Just been trying to fit my brackets to the rear axle. How did you guys manage to get them parallel to each other and at 90 degrees to the propshaft?

Chris

If you have a banjo axle remove the halfshafts and diff carrier, if it is a Salsbury type just pull the shafts and remove brake back plates.

With both types of axle set the axle level with the front facing downwards (I used two workmate style benches) --- check the level using a precision spirit level, make sure the middle of the axle is well support to avoid it bending when the welding heats it up.

Then you can tack on the brackets using the spirit level to get them parallel to the front face.
USE SMALL TACKS and WORK SYMETRICALY allowing cooling time between individual weld runs or the axle will bend.

I did mine much as britishtrident says, but I didn't bother removing the halfshafts, I tacked the brackets together using two 46" spare lengths of RHS so they were square to each other, and arc welded them in, so I could 'feel' the penetration to ensure no breakthrough into the axle itself. I drilled a 32mm hole in my chassis jig to let the diff flange lie flat and used a spirit level to set the brackets.

I did drain the oil in the axle, didn't fancy an internal fire in the axle!

On the Salsbury type the axle tube are pretty thick -- particularly on the small dia tube version used in the Escort and smaller engined Cortinas.

But on the Banjo "English" axle the axle metal is paper thin more so after 20+ years of corosion.

[Edited on 20/3/04 by britishtrident]