Removal of Rear Drive Shafts - Any Tips?

[SyncroMonVie]

Happy New Year to you all!

I'm looking to refresh the grease in the rear CV Joints and replace the boots on my panel van and was wondering if someone out there had any tips for doing the job. I presume that you have to remove the drive shaft completely to do so but I'm not to sure how to go about is so any hints would be much appreciated.

[syncropaddy]

This is one of the easier jobs to do but because of the grease, its a messy one. Get latex gloves is the first tip. Assuming the bolts are Allen bolts and not Torx bolts get a set of ball end Allen Keys, a 3/8 drive 6mm Allen socket/extension/ratchet is useful too. A small pointy thing to get all the sh!t out of the bolt heads before you start to loosen them. You will also need a circlip pliers to get the CV off the shaft and note which way the loose washer is when you start to strip them. I tend to crack off all the 12 bolts on the shaft before I loosen them out.
After the shaft is on the bench I always strip down the cv's and wash them in petrol before I repack with grease. I also wash all the parts together from both CV's and mix them up on purpose. Reassemble and pack with grease and roll the joint around to get the grease right in everywhere. Messy but ultimately satisfying ......
Reinstalling the shaft is the reverse procedure but be careful not to get sh!t in the new grease. A torch is a good idea too.

[RichardF]

On my Syncro the rear drive shafts will not swing down clear of the rear engine guard to get them out.

You may have to unbolt the back end of the guard and swing it down slightly to get enough clearance.

I am also considering, next time, unbolting the inner joints and the 4 bolts holding the hub assembly to the suspension arm, and removing the shafts, complete with the hubs, via the hole in the trailing arm.
This should make it much easier to work on the inner cv joint.

[syncropaddy]

I am also considering, next time, unbolting the inner joints and the 4 bolts holding the hub assembly to the suspension arm, and removing the shafts, complete with the hubs, via the hole in the trailing arm.

Ill be doing it this way as I want to do the wheel bearings at the same time.

[Wolfsburg Willy]

I agree with Syncropaddy and RichardF about dropping the hub off complete with the shaft - it saves a lot of time IMO and if the PO has radged all the allen headed bolts, as mine had, then it's a doddle to get some decent grips on them for removal. Top tip is to put a freezer bag over the inners when refitting until you're ready to connect, it stops all the shi-ite falling into the grease.

[jebiga41]

Top tip is to put a freezer bag over the inners when refitting until you're ready to connect, it stops all the shi-ite falling into the grease.

great minds think alike altho i use a latex glove

[manxman]

I've read some where that you should keep the drive shafts on the same side you took them off as they can get "used" to the torque being applied in one direction, or something along those lines,

is there any engineering basis to that? And would the same apply to the cv joints? Swapping the joints round would surely give them a longer service life??

[syncropaddy]

I've read some where that you should keep the drive shafts on the same side you took them off as they can get "used" to the torque being applied in one direction, or something along those lines,

yeah but with the power/torque our vehicles put out I shouldnt thing it would make a difference

[/quote]And would the same apply to the cv joints? Swapping the joints round would surely give them a longer service life??[/quote] Yes

[SyncroMonVie]

Hi All,

Thanks for the tips all very helpful.

I decided to tackle the job like this.

1) Remove the 4 bolts from the rear engine guard (2 front of engine, 2 above gearbox) but leaving the two bolts in near the front diff allowing space for shaft to pass.

2) Remove the bolts from the inner CV joint.

3) Undo nut on rear wheel shaft and drive out rear wheel shaft & drive shaft still joined together by the outer CV joint.

This meant that I was able to work on the inner CV joint with no restrictions whatsoever and strip down, wash and rebuild all on the bench. Whilst the rear wheel shaft was removed I checked the rear wheel bearings and refreshed them with some new grease. The refitting was reverse of above taking care not to knock out the centre of the rear wheel bearing.

Why did I choose to do like this? Well the four nuts holding the rear hub on didn't look to healthy and I didn't want the hassle of removing the brake lines. The method I used above did away with this.

[RichardF]

Hi All,


3) Undo nut on rear wheel shaft and drive out rear wheel shaft & drive shaft still joined together by the outer CV joint. .....

....The refitting was reverse of above taking care not to knock out the centre of the rear wheel bearing.

How easy was it to drive out the shaft? - or did you use a puller against the brake drum?

My concern about this method is that, when the rear wheel shaft is being pressed out of the inner ball bearing, the bearing's outer race is held by its retaining circlip, and the full force to push the shaft through the inner race is taken by the balls themselves.
This would cause brinelling damage to the races if the force was large, which would be worse if the shaft was driven out.

The same applies when replacing the wheel shaft, with the added danger that the inner race of the ball bearing may "cock" slightly, causing more damage.

There is also a possibility that the inner ball bearing might be pushed away from its seat in the hub, against the circlip, when removing the shaft, and not return to a position square with the seat.

I would also not recommend drifting instead of pressing as a way to remove bearings which are to be re-used, or to replace any bearings, if this can be avoided.

[syncropaddy]

Hi All,


3) Undo nut on rear wheel shaft and drive out rear wheel shaft & drive shaft still joined together by the outer CV joint. .....

....The refitting was reverse of above taking care not to knock out the centre of the rear wheel bearing.

How easy was it to drive out the shaft? - or did you use a puller against the brake drum?

My concern about this method is that, when the rear wheel shaft is being pressed out of the inner ball bearing, the bearing's outer race is held by its retaining circlip, and the full force to push the shaft through the inner race is taken by the balls themselves.
This would cause brinelling damage to the races if the force was large, which would be worse if the shaft was driven out.

The same applies when replacing the wheel shaft, with the added danger that the inner race of the ball bearing may ""cock"" slightly, causing more damage.

There is also a possibility that the inner ball bearing might be pushed away from its seat in the hub, against the circlip, when removing the shaft, and not return to a position square with the seat.

I would also not recommend drifting instead of pressing as a way to remove bearings which are to be re-used, or to replace any bearings, if this can be avoided.

WOW..... I just smacked mine with a lump hammer and a piece of wood and out it popped ........ ditto for putting it all back together

[RichardF]

WOW..... I just smacked mine with a lump hammer and a piece of wood and out it popped ........ ditto for putting it all back together

Well, good luck. I think I'll stick with my press.

In this case, I'll take off the hub with the bearings and driveshaft coupling in place. I don't mind removing the brake line.

[SyncroMonVie]

Yep I'm with paddy on this one. I just tapped the wheel shaft using a copper hammer and it moved very easily. I had sprayed it liberally with WD40 prior to getting the hammer out. When putting it back I tapped the end of the drive shaft until the thread was through enough to use the nut to pull it on.