Andy,
You should check the thrust washers in the spider gears. Many years ago I
broke a TD half shaft and the cause was the spider gear brass thrust washers
were so worn that the gear teeth met on the ends of the teeth and jammed.
Thereby locking the diff and causing the break. At least that was what the
MG Dealer told me at the time. I replaced the brass thrust washers and have
never again broken an axle. Might be worth checking the thrust washers
before changing the axle shaft again.
I have not used World Wide Auto Parts for shock rebuilding but have spoken
at length to Peter Caldwell, who runs WWAP, and am confident he will do a
better job than Apple. I believe he gives a life time guarantee.
Regards, Bob
Bob Grunau
150 Pinewood Trail,
Mississauga, Ontario,
Canada, L5G-2L1
905-274-4136
Andy,
I used Apple also but the shock place everyone seems to recommend is:
World Wide Auto Parts of Madison, Inc.
2517 Seiferth Rd. - Madison, WI 53716
Local (608) 223-9400 - Fax (608) 223-9403 - WATS (800) 362-1025
Business Hours
Monday - Friday 8am - 5:30pm CST
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Their web site is: http://www.nosimport.com/?
Very sorry about your loss. There is an upgraded axel on ebay
currently. If the price is a little better maybe it will help take some
of the sting out.
Ron Parkinson
Just rode in the cab of a flatbed to bring the TD home from 250 miles
away, with a broken rear half shaft. This is the second one for me,
which is more distressing since after the last one I replaced both half
shafts with the upgraded, stronger aftermarket parts.
We were driving on twisty mountainous roads which had lots of potholes,
as well as long downhills requiring 3d gear to keep the brakes from
overheating. Before the trip I had noticed that one of my rear dampers
was leaking . . . they were all rebuilt by Apple Hydraulics about 6
years and almost 30,000 miles ago. Around uphill hairpin turns there
was a lot of jumping of the rear end over the rough roads, which
probably weakened the axel. Downshifting on the downhills probably did
it in by reversing the torque.
I'll replace the half shaft and send the damper in to be re-rebuilt (I
recall there is an alternative to Apple; anyone have the address?)
My question is how to assess the condition of the remaining 3 dampers.
I don't have any sophisticated gauges to measure resistance, and my
foot-on-the-bumper test is inconclusive, since it seems that all 4
corners rock a second time after releasing.
Andy Moyce
52 TD, grounded for now
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