DRIVESHAFT PROBLEM

I hope you can help with an odd problem I am having in overhauling Triumph Herald drive shafts. During a restoration I decided to build up the rear suspension using two new old stock shafts I had on the shelf.

Re-assembly went perfectly okay until it came to re-fitting both drive flanges. Despite meticulously cleaning the outer shaft tapers and the tapers in the drive flanges and checking the keyways and keys neither flange will go far enough onto the shaft to enter the outer oil seal/ grease catcher (see photo attached, sorry about poor quality) being about 7mm proud. Despite being fully tightened, the photo shows the rusty old assembly which has not been dismantled for comparison. There is no sign of the shaft itself being too far through the trunnion (there is an oil seal dust seal on the inner side of the shaft which indicates the correct position). I have done this job in the past without problems. Any ideas? Peter Jones My first thought would be to confirm the shafts you had in stock are in fact the correct part. The Herald driveshaft should be 19.5-inches long and I would confirm that this is the case. There is a similar shaft part number 155928, which fits the spitfire and GT6 and that one is 20.5-inches long.

I would also check that the woodruff key you have fitted is correct and not too large as to be holding the flange back from its fitted position on the taper. I would try fitting the flange without the woodruff key just to confirm that this is not the case.

If even without the woodruff key the flange will not reach the seal, although I realise that it would mean stripping down your recent work, I would advise carefully matching the new and old components.

The driveshafts less the UJ (part number Part No.: 128135) do appear to be readily available if required.