Axles

The key step to getting mobile was obtaining the drive shafts. Frankenstein would be proud. There cannot be many Subaru to Mercedes drive shafts. Howat Engineering in Naenae made them at NZ$180 ex GST each.

Howat's prefers if you make a dummy shaft out of tube. I made them up out of 1” electrical conduit. I pushed the inner c.v. on one end and a rubber tube in the other so that it could flex with the wheel hub. The pix below compares the required axle with the Sube and Mercedes axles – much shorter

Pix, Plastic Axle

I could cut it to length, fit it to the car and articulate the wishbone to ensure it didn’t bind.

Pix, Articulation

The axles were machined from chrome moly, tapered and sculpted for gaiters and splines, and the splines hardened. The meaty 4 wheel drives in the shop tell me I have no worry about the strength of Howat’s work

They also told me not to waste my time cutting and shutting OEM axles or welding metal on to shafts to cut new splines. Carrots were mentioned.

The parts of the suspension in single shear (lower outer wishbone), or cantelever (top inner suspension mount, lower spring mounts) and rod ends, are chunky. (4mm steel, 5/8" rod ends). It's cost me something in weight, but I need a safety margin on my amatuerish engineering.

By the way, for all you non-mechanics like me out there, when you assemble c.v.s the narrow section aligns with the wide section. If you align wide with wide, even if you can get the balls into the c.v. it will lock up and you might not get them out.

Pix, Narrow To Wide

There are few mechanical steps left. Fit rear coil springs - a little softer than the 220lb test springs I have fitted.

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