Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Dear All,

I am trying to reinstall the rear axle/differential into the light eight. My brother and I got the axle back on the springs, and the springs back in their shackles. Now, we would like to put the prop shaft back on. Unfortunately, as you can see (hopefully) from the photo, the prop shaft appears to be too long, or the differential is too far forward. Since the springs are the same, the differential is the same (rebuilt with new bearings and seals, but the same differential) and the prop shaft is the same, I am stumped as to why it won't go back together.

So, what is the correct way to put a diff back in a car like this?

Thanks tons for your help.

Cheers,

Tom

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If it has leaf springs and the springs were removed then they are probably installed backwards.

The springs are installed the same way they were when we took them out. The part number stamp goes to the rear (according to my notes).

If my notes are wrong, I don't see how reversing them would help, as the axle sits in the middle of the spring. The distance from shackle to axle housing is 24.75" from front and rear. And, the axle housing is lined up perfectly with the bumpers on the frame.

Tom

I am not familiar with the pre-war cars, but post-war driveshafts are designed to slide in or out of the transmission tail shaft to allow for the up and down travel of the rear end. Maybe your driveshaft is not all of the way in the transmission. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will have your solution. Good luck.

Wrong pinion angle?

Tom, I agree with Kevin. It seems the shaft and differential are not lined up. It's the angle of the dangle.

Went by and looked at the 1407 yesterday and had a nice conversation about the car with Mike. He says it is a full-time job cleaning your drool from the car. I don't blame you, it is a nice one.

(o[]o)

Place jackstands under the rear axle and let the weight of the car press the springs flat. As the arc of the spring straightens the dif will move rearwards. Also, install the driveshaft from the bottom upwards as its arc of swing will be more favorable. I believe you will find that when everything is assembled the driveshaft will not be fully compressed even when the springs are hanging.

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Tom, go this way or repeat the dismantling situation (position of the jacks, angle of car declination, load). If not enough put four cement bags or the like in the car.
The below shown illustration isn't a drawing but a photomontage.

BTW Determined by mounting design and type of springs sometimes one has to go the other way around and to place the jacks between the rear axle and the frame to gain better installation circumstances.

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Tom,

I recently replaced a drive shaft and had a similar problem.

While I had the drive shaft out I greased the front spline joint, figuring it would be easier to do it with the drive shaft out.

When I tried to put the drive shaft back in it was approx. 1/2" to long. I hadn't touched the location of the transmission or rear axle.

No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the drive shaft in. I finally figured out that I had put so much grease in the front spline joint I lengthened the drive shaft. Since I had replaced the seal at the front of the spline I couldn't compress the spline joint enough by hand to force the grease out and shorten the length of the drive shaft.

Solution - I just removed the grease fitting, compressed the spline joint fully, which shortened the length of the drive shaft by about one inch. I was now able to install the drive shaft and then re-grease it.

Regards,

Dave

Dave,

Thanks for that tip! I will pull it back apart and take a look.

Tom