Axle inspection and repair guide

theres been a lot of people going on about axles lately and how there stopping making them so it about time i put the one stop guide to inspecting and repairing your driveshafts/axles.

Tools Needed
tie straps
32mm socket
T bar to suit
lever bar
vice grips or large pliers
screwdriver
snips
fresh grease
degreser ( or diesel or petrol etc)
14mm socket or spanner
19mm socket and spanner
wheelbrace
jack
jack stand
horseshoe (circlip) pliers

To remove the axle from the car.

When removing the axle or driveshaft from the car the steps go as follows.

1. the wheel must first be removed.



2. the centre nut on the driveshaft / axle must be loosened and taken off. its a size 32mm from memory, correct me if im wrong, theres two ways this can be done, either get a friend to press as hard as they can on the brakes, or place an old screwdriver into the brakedisc so when you loosen the bolt the screwdriver locks up against the brake calliper.



3. the two suspension bolts must be removed form the top of the hub. these are two 19mm bolts.




4. the drive should fall out a little when these two bolts are loosened. then continue on to remove the ball joint bolts at the bottom of the hub. there 2 14mm nuts and a bolt.




5. if it is the passenger side drive shaft the the clip will have to be removed from the housing were the carrier bearing bolts onto the engine block. then the shaft will pull out.
if its the driver side the shaft will pull out, it might need a bit of gentle pursuasuion but it will come out.




Dismantling the driveshaft for inpection

1. Using a snips, cut the tie or strap thats securing the boot onto the cv joint and pull it back out of the way.




2. Once the boot has been removed or pulled back then get a flat head screwdriver, preferably small and place it under the steel securing ring which goes around the top of the inner cv joint. once under press toward the centre of the joints and then pull it out, be carful that the axle is secure so that none of the ball bearings will fall out.




3. Gently remove the drive from the housing . make sure you do this in a clean area so that none of the ball bearings fall out everywere and go missing in rubbish and such.



4. remove the ball bearings and place them to one side, to remove them just place a screwdriver behind them and they shoudl fall out very easy.then pull back the cage housing which was holding them in place and you will be able to see the centre race for the bearings.



5. to remove the centre race from the shaft the circlip must first be removed. this is done by using your horseshoe pliers or sirclip pliers and spreading it out over the shaft.




6. Gently tap off the centre race with a hammer. sometimes if the shaft has run dry these can be very tight and a bit of head may be needed.




Inspection of the shaft

both the st162 and the st182 have interchangeable inner shafts. and from comparison the st182 is a much much better and secure inner design , it is also thicker. the housing for the shaft is also bolted on to the housing on the engine so there is 100% no play in the drive compaered to the circlip style of the st162. a far better upgrade.

ST162

ST182




1. Before you start the inspection be sure to clean all the parts from any grease using some sort of spirit (not this kind :mystery) or degreaser


2. To inspect the inner race just look for signs of wear and marks on the race were the bearings run up and down , the reason there is two in the picture is comparison between the st182 and the st162






3.When inspecting the cage you are looking for any marks or broken pieces that may be causing one of the bearings to "knock" as such



4. Make sure the ball bearings are perfectly clean and then inspect for any marks or chunks which might be broken.



5. When inspecting the housing make sure its perfectly clean, do this by degreasing it ( i used diesel) and clean it with a rag. then inpect for any worn marks or chunks which may be taken out if the housing





6. Clean the CV boot using degreaser and cheak it to see if its torn, if its torn it will let grease out and water in which will destroy your axles over time, so replace.



Reassembally of the axle

fresh grease means everything here, so make sure you have loads of it, each part of the assembally must be greased so it wont wear out quick and will work smoothly.

1.start by firstly filling the housing of the inner driveshaft with grease.... lots of grease...





2. After that is done the CV booth must then be placed back onto the shaft, make sure the splines on the shaft are clean!




3. The cage must then be placed on the shaft before the inner race for the bearings. otherwise there will be no way of getting it on afterwards.




4. Now its time to reinstall the inner race. this is done by applying a small amount of grease to the slines on the shaft and the inner splines on the inner race. the inner race can then be tapped down into place gently with a hammer.





5. The circlip must now be placed back onto the inner race to hold it in place.





6. now its time to reinstall the ball bearings onto the race and cage.. start by first pulling up the cage onto the inner race.




7. After this is done place the ball bearings into place and cover them with grease, this will act as a sort of glue to hold them into place while you place them all. It is fiddly, trust me, but you'll get it.




8. Now the shaft with the bearings can be placed back into the housing of the inner drive. gently do this otherwise you will have to repeat the last step over again.


9. Once in place cover the shaft in some more grease.



10, now its time to replace the holding ring for the shaft to prevent the bearings coming out. this is done by spreading it over the shaft and then pushing it down into the housing so it sits into its appropriate slot.



11. once that has been done and the shaft is secure put some more grease into the cv boot itself and then push it up over the inner shaft and secure the two sides by using tie straps.then grab the two sides of the axle and twist it to mix up all the grease inside.



FINISH

Now you have fully rebuilt your drive shaft and inspected it. its now ready to be placed back onto the car and live another long life. i hope this how to guide helps those who are having axle trouble. :thumbsup:

 

Re: Axle inpection and repair guide

Hah! thank you rick! means alot. :thumbsup:

 

Re: Axle inpection and repair guide

the outer CV joints are put together when there heated and then when they cool they shrink. that way theres no way to split them

 

Re: Axle inpection and repair guide

you take it off and replace it.

 

Re: Axle inpection and repair guide

thanks! axles here are €600 + .. thats why i did it! :thumbsup: better to recon for that price and this way you get a stronger axle with the st182 shaft also.

 

that looks bad.... id try and get a second drive...

 

desperate times call for desperate measures