Bongo Fury

Well yesterday, in the course of having certain bearings, wheels, front driving shafts and rear differential bearings replaced/sorted, my mechanic in my presence tried to extract the prop shaft drive part from the differential box but hit a snag. It was like a chicken and egg scenario. In the end he decided to cut the back off the differential and re weld it back on when the bearings were replaced/adjusted. Once the necessary bit was cut off all became clear.
To extricate the front bit of the diff from the axle is impossible unless you do as my mechanic did. You can only get at the two or four bolts that hold the bit that the prop shaft bolts to by cutting the back off the diff box.. He ,my mechanic was surprised to say the least, but once the rear bit was cut off all was accessible and easily sorted as the tapered bearings could be tightened.

So when the diff starts to get noisy, and you feel a new axle is the only way to go, doing what has been done to my bongo may be the better way forward. I would have gotten photos but did not think to have my camera to hand.

I mention that here as, though I suggested to my mechanic that I secure a new/secondhand back axle, his response was - the replacement might be just as bad as yours.

Off now to see how the job is progressing.

Yours Ian G

So how do Mazda assemble it in the first place?

Do you not just unbolt the front section from the rear casing?

Front bit:
http://lushprojects.com/bongopartsmk2/c ... mgno=.html

Casing:
http://lushprojects.com/bongopartsmk2/c ... mgno=.html

Very strange, pity you didn't have your camera, it might put us in the picture.

My mechanic believes that the diff is assembled and then the back bit welded on. The two side axles needed to come out before the front part of the diff can be detached because the gears are interlocked. The gears could not be un -interlocked till two bolts each side were undone, and they could not be undone till they could be "got at" and that necessitated the back bit of the diff being cut off. Hence the Chicken and egg indication given in the first post.

If anyone on the forum has managed to tighten up the bearings in the diff without doing what my mechanic did please let me know.

That was why I started this thread. If everyone thinks when the diff starts to rattle they will just replace the rear axle then sooner or later there will be none left to scavenge that are any good anyway.

If others know better I would be pleased to know how it was done.
Yours Ian G

No experience of bongo axles (yet) but several land rover and Salisbury axles in days gone. Studying Simons images I would say,
Pull both half shafts out from the wheel side, then unscrew ring of bolts securing front part (diff assy.) from rear axle casing.
Should be enough room to pull diff complete with crown wheel straight forward. Salisbury axles were a pain as more often then not you need a tool to stretch axle casing to pull diff out. Mazda would not entertain cutting and welding a mechanical component as a service task due to contamination etc. that said when needs must your man achieved the same outcome, so all good.