Does anyone know if the crownwheel & pinion along with halfshafts can be taken from a D axle and used in a banjo case for a long wheelbase car?

Location: Near M1 Motorway Jtn 28

As long as the banjo axle casing/tubes are from a long wheelbase car then yes. They're a straight swap.

Steve

Location: North Yorkshire

The parts will fit but you might need to use the later pinion bearing setup to make it work. Most if not all "D" axles have a roller bearing at the pinion end and a larger shoulder on the pinion shaft that this bearing sits on.

The late banjo axles had a ball race pinion bearing on a smaller diameter pinion shaft. You would need to use the late axle roller bearing setup including the pinion bearing spacer when you do the conversion.

Location: N W Kent

Brian,

I think quite a bit of care is needed when discussing the various crown wheel and pinions with casings.

A note I wrote when this was last discussed -

"Woodrow is incorrect in showing a single picture for a 1933-39 'two piece' torque tube showing the pinion shaft without step and a roller bearing.

There were two versions of this torque tube assembly, the first from 1933 to 1935 had a parallel 1" pinion shaft fitted with a 1" bore ball bearing (RHP MJ 1/SKF RMS 8) at the pinion end which was 3/4" wide.

In 1935 when Longbridge decided the ball bearing was not strong enough they went back to a roller bearing (RHP LRJ 1 1/8/SKF CRL 9 ) with 1 1/8" bore requiring a stepped pinion shaft. This bearing is 5/8" wide needing a longer spacer."

All the angular contact bearings are the same with special narrow outer rings.

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Victoria, Australia.

Roller bearing casings have a simple arrangement to hold the outer ring in place, unnecessary with the ball pinions. Better to make simple mod if required than adopt the retrograde step of turn or grind the pinion to accept ball race, which requires a high degree of accuracy.
Dunno how experienced you are but care necessary to get a/c races the right way round, and not to pretension and damage. If the old races interchanged, life extended.

Location: Auckland, NZ

Many thanks to all for the information. I have a 1931 car but it has a 1936 back axle which needs some work becuse it has been wrongly assembled such that the brake levers are positioned incorrectly. It is probable that I could just swap over the levers etc but while I'm at it it would be nice to end up with the correct type of axle to suit the car.
I've just bought a pair of LWB axle 'trumpets' and will be looking for a 'banjo'.
The existing halfshafts look ok on the outer ends and the CW&P are quiet hence the original question re. interchangeability.
If anyone has any other comments about bearings, prop shaft, torque tube etc they would be most gratefully recieved.

Location: Near M1 Motorway Jtn 28

I think what Bob is talking about here is the peg that the roller bearing axles had to retain the roller bearing outer track. this peg wasn't fitted by the factory on the ball race axles.

The peg (about 1/4" diameter from memory) is there to stop the outer track of the roller bearing from "walking" away from the rollers and down towards the crownwheel. When I have fitted a late roller CW & P into a banjo axle, I've just drilled and tapped a hole in the banjo section to screw in a bolt and then sawn off the hex bolt head in order to leave a pin.

Difficult to describe clearly; but what you need to do will be obvious when you strip down a roller bearing axle and look at said peg.

Location: N W Kent

Dunno how many diffs you have played with but...

The 5.25:1 does not hunt. If not assembled with the same set of teeth together patterns may be a puzzle and inconsistent. May be worth checking and noting the mesh patterns before dismantling. Many seem to get away with quick assembly, but can fritter hours attempting ideal patterns which may not be achievable with used gears. Any steps at ends of gears should be stoned off. If repositioned gears ride on these never get a pattern, and may get chipping.

Are you planning to revert from Girling brakes, or adapt the older axle to these, not a minor exercise, and not original? If an earlier Ruby axle levers will be somewhat low, esp if long levers fitted. Not sure if long levers can be used with pre Ruby axles, unless upside down, as often seen! All a lot of work if the diff and brakes working OK, and if the levers have to be shortened may not continue to do so!

Location: Auckland, NZ

Again, many thanks to all who have replied, all very useful.
Bob, my intention is to return the appearance of the axle to as near as possible to original for 1931 and to make the brakes work properly.
Apparantly, these axles are much sort after by the racing fraternity and command a high price. My brakes are set up incorrectly on the existing 'D' axle and, rather that mess about with it to get the brakes working better, I'd rather use the existing parts in the earlier casing and save some money, as well as ending up with better brakes and a more authentic looking axle. The existing brakes are not Girling and have long levers but I can change those.

Location: Near M1 Motorway Jtn 28

I have now bought a banjo centre to go with the side pieces acquired earlier.It is in very good condition with the 6 off threads at each side and the 6 off threads for the nose piece all in good condition. There is no square plate at the back, just a threaded hole which may be 1/8 BSP. There is a drain plug hole but no hole for a breather tube in the top.
The stamped in markings are a bit faint but the date appears to be 27/7/27 and the raised portion at the back seems to have 5321/ 9 44 stamped in although this will mean nothing if I rebuild it with parts from my existing D axle.
This will be a winter project if I keep the car.
My wife and me are starting to suffer from old age and arthritus which can make it difficult to get in and out and for me to avoid her when changing gear so I have been hanging my nose over Austin 10s but we'll have to see.
Brian

Location: Near M1 Jtn 28

Brian, if the date you quote is correct I believe you have a short nose banjo, I am afraid that will not work with your 5.25:1 CWP, you need a long nose Banjo.

Location: NZ

Thanks Ian, back to the drawing board then!
Brian

Location: Near M1 Jtn 28