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SERVICE WITH A DIFFERENCE
Page 64
Page 65
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When ArvinMeritor transferred its truck axle business to Italy in 2001 it was almost the end of the line for its Maudslay Works site at Great Alne, near Alcester,Warwickshire. But a small number of staff stayed on to carry out admin and after. sales functions; they now share the site with a team which specialises in rebuilding ArvinMentor differentials for its service exchange scheme.They're catering for operators of the many ERFs,Fodens and Seddon Atkinsons still running on Mentor axles.
The diffs are rebuilt by two men with 54 years' experience between thern.They averag one diff each per day. and complete the entire process themselves.
First clean your diff
The rebuilding process starts with two stages of cleaning,followed by stripping and inspection.The whole operation complies with the ISO 9001 quality control standard. Each diff is individually identified and every one of the components, which can number up to 50 in a leading tandem unit with diff-lock,is examined and marked off on a master component list.Wear limits and tolerances are the same a for new products; all bearings and oil seals are replaced as a matter of course. Some components, such as the crown wheel and pinion, are kept as matched sets.Any parts which are marginal rejects are destroyed to avoid them getting back into the system and all the parts used in the rebuild are sourced from the same manufacturers as the original equipment.
In many cases rebuild units are then stored only semi-assembled so an order for a diff with a specific final-drive ratio can be built to order. final assembly and despatch taking only two hours.The vast majority of rebuilt units are sold through the respective vehicle manufacturers' dealer networks.
Beware lack of lube
With more than 1,500 rebuilt diffs behind it in three years, the operation is well placed to identify the principal causes of failure. First is a lack of lubrication, with fairly predictable consequences, but the second is less obvious neglecting to release diff-locks when returning to surfaced roads and higher speeds is a guaranteed way to dramatically shorten the life of the cliff.
Bear in mind that ArvimMeritor's service exchange diffs carry a surcharge of £800 and round 10% of exchanged cliffs are scrapped hie to excessive mechanical damage. It's kvious that a little extra driver awareness can )e well rewarded.
You wouldn't expect this kind thorough service to come ;heap, but according to sales nanager Bill Ward, the price remium over independently ebuilt diffs is no more than £100, ind for that you get a 12-month, io-quibble warranty. This guarmtee seems somewhat academic, rowever, because in nearly three tars of operation there hasn't et been a single warranty claim in a rebuilt cliff. • kvinMeritors diff remanufacturing operation is based at the Maudslay Works at Great Alne, near Alcester. The site was set up as a WWII 'shadow factory building Maudslay trucks for the war effort. The Maudslay heritage is much older though, and everyone in the road transport industry should be grateful to Henry Maudslay, He could be said to be responsible for the development of modern engineering techniques, thanks to his inventions of the micrometer and the precision screw-feed lathe. One of his apprentices was Sir Joseph Whitworth, who also earned a place in the engineering hall of fame for developing a standard thread for nuts and bolts.
Maudslay's great-grandson founded the motor manufacturing company early in the last century. Arguably the firm's greatest achievement was the introduction in the 1920s of the live rear axle with enclosed gears as we know it today, spelling the end of assorted chain and belt drives.
In 1948, Maudslay was absorbed into the AEC empire, but it continued making trucks and buses until 1951 and making axles and other components for a few more years. Purely coincidentally, one of Maudslay's truck models in later years was the Meritor.