Phillip Hodges Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Hi, this is a bit of an odd/stupid question but are there any major differences between front axles for Series 3s? I am not too clued up on the history/development of the axles, so I'm not sure if or what the differences would be? I have a Series 3 109 and a few years back the front diff seized up and sheared off the two half-shafts. I have a spare axle from a S3 Lightweight and I was wondering if the parts are interchangeable? Chances are I'm going to have to get a whole replacement, however, any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Regards, Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeriesEwan Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Hello there, Now I Had a similar situation a couple of years ago, If I recall ( from my findings ) s3 axles are pretty much interchangeable between SWB & LWB You may have a few issues regarding placement of the oil filler hole ( i have 2 rear axles with fillers in different spots, One on the diff & one on the pan ) Sadly in your case though, ( again backup would be good here ) i *think* Lightweight axles could be a smidge shorter than standard axles. The reason for the lightweights design was so they can fit 2 side by side in a certain sized aircraft & to my reconing the axles would be one of the first things to start rubbing on a width restriction especially given that the lightweight does not have body shoulders. Your best bet would be to measure... Given that you have both axles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Axles are the same width on air portables, the only differences being the halfshaft length and design, and the drive flanges (they are flat), otherwise they are interchangeable -you can put normal series stuff inside then (shafts and flanges) with no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillip Hodges Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 Thanks for the feedback... You learn something new every day... I'm probably going to get a complete replacement as I don't want to break the Lightweight (any more than it already is!)... Thanks again... Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeriesEwan Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 keep an eye on fleabay...... I found one for £1 on it a few years back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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