I am putting my engine back in after the gearbox repairs and am trying to put the driveshafts back into the diff sockets but they won't go in. The last time I pulled the engine out they slipped in as easy as could be. I've undone the ball joints on both sides. The hubs are hanging loose and the engine is sitting just above the engine mounts. I can get the left side to half sit in there, but can still see the ball bearings sitting out and I cant push it in any further.I have tried rotating it a bit to ensure the ball bearings are lined up with the grooves in the socket but it just wont go any further. I haven't even tried to get the drivers side one in yet.

Any tricks to this? What am I doing wrong? Is this a two person job? I am going bald ripping my hair out in frustration....

Cheers

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"Beware the lollipop of mediocrity: lick it once and you'll suck forever" Brian Wilson

ok,,, if you have swapped them (thew pots) from side to side accidently during the gearbox overhaul then maybe one is smaller than the other

there are a whole heap of after-market & reco Inner CVs on the market with different sizes

maybe pop the pot out & try it on the other axle???

if it fits then swap em both over

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Sorry Clive,,, maybe i should have said, --> If "I`ve" swapped pots over during the overhaul

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

He he he, I was just thinking "does Matt do house calls?". I will go have a look. It does sound rather technical tho. I better do some reading of the workshop manuals.

Cheers

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"Beware the lollipop of mediocrity: lick it once and you'll suck forever" Brian Wilson

Not too technical clovus

Basically there are two types of pot joints, big and small

They look almost the same, and unless you have one of each side by side it's hard to tell which one they are.

The pot joint isn't too hard to remove, you just hit it with a drift to knock it out. It has a circlip on it, so make sure that is all hunky dory before you put it back in.

Unless Matt has a better way to remove them?

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You're so square
Baby I don't care

Ok, I feel like a bit of a goose......

Before my first post I was getting frustrated. Having a break to post gave me a chance to think it through. So I lubed her up really well, changed the angle of the shaft and it just popped in when I gave it a bit of a push.

Far out! Anyways onto the ball joints. Not wanting to have a future contribution to the " what did i break" thread, what is the torque setting for the ball joints? I can't find it in my black workshop manual.

Cheers

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"Beware the lollipop of mediocrity: lick it once and you'll suck forever" Brian Wilson

Torque on the big balljoint (1-1/2") socket is 72lb/ft.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.