CV axle

[Dennis Shelley]

Attempting to replace the oil seal on the drivers side, front diff where the C.V.axle goes into the diff. Have the C.V. axle hanging loose, it is clear of the wheel bearing and any thing else. Researched the procedure in the projects section and followed the steps. Did replace the same side wheel bearing a year ago. The diff/axle seal starting seeping three months ago.

Anyway, the C.V. axle is hanging loose but cannot be pulled out of the diff. Tried prying between the C.V. axle and the diff but w/o result. The procedure does not indicate excessive force is needed and I do not want to cause damage where there is none.

Any help is appreciated.

today is Sunday and I have Monday off. Will listen to smoe baseball and mow the grass while waiting for an answer.

Thanks, Dennis

 

[Mark Price 2]

Some excerpts from my 2003 ST Ford Manual

"A circlip retains the inboard CV joint housing to the axle shaft in the axle tube"

"Using the special tool, disengage the RH inboard CV joint housing from the axle tube"

"Install a new retainer circlip on the outboard splined end of the axle shaft before reseating the axle shaft in the differential side gear"

"to seperate the inboard CV joint housing from the front drive axle, apply a load to the back face of the inboard CV joint housing to overcome the retainer circlip"

"CAUTION: Always install the halfshaft assembly with a new retainer clip"

"Never use a hammer"

"RH halfshaft only - dsiconnect shock from the lower arm"

"CAUTION: On the RH side only, check the retainer circlip engagement after reseating the axle shaft and after installing the halfshaft in the axle...When seated, the retainer circlip will lock the axle shaft and the inboard CV joint housing to the axle"

"When installing either halfshaft assembly, turn the knuckle into a LH turn, and install the outboard CV joint into the hub from the LH side of the knuckle (as facing the knuckle)"



"The special tool" -resembles a pry bar



I have no experience with this procedure. Just trying to help.

 

[Mark Price 2]

"vehicle in neutral"

"Remove the axle shaft using a jerking motion"

 

[Snooze]

I am so happy to see this posting even though it is about a challenge that is not yet solved. I was replacing my CV joints on the right side a couple of weeks ago as well.



-I was able to separate the existing inboard CV from the axle shaft with my own pulling force.

-I did not know about replacing the circlip.

-Forgot to install the 1/4" washer on the outboard spline shaft before re assembly into the hub assembly and had to separate the new inboard CV from the axle shaft again.

-Upon applying the same pulling force, the axle shaft disengage with the differential and I had both the CV and the axle shaft in hand and oil coming out of the axle housing!

-Panic

-Unfortunately, I was able to see that the bearing and the seal came out of the differential housing which was not good and unexpected.

-At first, the axle shaft did not want to re-engage into the differential.

-Panic

-Unexpectedly, I was able to re engage the axle shaft into the differential by attempting to re-align the CV into the right position and the axle shaft popped back into the differential.

-I assembled everything back together hoping that the seal was going to be fine.

-Seal leaks and I am planning on fixing the error with new seal and bearing.



Thank you so much for the excerpts from the manual. Reading the details about the circlip helps a lot. When I get to the project, I will report back here with the actions that I had to take to separate the inboard CV from the axle shaft.

 

[Mark Price 2]

No problem. IIRC, I read over on explorerforum that you should get the seal from Ford. I believe I read folks have had other brands leak. Not sure, but I thought I'd mention that. It would stink to have to do it all over again.

 

[Snooze]

So, concerning the axle shaft and inboard CV on the passenger side, expect the axle shaft to come sliding out of the axle housing. Disconnect the inboard CV by wedging a tool between the axle and the inboard CV and the come apart just fine. When sliding the axle shaft in and out to do work, try not to let the splines rest on the seal. I think this is where I damaged the existing seal when wanting to only replace the CV joints.



Getting the seal out of the axle housing was challenging. The friction fit is very tight. To remove, I pealed away the rubber material to expose metal and then worked the metal portions until there was a ripple in the outer metal flange. This created space for a flat head screw driver and I worked around the circumference slowly prying the seal out of the axle housing. I tried to use O'reily's bearing and seal puller set, but the size of the axle housing prevents the tool from working correctly.



I had to create a tool to replace the seal because again, the friction fit is really tight. The metal part of the seal is malleable and prone to bending when applying point load forces (like a small hammer) when attempting to tap the seal into the axle housing. The tool I created consisted of a ring about the same size of the seal, a piece of 1x3 wood, and a long bar to use a hammer on in free space. The ring was my hub-centric ring. A lucky provisional. If there is a seal replacement set of tools other than the one that O'reily's rents, please post.

 

[Snooze]

I mentioned earlier that the passenger CV Axle and shaft were able to shift laterally about a 1/4" of an inch. I made a quick video for you to look at. Password: zxcvbn

Is it supposed to do that? When the shafts are in the outer most position away from the center of the vehicle oil will leak faster.