Well I’m in a bit of a pickle. There’s a Series III in the breakers yard down the road from me has a Series III. I am trying to remove the IRS to keep as a spare. I figured for $100.00; its a good deal. My initial thought rebuild it, and swap it in and out of cars while I rebuild the IRS that came in the specific car. Here’s the pickle.
The breakers yard doesn’t allow hydraulic jacks in the yard, or cut off wheels; so I’m not sure How I’m supposed to get it off the car. I spent the better part of yesterday dismantling all of the attached bits. drive line, exhaust, radius arms and the 1 nut that fastens the IRS mounts to the cage. I know that I’m supposed to remove the bolts from the IRS mount to the frame, but since they won’t allow Jacks in the yard, I won’t be able to slacken the tension placed on the bolts. to pop them out. I figured I’ll just have to let the unit fall 2ft on the ground in order to get it out from under the car. The radius arms are stuck to the undercarriage, with the nuts off the IRS mounts it appears there’s nothing holding it up. and should’ve just fallen to the ground. Needless to say that hasn’t happened; and I’m a bit leery of crawling under the car, and have it fall on me.
What am I missing?
I’m open to suggestions on how to get the IRS out without killing it or myself.
Has anyone been successful at what I’m attempting to accomplish?
Then there’s that bit on how I’m supposed to drag it out from under the car (by myself).
$100 to me sounds great! Don’t you have enough cars to just leave one grounded while redoing it’s suspension though? Swapping twice sounds like lots of fun to me… well. Actually it does, but still.
IRS is *%£@ heavy if that’s one of your questions. No way you can get it moved without help or injuries! I could just lift it at one hub, my guess would be close to 300 pounds but it’s been a while.
Now, when we dropped an (E-Type) IRS, I recall that we forgot one nut/bolt on the rubber mounts, I would triple check there.
You could smuggle in a hydraulic jack (maybe leave it in the car for future use?), or use mechanical jacks (we used a gearbox scissor jack, I think). Take wooden blocks with you so the IRS can’t drop too far down, and you and the cage are safe but the wiggle room is there; maybe try levering at the stubborn parts. Also, if you can drive there with a car maybe use that to carefully pull the thing free. Leave wooden planks under the IRS so it won’t dig into the ground. Cut off wheels: drill, hacksaw? Or a sawzall if allowed? I do understand that cut off wheel restriction but don’t get the jack part. Can’t you talk to them? Maybe someone at the yard has another unconventional idea?
Would it be possible to cut and lever the rubber mounts apart? Lever at anything that allows for it. Or just get the whole car if it’s down he road!
Most importantly take your time and occasionally look at it from a distance. It has to come out, and it will!
if i was in your position i would get the yard to cut all the mounts out of the frame and put it in your pickup. i removed one from a rusty 420G last year - very heavy and awkward. very easy to get hurt bad by yourself.
thank you all! I’m heading over there now, to see if it’s fallen to the ground.
Hopefully, Nothing will be damaged by the drop or anybody injured. I do have too many cars, and if it weren’t for the ear bleeding verbal attack I’d receive from my future ex. I would put one up on Jack stands and be done with it.
I tried to smuggle a jack in yesterday. I got stopped by this very manly woman, who was not listening to logic about the jack. some toothless solid axle wielding cretonne just happened to walk up about the same time I was asking this shemale for permission; informing her that there is no other way to get the IRS out. Of course she points to the solid live axle on the ground and ask how he got it out. I looked at her/it and it’s not mounted the same way…
she/it wouldn’t budge on her/its position.
I’ll bring in a saws all in today. needless to say I’m getting rather discouraged.
Keep us posted! Hopefully it has fallen down onto her/it. Don’t give up and just pull it out, if said cretonne can do it, you can do it in two days!
David
Using a ~6ft long breaker bar, pry the radius arms & IRS mounts.
Place old carpet under IRS (can also use a tyre without rim)
It will come crashing down
harness yourself up like a draught horse with rope, and you can drag the unit out, if you are strong enough. It takes 2 guys to lift one up into ute/trailer.
They don’t allow jacks because they know somebody will drop a car on themselves.
It happened to my brother in his own driveway, but his son was nearby and lifted it off him. He’s an old hand and should have known better.
You asked what are you missing. Probably nothing, but here is the procedure.
I would set up some blocks or tires to catch the thing as it drops, then use a long punch and hammer to punch out the last bolts. If the heads are outboard, use vise grips to pull them out.
They might be willing to bring their forklift to hold it up while you pull the bolts. They’re in it for the money so make it worth their while.
How do I do check if it’s a power lock? the drive shaft connection is round on the diff as well as the drive shaft. at this stage of the game, I’m about to give up. It really irritates me cause I’ve got a bunch of time into this, and even if I get it off the car, I’m not sure how I’m going to get it out from under the car.
unless there is a tag, you have to spin the diff with both wheels raised, if it LSD, they spin same direction, open diff, opposite.
with wreckers, I have often found it best to get cooperation by sliding $50 into the hand of one of their “technicians” to pull it by hand, or using a forklift. These guys are usually underpaid and psychos.
not so long ago, I needed some bits from underneath a vehicle…they wont allow vehicles on their lot…so I hump my heavy jack and tools all the way down the back, on the promise the forky will lift the car if needed. Get down there and a mad guy is ripping Al rads out of cars with a giant forklift…eventually get his attention and ask him to flip the one I want…“fk off he says, too dangerous”…walk all the way back, not happy…slip $50 to a dude and he hand delivers to my door next day
**
The radius arms’ body ends frequently corrodes solidly at the body end, Mark - a 6 ft crowbar may free them. But you can leave the radius arms on the body, you don’t really need them - and disconnect them at the axle end instead…
Unbolting the rear cage from the body is a matter of safe access to the bolts - not the load on them. The pro approach is to remove the diff from the subframe after the subframe complete has been removed from the body…
Propping up the subframe with timber to reduce the drop as suggested, is pertinent - but you still have to cope with a very heavy and unwieldy piece of kit…
Thank you all for your wonderful postings
Status update, It’s still dangling under the car, That Ol’ VDP isn’t relinquishing its bits every easily. I cracked myself a good one the last time I was there. The prop-shaft came down and landed on my face as I was pulling out the last bolt to the prop shaft and diff. Now this is a first, usually it takes a thumb detector (hammer) to persuade them out of position.
I saw it coming, but couldn’t get out the way fast enough. I could feel the warmth pool around my eyes, didn’t know if it was tears (not I wasn’t crying!!) or blood. I got up, looked in the side mirror of the Beetle stacked next to the XJ, hmmm. Blood. I could still see out of both my eyes, so that’s good. My face looked a bit distorted, but I figured it was the German mirror.
Popped open the glove box, and got a proper look. yikes! uglier than usual. stuck two fingers up my nose, with one hand pushed up, and the other over to the left. cracking ensued, but things are looking a bit back to normal.
Plan F (ABCDE) already spent
I’ve got a buddy who’s got an automotive shop that owes me a couple of favors, I’m going to see if the scrapper will let me trailer the car over to the shop, get the bits I want, and then bring it back.
**
It could be worse, Mark - it could have been the rear cage itself…!
We all know the rules about working under hanging loads - and if there is somebody out there never having breached them, they are rather unique. Your bloody, but unbent…
In the light of my former career, I can understands the limits imposed. Extracting a lie axle with limited tools in a wrecking yard is no walk in the park. Only did it once, decades ago, And I was extra cumbersome, it used a torque tube. Screw jacks, old wheels, and hand wrenches. Two teens got it out,. The joker was that the donor car seemed in better shape than the one it was destined for,!!!
HF has some hefty wagons. Good to bring in the stands and tools. And, just might be good enough to haul out the IRS.
I used a similar but less sturdy one to haul a Ford "B’ engine from a sellers slot at a swap meet to my Scout II in the parking lot,
Cutting wheels create sparks !! many combustibles on site !!!
Hydraulics fail, topple, hurt folks. Unwanted for at least two reasons.
The trailer sounds like a good idea. It would seem odd that the yard would not have a fork lift that you could employ. Save a lot of time and should be fairly safe to work under.
Good luck,
Phillip
I imagine the car is balanced up on pairs of steel wheels?
Look in the trunks of other cars around it for scissors jacks.
Put tires under it to catch it.
Use a long pry bar to drop it on the tires.
When the IRS is out, put wheels on it to roll it to your truck.
Take some pictures, we’d love to see it.
Rob,
Propped up. You are bang on the money. I did look around for a scissor jack or something to catch it, but to no avail. I’ve got a couple of doughnut type spairs under it to catch it, but they’re still on steel rims. Better than nothing I suppose. The wheels is a great idea! I’ll be stopping by the yard today to see what their willing to do to assist the removal of said bits.
, or use mechanical jacks (we used a gearbox scissor jack, I think). Take wooden blocks with you so the IRS can’t drop too far down, and you and the cage are safe but the wiggle room is there; maybe try levering at the stubborn parts. Also, if you can drive there with a car maybe use that to carefully pull the thing free. Leave wooden planks under the IRS so it won’t dig into the ground. Cut off wheels: drill, hacksaw? Or a sawzall if allowed? I do understand that cut off wheel restriction but don’t get the jack part. Can’t you talk to them? Maybe someone at the yard has another unconventional idea?
