Front drive shaft

[Red Oktober]

Hi guys ....

went to do the drivers side birfield today. ... nothing exciting there you may say ... but I could not for the life of me get the CV joint off the drive shaft ... is there a special way to do this .. the passenger one almost fell off with very little help from me. ..the drivers side (short side) has so far taken repeated thrashings from a huge sledge for it not to budge a nano-meter. ... I know the CV isn't stuck on the splines as there is a little play (about 3mm) before coming up against the clip thing on the end.

so it has been re-packed with as much cv grease as it will physically hold and put back inside the axle. ..

if anyone knows how to get them off (using basic tools .... nowt fancy here) then please do share your thoughts/opinions

ta muchly
Carl

 

[Chris]

If you are using the scaffolding tube trick and it's not worked then you may be in trouble Carl. If the groove or the circlip get ruffled in anyway then you will not get them apart. Further thrashing will only damage the grove even more. Whacking the bell on the CV with a BFG is not an approved technique

Chris

 

[Red Oktober]

I did try the scaffold tube technique a few times first at no luck .....

so based on your reply then Chris ... I am looking at getting a replacement drive shaft ??

 

[Chris]

Well only if the CV is shagged. If it's fine then leave it be. I guess at some point though you will be forced to change it. Karl must have buckets of driveshafts. Can't be a huge seller. You can continue to thrash it or if the CV is toast then you set about it with a 9" angry grinder and cut it open. The shaft may then just need a quick file to get it clean and sharp again.

 

[Red Oktober]

CV is knackered it has a fair bit of play in it. .... I have a new joint .. but can't get the damned thing off the drive shaft

 

[frank rabbets]

Easy job. Put the shaft of the joint in a vice horizontally. Then get a very strong assistant, or some other type of constant pressure, to pull the half shaft exactly in line and don't let him relax. Then tap the joint bell stoutly all the way round and also the half shaft. You will know when the shaft comes out as the assistant will fall to the floor. The constant pull and ratchet action of the circlip will release the shaft.

The trouble with the "one hit wonder" method is that it produces movement but this is instantly lost as there is no constant holding force.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Easy job. Put the shaft of the joint in a vice horizontally. Then get a very strong assistant, or some other type of constant pressure, to pull the half shaft exactly in line and don't let him relax. Then tap the joint bell stoutly all the way round and also the half shaft. You will know when the shaft comes out as the assistant will fall to the floor. The constant pull and ratchet action of the circlip will release the shaft.

The trouble with the "one hit wonder" method is that it produces movement but this is instantly lost as there is no constant holding force.

A few years ago I made a puller to do the assistants job and tested it on a CV & drive shaft I was going to Martack. The clip took the ends off some of the splines on the drive shaft before it let go. Cutting the bell is probably a safer option if you don't need the CV and want to use the shaft with a clip again (Martack'ing makes the clip redundant). I think anecdotal evidence is that aftermarket clips are the ones that can give trouble and OEM are usually ok.

 

[Red Oktober]

Cheerr muchly folks ... much appreciated ...

 

[frank rabbets]

Poor clips would make sense Jon. My LC ones came off as easy as all the other joints I've done on other cars. If the clip profile has a radius on the relevant edge I assume it cannot damage the shaft but only compress itself ?

These problems always seam to be due to poor parts or work. I jumped to the conclusion that we were talking about genuine clips. My LC windows are dirty so I'm going out now to make sure they are OEM glass.

 

[Red Oktober]

got the damned thing off eventually today ....

removal involved a 9" grinder (new disc) and a BFH (which I broke)

cut a bit out thinking I was gonna be clever .....

..

that didn't work as I had to cut the whole damned thing off

anyways ... here is the offending (now re-named) BLC!!

oh ... and busted bfh

 

[clivehorridge]

Result, anyway Carl

Its it's what you achieve that counts, not how you achieve it!

 

[Chris]

Hmm, seem to think I mentioned that would be the solution. Sometimes it really is a case of brawn over brains.

They really do take a hell of a fettle to get them off.

Well done. Shaft looks fine. Any obvious damage to the clip Carl?

 

[Red Oktober]

Nope .... Not a single mark on the clip. I used a new clip that came with the new CV joint anyway