Prop Shaft and Tricks of the Trade

After getting my prop shafts greased on a repair shop, I could finally get them on the car and move on with the rear axle and, actually, all propulsion.

Started the session with help from the wife to tie the prop shafts loosely on their locations and then to get the diff in place. I had tried before to put the diff on the car alone. I couldn't make it. But two people did it easily.

After that, I spent two hours trying to bolt the smaller prop shaft on to the engine and the MNR reverse box. And this is where tricks of the trade are important. Once I figured out what I was doing wrong and the trick to it, I bolted it all in 15m. But let me explain in (painful) detail what the problem was and how I solved it...

I extended the prop shaft to be in contact with both ends and placed a bolt in each end to hold it in place. The problem was that I couldn't fit a tool in there to bolt it, had to do it with just my fingertips. And then, the bolt head would clash with the universal joints parts and would not rotate or not even go straight. So it seemed some wouldn't go in because they didn't align...

The trick I wish I knew or had found in less than 2 hours... I put one bolt on a hole and, with the shaft away from the reverse box, bolted it just a bit. repeated with all other bolts. As the bolt head was away from the UJ, I could use a spanner. And as I tightened just a bit of each bolt and went around, the shaft got closer and closer. Near the end I placed some Pattex Nural 50 (equivalent to Loctite) on the bolt threads and fastened them until they were completely home. Bolts also had a kind of a colar that prevents them from unfastening with trepidation, but I sleep better putting some Nural in them.

The longer rear shaft is still just tied to the car, will have to wait for next weekend...