Just going around the Mondeo prior to MoT and sale and doing a few jobs to help sell it on, one of which is a noisy CV joint. I've had the part in the shed for months, so thought it was worth doing to avoid a potential headache at sale time.
Done so far:
Hubnut slackened
Jacked and supported.
Anti-roll bar droplink disconnected from strut.
Caliper off and tied up out of the way, and brake disc removed
Track rod end balljoint split.
ABS sensor removed and tied up out of the way.
Strut top mount slackened 5 turns or so.
Bottom balljoint split.
Hubnut removed.
Driveshaft outer joint pressed back through hub (this was SERIOUSLY tight), and free of obstruction. Now supported on an axle stand.
All this took less than two hours. Said to myself it was all going too well, and it seems I was right.
Problem:
I cannot get the inner end of the driveshaft out of the transmission. Access is tight due to the casing making it impossible to get any form of lever in to the "front half" of the shaft circumference. I've tried all manner of levers bracing against bits of wood on the casing, and I cannot get it to shift at all. Haynes manual suggests a tap with the wrist on the end of the lever should be sufficient. It's not! Ran out of light and had to abandon the job, but would like to go back to it tomorrow evening with a clear head and some fresh ideas.
BTW it's a 5 speed manual (MTX75 transmission) and I'm working on the nearside (short) driveshaft.
Any suggestions welcome. Is it just a case of being more brutal with it, or are there any pearls of wisdom anyone would like to share?
Cheers in advance as always.
DP
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why not just change the cv joint then?
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Space is tight and there's not much clearance to get a mallet onto the joint to tap it off, plus I don't want to risk separating the inner tripod joint if the shaft moves out too far when I'm doing it.
That said, it might come to it, if I can't find a way to free the inner end. :-(
Cheers
DP
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can you not put a pair of mole grips on the shaft so it wedges on something while you hit the end
you know there is a circlip i assume :-)
ive still got a lump on my finger from ten years ago from trying to split a fiesta diesel cv joint
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Bell boy.
Thanks for all your help. Not had chance to look at the car again until today.
Liked your idea of swapping the joint with the shaft in-situ and set about this afternoon getting the joint off the shaft with the shaft left in the gearbox. As is the way on this car, it's not going well. Current situation is that I can't get the joint off the shaft, or the shaft out of the gearbox.
The outer joint circlip is internal on these, and you apparently just overcome its resistance by tapping the joint off. I've cut the old boot off and degreased it as best I can to have a nose at where the joint and shaft meet, and can confirm there is no circlip visible. There is slight movement between shaft and joint which suggests it's not seized on there, but I've belted this thing as hard as I can with a hammer (clearance is tight, and it won't move. There's not enough of a gap to get anything in there.
Have got to that horrible (and usually expensive) point with any job where I'm now getting angry with it, so I've downed tools and abandoned it for today. I might try tomorrow taking the strut top mount nut off completely, dropping the strut down through the arch and getting it out of the way. This should give a tad more room to play with.
Other than that, any suggestions welcome.
Also had an offer on the Fiesta which is very tempting, so might be keeping this car after all and running it into the ground. It's all up in the air!! It's about as much use as a chocolate fireguard as it stand though.
AARRGHHH!!! ;-)
Cheers
DP
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you need to support the driveshaft with the moles so you dont damage the inner joint
open up the circlip and then hit the cv joint
its not easy but can be done
unless you open the circlip the end will not come off
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unless you open the circlip the end will not come off
do you mean the snap ring?
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should look similar to this millky
i6.photobucket.com/albums/y246/smartiesx3/circlip....g
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Nope, it definitely doesn't have one of them visible. The replacement circlip in the new joint kit is "blind" at the ends, and according to the manual locates in a recess on the splined part of the shaft. It's not accessible at all with the joint there.
This is the joint (boot removed, looking from along / above the driveshaft towards the hub.) The orange stuff is where it's been attacked with degreaser.
www.mypicshare.com/icogmmokpic.html
As you can see, no circlips accessible from here. :-(
Cheers
DP
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Should add, looking towards the hub END of the driveshaft. The joint has been pressed out of the hub, and is dangling in open air.
The shaft is supported on an axle stand to stop the inner joint bending too far, and I've been pressing the shaft back towards the gearbox while hitting the joint.
Cheers
DP
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The circlip is round the shaft, inside the joint. What's probably happening is that the shaft is just bouncing as you hit it. I changed a boot on a ZX and even with the shaft held in the vice it needed a fair lumping to get the joint off over the circlip. What sort of joint is the inner - might it be just as quick to take the inner edge of the inner boot off and separate the joint (I know this fraught with danger on PSA shafts - about 100 needle rollers all ready to drop on the floor....!) then you will be able to get the shaft in the vice? Otherwise do you have a spare pair of hands you can borrow to REALLY hold the shaft back while you thwack it?
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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it should be in here DP
spin the shaft till you see it
as i said diesels even with the clip sprung open only usually come out with a fight
i6.photobucket.com/albums/y246/smartiesx3/icogmmok...g
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should look similar to this millky
nice earings, yep definitely circlips my mistake bellboy
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now then dp, as far as i remember the cv joint is not held with a circlip, it is a type of snap ring that locates into a recess inside the cv joint the way we used to remove them was to cut the old outer boot right off, then you need a second pair of hands they need to firmly hold and force the shaft towards the gearbox, at the same time you need to hit the cv joint, they can be a right PITA but it usely works, but they do need a hard hit to shock it past the clip. the other route is a decent chisel that will fit between the gearbox casing and the pop joint, then give it a the chisel a hit, because of the taper of the chisel it sometimes works, hope that is some use.
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I tend to find a heavy but soft hammer is quite good for this - you don't get quite the high level of "shock" that you get with a metal hammer, but, the impact last longer, and it can sometimes make the difference.
Number_Cruncher
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i agree number, copper hammers are brilliant for this job
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Thank you all for the help and suggestions!
Will have a fresh look at it tomorrow and try out all thee suggestions.
Cheers all!
DP
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Dear all,
Have tried absolutely everything suggested above, except for a chisel (don't have a suitable one).
Cannot find a circlip in the recesses to release.
Tried rubber, copper and traditional mallet on the joint, and roped the bruv in law to hold the shaft while I belted it - no joy.
Going back to the original plan to remove the complete shaft, I tried a 3ft prybar to lever the inner joint free - can get enough leverage to move the engine and box on their mountings, but the shaft stays put.
Next step - borrow suitable chisel and try that
Step after - Put the suspension back together, drive it down to the nearest garage and pay someone to do the job.
As my brother-in-law helpfully reminded me today "when we did this on your old Cavalier we got both sides done in a morning!"
Cue much swearing....
Cheers
DP
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with the inner jint and a pry bar you will need to shock it with the bar rather than just levering, good luck
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sorry to hear you are still struggling dp
as johny says they need a sharp shock and they will usually pop out covering you in manky gearbox oil
i think the fact its a diesel is the reason its fighting you more ,as i said before must be a ford thing
terrible to be beaten though :-(
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One possible way - although I have never done this myself;
Using a small strip of thin sheet metal to protect the drvishaft, fasten some mole grips tightly around the drive shaft, say 1/2" away from the cv joint, and then hammer a pair of wedges, or a fork type ball joint splitter to push the joint off.
Number_Cruncher
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Thanks guys. Not had a chance to touch it today because it literally hasn't stopped raining all day.
Will try again in the week if possible and report back.
Cheers
DP
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Did it stop raining yet? Any update?
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Yes, I'm waiting with bated breath as well.
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Hi guys!
Sorry for the late reply. I had a busy weekend, and only got chance to go back to this late yesterday afternoon
We have success! I finally managed to release the driveshaft from the gearbox yesterday evening!
I tried all manner of combinations of chisels and blocks of wood, and all that happened was the wood bowed or cracked (that's how tight this thing was).
As a final act of desperation, I retrieved my old balljoint splitter (the long bar with forked end type) and manoevred the forked end into place by hand. I then brought my right foot back and booted the end of it like my life depended on it. I almost wept with joy as a few spots of gearbox oil appeared on the case, and the shaft slid smoothly out. It was definitely shock treatment required not leverage. Many thanks for that!!
The installation of the new joint onto the shaft was pretty painless. All I would say is there is no way I would have released the outer joint in situ on the car. I had to get the shaft in a vice and really belt the old joint with a club hammer to release the circlip!
The good news is, it took about half an hour to get the old joint off, new boot on, new joint on, packed with grease and boot and clips done up. The shaft is now reassembled with the new joint and awaiting fitting.
Thanks for all your help, encouragement and support! Much appreciated, as ever.
Cheers
DP
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Great news! It's nice when a plan comes together.
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Update:
Car is now reassembled and once again drives as it should. It's taken so long not through any difficulties but through a simple lack of available time (and having another car to use taking a lot of the urgency away)
It's also now sporting new front brakes (pads and discs) and front tyres. Have decided to keep it and flog the Fiesta purely because a Mondeo sized car is more useful to us at the moment than a Fiesta sized car should the Scenic be out of action for any reason.
I love this car - it hasn't turned a wheel for about 6 weeks (it's had two wheels off the ground for the past 4) yet it fired up like it had been parked up 20 minutes before.
Thank you everyone for the brilliant help, advice and moral support!
Cheers
DP
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