Rolls-Royce Corniche - Final Drive Half-Shafts; Half-Shaft-To Remove

Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow & Bentley T Series
Workshop Manual
0 chapter J
Section 52
Half-shaft40 remove
FINAL DRIVE HALF-SHAFTS
The half-shafts can be removed from the car with the
final drive unit in position.
Exchange
hilf-shaft assemblies are available, com-
plete with ball and trunnion joint, seal and Hardy
Spicer joints.
If a half-shaft is to be removed and an exchange
assembly fitted, proceed
as follows.
1. Place the car on
a ramp and securely chock the
road wheels.
2. Disconnect the battery which is located in the
boot.
3. Disconnect the outer universal joint from the
hub by removing the four setscrews and the two
clamps (see
Fig. J14); it may be necessary to jack up
the wheel and rotate the half-shaft to
gain access to
all the setscrews.
4. Ease the shaft inward to disengage the joint;
support the shaft to avoid excessive strain on the ball
and
trunnion joint seal. One convenient method of
doing this is to suspend the shaft on a piece of cord
or wire looped round the
final drive cross-member.
5. Remove the six nuts and washers securing the
bearing housing to the
side of the final drive casing;
tap the housing around its circumference with a soft
headed
mallet to 'break' the joint then ease the housina
out of the casing and remove the half-shaft assembly.
Note When removing a right-hand (off-side)
half-shaft great care must
be exercised
when withdrawing the housing owing to
the location of the belleville washers and
distance piece behind it (see
Fig. J9). As
the housing is eased away from the final
drive casing, a slim rod or screwdriver
should
be inserted to prevent the pos-
sibility of the belleville washers falling
down into the final drive casing.
When handling the half-shaft assembly, both ends
should
be supported. Do not carry the shaft holding
one end only or place the joint in any position, where
both ends are not supported. Also the shaft should
not be
pIaced with the ball and trunnion joint body
downward otherwise oil may be lost through the small
breather hole in the centre of the splined shaft.
6. After removal of the half-shaft, the final drive
casing must
be securely blanked off to prevent the
ingress of dirt.