stage one axles

billingtond · Post by **billingtond** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:27 am

Hi does anyone know if the stage one axles will transfer on to a series IIA, I have a two front and rear spare stage one axles, and was think of fitting them to my IIA as I am sick of snapping halfshafts, I know I will have to shortern the rear propshaft but is there anything I might need to do to the front end?

stirlsilver · Post by **stirlsilver** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 2:41 am

The front axle is driven by a drive shaft that has a double cardan universal on it. For this system the input flange of the differential is actually in line with the drive shaft.

The way this is achieved is the pads that the springs sit on the axle are rotated to give the right angle.

I learnt this the hard way when I fitted a IIA axle onto the my stage 1, I had a horrendous amount of vibration in the drive train and in the end ended up destroying the double cardan joint in the drive shaft. As a result, I was looking at options such as fitting a range rover drive shaft or using wedges to get the right geometry. The diagram below is something I fished out of one of my old posts when trying to figure out a solution to how to get the IIA axle to work on my car (the opposite to what you are planning, but the issues are similar). Hopefully from this you can understand how the double cardan system is set up on the Stage 1.

Basically, if you fit the front axle out of a stage 1 onto a IIA, you will need to change the drive shaft over to the stage 1 double cardan, which has a different flange on the gearbox side. I'm not sure if the running lengths are the same.

By the way, the solution in the end? I had to refit the stage 1 axle back on to my car.

Thinking on this further, if you have the hubs and swivel balls from a stage 1, you should be able to simply bolt them on to IIA axles and then you will have the strong CV's on your car, which I imagine is all you want to achieve out of the operation.

billingtond · Post by **billingtond** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 3:08 am

Thanks for the reply, I have three spare stage one from drive shafts, therefore, it is still an option, I will see what the difference is on the drive flange, cheers Dave

stirlsilver · Post by **stirlsilver** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 3:52 am

... Sounds like you have plenty of spares!!!
Are they in good condition?

5988 · Post by **5988** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:51 am

Is your sa an 88 or 109
if its an 88 you need to move the spring pads on the rear axle (88 springs under chassis, 109 outside it)
You will need to prop from a series with sailsbury back axle (not 6 cyl - there different)
Front one - ive not noticed the axle been rotated compared to a normal series one as mentioned ^^
I know of quite a few vehicles running with stage 1 axles and standard props ok, usualy to get bigger brakes or ful time 4x4 capability
If it is then rotating it with wedges will upset the steering geometry

Can your S2a cope with the gearing, if you ever tow, or are in a hilly area the standard 2.25p will struggle with it (its like having overdrive in all the time) with a diesel i wouldnt

billingtond · Post by **billingtond** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 10:00 pm

Hi Thanks for all the info, the engine in the iia is a 3.3 lts vauxhall velox, runs well. I have plenty of spare for the stage one, including a new galvanised chassis, with full recondition axles, including all the brake units etc, it is just sat there. in addition I have a heap of spares for the hubs etc,