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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Competition half shafts

I just got some of the competition half shafts that all of the usual suppliers sell and I'm having a bit of a problem getting them in. It's like they are too long. Do they require the dual bearing hubs to work properly? You would think that they should be a direct replacement for the originals.

Since I've never used them before, I'm in the dark about them but I'm down to my last 2 stock half shafts and since I've broken 5 of them over the years, I'm trying to minimize the breakage potential.

So, has anyone used them and am I correct in assuming that I do need the dual bearing hubs? After all, it's only more money.

Thanks in advance for any info.
Martin Washington

need to know where they came from and how long they are to give a definitive reply. The comp shafts from Peter May do not require double row bearing hubs.
David Smith

Hi Martin,
they should just be a direct replacement. I have just fitted two as part of my rear end rebuild, I found they needed some work with a small file to get them to fit properly.
Check the splines very carefully and take off any burrs or very sharp corners then use a marker pen to "blue" the splines then try fitting the shaft then withdraw the shaft and you will be able to see where the couloir has been scraped off, you can then use your file to take a small amount of material off in that place. Repeat until they slide in all the way. It's ok to give them a tap with a mallet but don't hit too hard.
I also tapped out two of the holes in the flange to be M8 so I could use screws to withdraw them in the future if they get stuck
Good luck
andy
Andy Phillips (frankenfrog)

I got them from Little British Car Company which is a Moss distributer here in the States.

They are about 1/4 inch longer than the stock ones. I have filed some but so far with no success. I did have to drill out the holes for the lugs since I'm running 7/16" lugs.

With the filing I have gotten them to accept some old sun gears that I have about. Before I started filing they wouldn't go on. Now they do but the ones in the diff won't let them slide in all the way. I've got new gears in the diff so maybe they're a little tighter than the old ones.

I guess I'll do some more filing and a little sanding of the diameter of the splines.

Ah, the fun of trying to upgrade these little beasties.
Martin Washington

"""" I did have to drill out the holes for the lugs since I'm running 7/16" lugs""""

Hmmm...,.that probably wasnt a good idea :-(

Id stop now and take to a machine shop and have off.set holes redrilled then splined for the new oversized studs

As is now, the new studs will just.spin and the lugs will.fall off about 100 yards down the road

Sorry

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Prop,

I think the splines are on the studs rather than in the hub. After the studs are driven in, the hubs look as if they have been splined because the studs cut into them. When I went from 3/8 to 7/16 I didn't do anything but drill (or maybe drill & ream) the hubs, and drive in the new studs.

Charley
C R Huff

Prop, I did the same thing to mine, and at the same time changed to 100PCD. It's no problem for the half shafts they just have holes for the studs to go through. The studs are pressed into the hub not the halfshaft
Andy Phillips (frankenfrog)

Well that interesting

I always thought when going to a bigger dia stud the hole had to be enlarged then the spline thread had to be arbor pressed into the new hole to cut the new spline thread

What method do you use to cut the new oversized spline... surly not just a bfh...im guessing just a stud and a grade 8 nut torqued down ???

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

The saga continues. I've done some measuring and the new shafts are bigger in diameter than the old stock ones. I have some old planetary gears from when I replaced them in my current diff that fit onto the new shafts as does another old diff. But these shafts won't slide into the new planetary gears which I got from MGOC. So the task is to reduce the diameter of the new shafts because it looks like the I.D. of the new planetary gears is smaller than original even though my old half shafts fit because their diameter is smaller. Confusing, isn't it. So, I've been sanding down the diameter of the new shafts using an orbital sander and a lot of patience and care. It's only got about 1/4 inch more of travel to go before it finally seats but this is such a pain. And I've still got the other side to do.

It looks like whoever makes the shafts isn't talking to the maker of the planetary gears about tolerances.
Martin Washington



Mod work is never as simple as it looks on tv or online adverts

Im just glad I cant afford an ultra freaken huge hammer, with built in rocket launchers

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

A shame you've attacked them with a sander it would have been better to have sent them back and got some correct replacements; I expect you've been sent the wrong parts. It happens occasionally. I had to send back some bearings that were labelled and packaged incorrectly and the suppliers refunded immediately. Now you'll be left with parts that don't fit, have been attacked with a sander, and will be worth nothing to the supplier. I learned the hard way too when I should have sent back a blast cabinet and instead modified it until it worked. The difference being that no precision was required. I hope your orbital sanding works but I would be pretty worried about accuracy. Good luck with it though.
Nick Nakorn

My first thought was that they possibly sent you the wrong ones too.
G Lazarus

I'm more of a mind that it's just a matter of two different suppliers working to different tolerances. As far as modifying them, I had to drill out the holes for the lug bolts since I have 7/16 lugs so right there they were modified. And they're close enough to the original that they are the "right" ones.
Martin Washington

This thread was discussed between 23/07/2014 and 02/08/2014

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