Russell Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 My diff oil seal (Mk2 Escort English axle) is leaking. Can anyone who has changed this give me any tips. I obviously need a new seal, but what else and do I need to drop the axle out of the car. Your help and previous experiences would be welcomed. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Seal is easy to change. The difficult job is resetting the pinion depth. Behind the pinion seal is a crushable tube (called a crush washer) which is used to set the engagement/meshing of the pinion with the crownwheel. It is set using a special load gauge type tool which measures how much force you are applying to the pinion to rotate it. Unless you have the special tool or are experienced in this area of mechanics, I wouldn't attempt the job. Others on here will disagree and say it is an easy DIY job. The problem is if you get it wrong, you *will* destroy your diff, and in a surprisingly short time too. The only other way I would attempt it is if the diff has been rebuilt with a non crushable washer behind it. Some of the diff specialists will rebuild a diff and set the crush washer depth, then remove it and measure the length of the washer. They then machine/turn up a pice of solid tube to the same depth and refit this in place of the crush washer. Trouble is, you'll only know this once the diff is apart... Getting the diff out of a live axle is reasonably easy, but a bit of fiddle in the confines of a Westfield chassis. I've never actually done the job 'cos both my Westfields are SEi's, so I'll let a live axle owner comment... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Instructions for removing the diff are here. And a very similar oil leak issue is discussed here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Thank you for your help. You have certainly made me sit up and think before juggling with the spanners. The diff is a Quaiffe LSD which I dont want to trash quite just yet. I am torn between the making up of a spacer in lieu of the crush washer (have access to an engineering facility) or to drop the diff out and try and find someone who genuinely knows what their doing. I also read whilst searching for help a tip of " As these diffs use a crush washer to set clearances removing and refitting oil seals can be troublesome. Start with your torque wrench on a low setting and keep upping slightly until you can check the setting at which it comes undone. Add 5 lbs to this to retighten. " - not sure if this method is reliable though. My problem as always is I want it fixed yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markcoopers Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 It's a method, and like Blatman says, has it's protagonists. Personally, it's a specialist job for me as I had a diff changed and set by a suposidly knowing professional and the diff lasted 7 miles due to overtightend pinion nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 You won't trash the Quaife bit, just the CW&P. It'd still be an expensive experiment though as Mark says... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete g Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 if you dont try you wont know. did mine still ok .as for the crush washer . i got a new one but when i measured it against old one there was no difference.so used old one. just measure the threads and count how many turns to undo. fit new seal redo back up .nip it up about 27lb ,cant remember torque setting. and bobs your uncle.if you have done it to much there will be more backlash than before.better loose than tight . as for some of these diff rebuilders there are good and there alot of bad. my moto is try anything once and if it works .great if it dont try again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Posted April 18, 2006 Author Share Posted April 18, 2006 Ok, firstly lets clarify - I am stubborn. You may guess whats coming next. I decided to strip the diff and have a look at doing it myself. As always, there was a surprise lurking around the corner - no crush washer !!!! I am told that the flange is a MKI Escort flange and not MKII - the plot thickens. So with no crush washer it seems impossible to change the meshing tolerance. Has anyone come across anything like this before ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 The crush washer is behind the bearing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete g Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 yep crush waster between the bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markcoopers Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 And doing it in situ is seriously brave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Posted April 19, 2006 Author Share Posted April 19, 2006 Feel a bit of a twit now !!!! I think its the never ending learning curve of owning a Westfield that I enjoy so much. I will strip the diff out properly tonight. I would still like to have a go at it myself, but in the mean time I will ring around for a couple of "professional" quotes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Remember, all you want them to do is set the backlash as per the Ford specs. It should take an experienced diff man about 10-15 minutes to do the crush washer if you take him a re-assembled diff nose (leave the rear cover off to allow access to the crown wheel. Backlash/pinion engagement is measured by painting engineers blue on to the teeth of the crownwheel and then turning the pinion by hand to check engagement depth) that just needs this one job doing. Anyone quoting more than beer money doesn't understand the job... IMHO of course. Where in the country are you? We may be able to suggest a proeprly qualified person or company to do this for you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Mack Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 as peter g said, it isn't a difficult job. Theoretically you should remove the diff from the car so you can check backlash is ok but I am not convinced that is necessary if you are not changing the crush tube or bearings. Assuming you reassemble to the same torque or nut setting then there is little chance of backlash being anything different from what it is now. However, you do need to be careful that the bearing pre-load s correct. I think it depends on how confident you are of your mechanical abilities and understanding what preload and backlash is all about. If you are not so sure then I'd follow blatman's advise- a professional setup should not cost too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete g Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 looks like you done the hard bit. why not try and replace now whle in car. do it gently ,i reckon you be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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