406 diff question

[amazon69]

Hi,

I need a diff pinion flange for my 406, which I imagine is a hard to find part, but I believe the car has a salisbury axle, which is not so uncommon... I thought maybe the flange would be a common spline count/size shared with other vehicles. Does anyone have any tips or advice here to help me find a suitable flange?

Also, did the 406 have a prop centre bearing? I can't see any pics of it in the various manuals.

Thanks a lot.

Dave

[Geoff Dowdle]

Dave ,
My understanding is the 406 Salisbury diff is similar to a Jaguar Mk2 , so suggest you look at a flange from a Jaguar and compare with the 406 flange .
Why does the 406 flange need replacing , they are a robust part ??

I have never seen a 406 tail shaft with centre support bearing , but check your car as it could be modified.

Geoff

[amazon69]

Thanks for the quick reply. The part has not failed, it just does not exist. My car came with no drivetrain. Or engine, gearbox etc for that matter. It does have the rear axle though. I will look at Jaguar etc, thanks.

D

[PEU186F]

Bristol Car Services once supplied me with a Landrover pinion shaft oil seal for the 410, which makes me suspect that practically everything is common to every Salisbury axle. I was once told by a Land Rover fanatic that all the axle components on all rigid axle land rovers and range rovers, from the 1947 MK 1 right up to the last of the rigid axle V8 range rovers, remained interchangeable. All used Salisbury axles. The materials, ratios etc changed but not the dimensions.

Roger

[amazon69]

Thanks Roger.

I did indeed obtain a diff pinion oil seal from my local Land Rover specialist, for the grand sum of £6. It is a modern design with a one way rubber seal rather than the leather version which I took off.

[Geoff Dowdle]

The Early Rover diffs are spiral bevel but could be made by Salisbury.
The 406 Bristol and later are Hypoid made by Salisbury.
I suggest the Jaguar will be a better source than Rover/Land Rover.
Seals are readily available from any bearing supplier.
Geoff

[PEU186F]

Originally Posted by amazon69

Thanks Roger.

I did indeed obtain a diff pinion oil seal from my local Land Rover specialist, for the grand sum of £6. It is a modern design with a one way rubber seal rather than the leather version which I took off.

Hmmm... I still suffer from a problem in that the original leather seal had, over many years, succeeded in grinding the shaft undersize. The Landrover seal was pretty ineffective as a result and was later replaced with an undersized seal by Martin Barnes of ACCS. Martin told me that he and Brian Marelli of Bristol Cars Services had liaised to source this as a special. This was rather more effective but not totally so. But it may be worth talking to BCS if you find you have a problem. ACCS no longer exist

I have noted that the Morris Minor fraternity/ suppliers have had the same issue with the half shaft seals, originally leather, grinding the half shafts down. They have solved the issue by commissioning a hardened thin wall sleeve which, fitted over and lock-tighted onto the half shaft, provides a new pristine bearing surface which is essential for a rubber seal. I'd be most interested to hear of any similar off the shelf solution for the Salisbury pinion shafts.

[Julian Caples]

The hardened thin wall sleeve is called a "speedie sleeve" and is a standard off the shelf part (no special commissioning required). They are available to suit every standard oil seal (usually in a variety of lengths to suit varying installations).
All these seals and sleeves are generic components freely available from any competent bearing supplier.

The wear on the shaft is normal (ie it will happen to every shaft with a lip seal over time). Don't be too hard on the "old leather" seals - my experience is that they are slightly better on old shafts (more conformable, absorb a bit of oil and take up slight wear better) The modern plastic/synthetic rubber ones are harder, less conformable and need a better shaft surface to seal properly.

Using an undersized seal is not good practice (it will make the problem worse as it will deepen the wear groove formed by the seal - which at this stage is usually below the hardened surface originally provided) - it is a "bodge" to get you put of trouble - it is easier to fit an undersized seal than to do the job properly (seal can be done with the diff in the car, the speedie sleeve usually requires diff removal) which is frequently why it is done.

The 406 Diff is a Salisbury 2HA type which are quite (very) common - SKF actually do off the shelf kits for them. Sorry I don't have the modern part numbers to hand (the original Salisbury part number for the seal is 2HA-019), but any diff specialist that does work on Jags (or MGBs) is likely to have the parts on the shelf.

Regards
Julian

[PEU186F]

Julian

Very many thanks indeed, armed with this info I will hopefully finally get the problem resolved.

My regards

Roger