Differential Housing Repair

Walter Prechsl

Like some more in the past tenths of years I (my TC 7027) suffered of a broken diff housing. It seems that it alway breaks at the tubular pieces base at the left side -- the side of the crown wheel.

On the photos above you can see that little tubular broken piece and especially the old break. The break must have been many years old, because the surface of the break was dark grey and not shining and freshly. I did only recognize a loud running rear axle, but had no further driving problems.

After phoning and mailing around the whole world, where I found many broken diff housings, I could not find any good spare part. And so I started to look for a Morris diff. But in the meantime I told my problem to friend Fritz and after giving the two pieces to him and a night or two of reflecting he had the idea to repair it.

He made a new tubular piece with a big extra flange in his lathe and welded it at the ball shaped housing. This welding was a major problem, because the housing must not be deformated by the heat and so he and another friend/specialist found a way to heat it up, weld it, cool it down very slowly and mill it to the correct measures afterwards.

If you have a similar problem, please email, I think Fritz will repair some diff. housings more.

(11/98)