N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

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ColinP
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N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

Post by ColinP » Thu May 22, 2014 7:17 pm

Hey all, I need to change the inner driveshaft gaitor on the nearside of my TF.

It looks reasonably straight forward, all parts including new hub nut etc. are available from Rimmers.

Only question really is will the driveshaft need dismantling or could I use a cone or spreader to get the gaitor on?

P.S local garage quoted a mere £80 plus VAT.... So if full dismantle of shaft is needed I might let them get on with it.

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RobboMC
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Re: N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

Post by RobboMC » Fri May 23, 2014 4:31 am

I've not done MGF drive shafts but I've done plenty of others in my time.
The inner gaiter normally comes off and the new one back on fairly easily.

It's the outer ones that can be difficult to swap. Many don't bother and just replace
the driveshaft with an exchange unit. At the very least to get the outer one off you have to remove the inner one anyway,
so they usually get done as a pair.The exchange people have all the gear and equipment
to slide the joints and gaitors in quickly ( means cheaply ) and you get an as new shaft that you
have confidence in.

I have to do an outer one this weekend on our kids Mazda 323 and I'm not looking forward to it.

Also, you may/should be able to prize the shaft out of the gearbox without removing the driveshaft nut
and swap the gaitor with the shaft in the car, ( I'm betting the mechanic might do it this way )
theoretically by lifting the upper ball joint and removing the bolts on the swing arm you can get enough movement
to slide the driveshaft out of the gearbox. The CV joints do compress a surprising amount.
I've just removed and replaced the gearbox from the sub frame and I did it this way without undoing the hub nuts.

diesel destroyer
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Re: N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

Post by diesel destroyer » Fri May 23, 2014 4:59 am

I've just fitted all new cv joints on my build,. Inner and outer

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROVER-MGF-1-8 ... 20d12e5d01

Why not fit a brand new joint instead of just the boot at these prices..

Not a hard job.. Getting it out of the gearbox is probably the hardest bit..

£80 does sound very cheap though.. Plus your hands stay clean

ColinP
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Re: N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

Post by ColinP » Fri May 23, 2014 7:52 pm

Thanks for your words of wisdom chaps.
Full joint ordered from that eBay link (same price as gaitor only!!)
Fingers crossed for the non driveshaft nut out method, I'd never even considered this was possible!

Will keep you posted on progress.

ColinP
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Re: N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

Post by ColinP » Tue Jun 17, 2014 8:13 pm

OK, am having a 'mare with this.
I bought the kit as above but things are not going to plan.

Bit of background....
I tried to swap in-situ which all went well until trying to secure to new boot to the new cup? which sits on the outside of the diff.
No chance, the metal belt point blank refused to play ball.
Even a cable tie was not happening.
So I cut the plastic 'goo ring' from the shaft, and cabled tied up as a temporary lash to be able to drive.

I've now since obtained another driveshaft.

This has the 'goo ring' intact but has a little more play in it that my current one.

So, car is stripped, both driveshafts are on the bench.
Fitted the outer gaiter in about 5 mins, the inner one is just not right.

Basically, when the 'goo ring' is fitted, the gaitor is stretched into a position that makes securing to the cup impossible.
When you see the pics, you will immediately see why....
Attachments
White plastic 'goo ring' between the gaiter and the tri-bearing.
White plastic 'goo ring' between the gaiter and the tri-bearing.
LH side -OEM gaiter, MID -New gaiter with 'Goo ring' fitted, RH side -New gaiter empty
LH side -OEM gaiter, MID -New gaiter with 'Goo ring' fitted, RH side -New gaiter empty

ColinP
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Re: N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

Post by ColinP » Tue Jun 17, 2014 8:17 pm

Long and short of it is the new gaiter is a completely different profile to the OEM.
You can clearly see that with the 'goo ring' fitted the channel for the metal retainer to lay in becomes distorted so it cannot hold the retainer correctly.

So should I:
1, Ditch the 'goo ring' again and just bolt it all back up? <-what does it do anyway?
2, Keep the car of the road until I can get hold of a gaiter that will fit correctly?
3, Any other genius idea!!

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Rob Bell
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Re: N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

Post by Rob Bell » Wed Jun 18, 2014 9:52 am

Where did the gaitors come from Colin? I agree with you - they're clearly different from the OEM gaiter on the left of the lower picture.

Are they pattern parts? If so, buy the original from Rimmers.

If that is an original from Rimmers, then I'd get back to them and explain the situation, because this is clearly not right.

Bet you wished you paid 80 quid for the garage to do this now? :lol: Still, bets are they'd be bodging this same gaiter to fit, so probably best you do this yourself.

My plan "B" right now would be to buy another drive shaft with a known good gaiter and fit this to get you going!

If these gaiters are going to be a problem, we should be able to get the original pattern re-manufactured... :)

ColinP
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Re: N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

Post by ColinP » Wed Jun 18, 2014 5:51 pm

I bought the full joint kit from eBay j_r2006 aka J&R Trading jandrcvjoints.co.uk

I've messaged them explaining the situation and sent the photos above.
The last correspondence from them is:-

"the plastic ITEM IS NOT REQUIRED when fitting our item, remove it???"

I'm not sure if this is a question or a statement but either way I'm not convinced removing the plastic shield is a good idea.
After all, with all the cost cutting within Rover Group at the time of build, surely it would have been deleted!

So a call to Rimmers in the morning, need this sorted now.
Their service has been excellent so far with odds and sods that I have ordered recently.

I quite like doing this type of work tbh, this along with brakes and electrics, it's all good.
Even welding, if it's accessible, is ok.

I just like to start a job and finish within fair time, not leaving the car up on stands for days on end awaiting parts :roll:

Thanks for your help

ColinP
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:48 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: TF160 Solar Red

Re: N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

Post by ColinP » Thu Jun 26, 2014 10:09 pm

Rimmers came to the rescue in the form of an OEM inner gaiter kit.
Fitted to the shaft in about 5 mins and could have easily been done in situ.
Final outcome of this was to just fit new inner and outer gaiters on the OEM shaft, keeping the OEM joints.

Outer gaiter from First Line parts, fitted perfectly.
Inner gaiter from Rimmers, fitted perfectly.

I'd bought two inner kits (full joints) from J&R trading, one for each side of the car to swap as a precaution but these are not for me.
Main reason was being unable to fit the OEM grease shield as there is no replacement in the kit.
Second reason was the bearing carrier only barely allowed clearance to fit the circlip, needing mild use of the hammer to get the circlip to engage (the OEM bearing has an inner face chamfer to allow correct fitment but the J&R one wasn't chamfered enough.
Third reason was that they just didn't seem to clamp down too well on the large end of the gaiter, they just wanted to slip off.
Maybe they have changed design from Diesel Destoyers' experience or possibly sent out the wrong parts to me.
Who knows :shutup:

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Rob Bell
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Re: N/S inner driveshaft gaitor

Post by Rob Bell » Mon Jun 30, 2014 9:45 am

Great update, thanks Colin. In cases like this, I am increasingly minded to only use MG Rover (or Land Rover) branded parts: their quality makes these jobs much easier and cheaper...

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