Reflections on a CV replacement

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avalondarkside@gmail.com - 15 Mar 2006 22:33 GMT

1981 300DT
Read the manual. Do what it tells you. For instance, it says to remove
the caliper. It might seem silly at first, but the axle won't come
out easily with that hose in the way.

Put a hydraulic jack under the diff and remove the mount. The whole
mount. Then undo the back diff cover. Those cover bolts are an
uber-bitch to get to with the mount there.

You might wanna think about busting open the filler cap before you
start taking things apart. Mine took a 2 foot breaker bar, my feet
against the garage frame and all my strength to get it to start turning
(I'm 6'4" 230 lbs). Spring for a really good 14mm allen socket
with a half-inch drive. The ol' locking a couple of 14mm nuts
together trick will not fly here. You do not want to wrestle with this
thing on the bench or with setting sealant after you installed it. Do
it first.

Try having a pan under the diff before you start removing the bolts.
The fluid flows pretty quickly and can amass quite a puddle before you
get back under there with a pan.

The hydraulic jack under the diff will allow you to raise and lower the
diff so you can get maximum clearance to remove the axle. If it's
fighting you, you're doing something worng.

The axle clip in the diff can be removed with a couple of screwdrivers
against the back fingers. It'll pop right off. If you have snap-ring
pliers, good for you. My clip only had one hole, though. Needle nose
pliers or the like will not have enough bite to pull it off by the tab.
Just pop it off from the back.

Having a long 8mm bolt to suck the axle spline through the wheel hub
will help you from having to climb under the car and wiggling the axle
until it decides it wants to expand out.

You will not be able to pour the diff fluid into the diff. If you
can't find your pump until you're done with the job, like me, then
this might work for you. Punch a hole in the top of the fluid bottle
cap and run a tube from the bottom of the bottle to the filler hole in
the diff. The tighter the seal around the tube, the better, though it
doesn't have to be air tight. I used the tube from my brake bleeder
and had a drill bit that allowed a snug fit. Now punch a small hole in
the neck of the bottle with an awl or something that won't make
shavings. With your rubber tipped blower connected to your compressor,
push the tip into the hole and SLOWLY give it some air. Too much too
fast will rupture the bottle. Make sure the bottle is on a stable
surface since the bottom will balloon out. The fluid flows slowly, but
will flow. Ideally have a water trap on the compressor so you're not
adding water to the fluid.

Don't let your neighbors see you doing this job or they'll start
asking you car questions when you just wanna be left alone.

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taxman - 16 Mar 2006 00:25 GMT

| Don't let your neighbors see you doing this job or they'll start
| asking you car questions when you just wanna be left alone.

I've removed, and resealed my engine, rebuilt the steering box and rebuilt
the automatic transmission in my 6.9 all in my driveway.

I believe the neighbours were more concerned with the amount of swearing
coming from my garage everytime I got to a frozen bolt. Even removing the
drag link was a nightmare, 3 sets of balljoint removers were killed in the
process. heating didn't work, nothing worked. I ended up getting the drag
link off the steering box arm with about 10 blows of a sledge hammer when
out of the car, shattering all the pavement underneath. After 26 years some
things just never ever want to come apart again.

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Richard Sexton - 16 Mar 2006 04:49 GMT

>| Don't let your neighbors see you doing this job or they'll start
>| asking you car questions when you just wanna be left alone.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>I believe the neighbours were more concerned with the amount of swearing
>coming from my garage everytime I got to a frozen bolt.

Pretty unusual for Australia :-)

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Richard Sexton - 16 Mar 2006 04:48 GMT

I don't usually top-post or quote the entire article but
if you've going to replace the half-shaft then READ THIS.
And read it well.

The only things I'd add are, I'd undo the diff filler nut
FIRST. There's ni point in doing ANYTHING until that $&@#@
comes loose. It IS difficult.

I'd also emphasize what the manual says: use new hardware, that
is the bolts and bits that secure all this madness together. You
DON'T want to re-use the old bolts.

Also keep in mind there are left and right halfshafts (althouh
I believe this is only for the kind that is attaches inside the
diff) and you don't want to mix these up. Ask me how I know.

Pay strict attention to the torque specifications of the bolt
that goes into the half shaft inside the diff. I have a perfectly
good half shaft in my barn with half a bolt in it. Oops.

COVER the diff when you'r not using it. You don't want sand,
dirt, dust and crap in there. The idiot that one time did mine
got sand in it. The solution for this is to douche it liberally
with a garden hose then let it dry. That does seem to work.

OTOH I never had a problem getting diff fluid into the diff, up
here in Canadia Crappy Tire sells synthetic in bottls with a handy
spout that squirts right in. Nu muss no fuss.

>1981 300DT
>Read the manual. Do what it tells you. For instance, it says to remove
[quoted text clipped - 49 lines]
>Don't let your neighbors see you doing this job or they'll start
>asking you car questions when you just wanna be left alone.

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