The pinion housing showing the inner bearing and mesh shim beneath.

The input pinion showing no signs of wear.

The culprit!

One of the crown wheel carrier ball bearings, the one on the offside, was found to be defective. This bearing must be pulled off the whole length of the driving shaft. Richard had tried to remove the bearing, but balked when the tonnes of force read so high. We figured that, with such a precious vehicle, it was wise to give this to a specialist. It was therefore decided at this stage to get the professional services of a machine shop. It was just as well, as the machine shop complained at how tight it all was.

This is just a spacer.

Rebuilding the pinion assembly.