likely to wear )

[merlinart]

What prompted the dissassembly and what did you find? Common for the pinion nut to be loose. How do the teeth look? May need to remove wear step to simplify readjustment. if the bearings are unmarked it is an extravagance to replace. The pinion bearing must have minimal clearance. If an earlier pinion  with a ball race prudent to replace. What state are axle tapers? The adjusters are a wonderful convenience.  Most diffs have pressed in bearings and fixed shims; all fine with an assembly gauge but a nightmare without.Adjusters handed.

(It is common to shim used  a/c races to just eliminate any play. But recent reprint of instructions for earlier diff stated that the pinion a/c outer rings  shoud not be rigidly clamped. Dunno if anyone actually applies, or applies  to later, but this would seem to not suit shims, as likely to wear )

What prompted this is all very simple. The car/chassis/all components have stood for a long long while prior to me buying the lot, from which I'm building a special, so I decided as a matter of course to strip the axle down and inspect...plus of course to learn as I'm new to Sevens (had this lot for a year or so).

had I checked Bill Williams A7 Specials book page 81...there was the description of how to do it! marvellous. I have Woodrow too, but curiously though very good, I find that it rather implies that one ought already to have  prior knowledge in some cases of aspects of these cars, and I don't and this must also be the case of us all initially! Woodrow didn't say how to get the spring wire circlips out.

May I make a general observation, and this might already be the case somewhere on this overall site.

What would assist newcomers might be a very brief list of available and out of print books, maybe with photos of front covers etc and a brief description, so that newcomers and anyone might then look around for such books?

Bob, this might be right up your street (which'll save on bus fares to quote the Goons!), the idea of a compilation of further ideas etc, I know that the Austin Seven Companion exists ( I have one), but perhaps a more comprehensive list of which book to look up for what question/context/problem, might be useful.

Clearly, I could do this idea myself, but I haven't yet come up with sufficient questions/context/problems, and I simply do not have the knowledge yet of the Seven.

A list of books alone would be very useful (I have 11 books on the Seven so far).

If I've stated the obvious and all of this exists, just kick me into the bushes! 

Just an idea! 

Arthur