Test drove my car for about 1km last night after i fixed my venturi problem and as i turned around and did a U-ey i gave it a bit and the axel snapped.

Is it as easy just to take the tyres off, unbolt the 4 bolts and slide the axel out or will there still be half the axel left in the diff? if so how do i remove?

I' going away this weekend and before i go im dropin it off to someone to fix my list of defects before i get a pink slip on Wednesday which is a few days before it goes into a blue slip.

Rhys.

They usually snap right at the diff spline, meaning you can at least remove the diff head. Pull both axles out and have a look / compare / post a pic.

So take the diff centre out and have a look?

Well everything has to come out but you may as well start with the busted axle (up on stands, remove rear wheels and slide under chassis rails as axle stand insurance, undo the 4 axle retainer bolts, pull out axle - may need some encouragement with a slide hammer / sledgehammer chained to the axle flange and swing away from car / whack a SPARE brake drum bolted onto the axle flange backwards), then the good axle (by now you'll know how much broke off), then the diff head.

Then remove the bit of axle from the diff head...

Your timeline looks tight... I'd be allowing a realistic 4-6 hrs for the whole job if you're a first-timer, assuming you have a replacement axle with a good wheel bearing at hand.

you can sometime get speaker magnet and slide it up some pvc pipe up the axle housing and get the broken section out

Yes some axles can be proper buggers to get out, I've usually succeeded by replacing the four flange bolts with some long ones, then turn the axle 45 degrees so that when you undo the bolts evenly they push against the back of the flange.

Magnet idea is clever...but I'd be checking carefully that all the axle metal is accounted for when it comes out!

Robert

As someone who broke 4 axles in about 18 months a few years ago....

You will need to pull both axles and the diff centre out. Most likley you will need to punch out the splines out of the centre (magnet will almost certainly not work), and check it did not take out the side bearing as they tend to tear as well as Shear and expand as they tear through the splines within the bearing.... Some have a weaker (narrower) point machined into the axle just back from the splines, and if Sheared here your centre will be fine)

Make sure you remove all the oil from the housing as there will be little bits of metal on the bottom of the housing. Replace your diff oil too... (or filter it through a coffee filter if a cheap unpleasant individual like I was and the oil is relatively new)

Providing your centre has not been damaged, it should all go back together nicely and quickly... Try to use an axle that came from the same side to replace teh broken one, as they are stressed over time to a certain twisting and putting one in a "wrong" side will untwist it and it is weaker then...

Ok, i pulled the axles out nd both were fine.. so then i pulled the centre and there was 2 cogs broken and laying in the diff housing.

So now i need a new diff [:x)]

Going to Newcastle this weekend and need a new diff so if anyone has got one for sale that would be awesome.

Rhys

About time you broke something, I have a 3.54-1 diff i rebuilt with a new center pin, with a little weld to stop any movement around the sun gears.
I want around $300 for it, because i have not found any std Escort diff centers for a while.

i got a broken diff off my mate the same as you described with the 2 broken sungears i just cut 2 pieces of 8mm steel to slot in there and welded them along the gears to the piece of steel, i haven't used it yet so i'm sure how strong it would be but if you can't track anything down might be worth a go ? if you don't mind a locker