MG-Rover.org Forums banner

CV joint gaiter replacement without removing driveshaft?

17K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  weston118 
#1 ·
Hi chaps,

A peer beneath my '94 416 auto (Honda engine type) revealed that the outer CV joint gaiters / boots are starting to look a little second hand - they haven't actually split yet, but they're looking a little 'frayed' at the bottom of one of the folds in the rubber, so I expect replacement will be in order fairly soon.

A quick read through Haynes was sufficient to put me off doing this - I get worried when Haynes refers to things needing to be 'struck firmly with a hammer', since previous experience suggests that this usually translates into 'beat 9 bells of :***: out of it and it still won't budge'. Equally, though, I feel I ought to at least think about DIY-ing it ("are you a mechanic or a mouse?"), even if only to learn something. So...

Given that it's the outer joint, can I do this without needing to remove the driveshaft (which would probably involve me busting the seal on the diff and having to replace that too), or would it be too difficult to get the CV joint off of the shaft with it in situ?

BrianR.
 
#2 ·
i have to admit that i did'nt actually do the replacement of the gaiters myself. I left that job to my 'mechanic' but i do know he was able to put on a new gaiter witout removing the drive shaft and yes i do believe a large hammer was necessary :) A friend of mine mentioned recently that it was possible to get a split gaiter 'kit' that was able to be fitted in situ without any dismantling, the two halfs of the gaiter were glued together somehow, i'm not sure if i believe this myself, maybe some of the resident experts could tell us :)
 
#4 ·
i have used a split gator kit on our metro - does job - and a good one aslong as you take your time to cut the boot to the right size first, trimming off little by little -

i had to replace it for MOT a while back - it was either mess about in the rain for a few hours - or jack the car up and spend 20 minutes fitting new gator.

they are generally the univsersal flavour so need a bit of cutting to the right size - but its been on nearly 12 months and not come off/failed.

its not as good as a proper boot replacement - but they can get you out of a fix.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the advice all - I might have a look at the 'split' gaiters, though that does sound a bit like a 'kludge', so I'm still a bit inclined to go with the 'official' repair.

Now that I've looked through Haynes again, it looks like removing the shaft is only slightly more effort, since the tie-rod, anti-roll bar and track rod have to be undone anyway to swing the hub out - the transmission fluid will have to be changed anyway as it's due, so I don't mind losing that.

But...

Being as I've never done one of these before, I do have a bit of a numpty question!

The Haynes manual (and the Honda Concerto online dealer manual thingy) both show the inner CV joint being levered out of the diff. How does this circlip retainer arrangement work? Surely if I 'ping' it out like that, it'll catch on the oil seal as it comes out and damage it? Even if it does come out, how does it go back in - won't the circlip again catch on the oil seal, or simply jam against the splines? How do I compress it to get it into the crown wheel before it locates into its slot?

Haynes simply says 'push the inner CV joint into the diff', or something like that. It makes no mention of the correct swear words I'm supposed to use at that point...

Sorry if that's garbled or a really dim question to ask - but if someone could explain how this circlip business works...!

Cheers!

BrianR.
 
#7 ·
Hi Brian,

Did you sort out your circlip question? I'm going to replace the driveshaft on my wifes K reg 214 this weekend and had the same question. It all sounds pretty simple after reading thro Haynes "...push the joint fully into the transmission" but like you my experience is that these things are never that straightforward!!

Cheers,

weston118
 
#10 ·
weston118 said:
Hi Brian,

Did you sort out your circlip question? I'm going to replace the driveshaft on my wifes K reg 214 this weekend and had the same question. It all sounds pretty simple after reading thro Haynes "...push the joint fully into the transmission" but like you my experience is that these things are never that straightforward!!
Yeah, Haynes is good at things like that! I guess it's because they write them based on the stripdown of a nice new car, rather than one which is a few years old and has stuff which is dirty / seized / stuck!

Anyway, I haven't got round to it yet. First thing is to give the car a service, oil, filters, etc! Must take a look at the tappet adjustment, too - rattles slightly when cold. Another thing I'll bet will be more difficult than it looks!

I think I shall still try and tackle the gaiter, though! Aside from the circlip business (I do so *hate* working on things which are spring-loaded or have to be 'forced from their position'), the other difficulty will be getting the parts, I reckon! Gaiter repair kit will come from the motor factors, but there seems to be a lot of hardware which Haynes wants me to replace - hub nuts and umpteen circlips which must be 'replaced regardless of condition'. I'll bet these will have to be dealer jobs, no doubt at great expense!

Bought an oil filter from the local MGR dealer - I wanted to make sure I got the right one and the right sealing washers for the sump plug, too. Saw the 'MG Rover' label on the packaging and felt good about buying a quality British product - none of this Far Eastern pattern junk for me! Then saw where it said 'Made in Malaysia' on it, and didn't feel so good any more...

BrianR.
 
#11 ·
Brian,

Did the driveshaft yesterday - thought you might like some feedback.

The job wasn't too bad - took me about 3-4 hours taking it steady and following Haynes.

The circlip issue was a bit of a non-event! The driveshaft came out of the diff with a bit of encouragement from a lever between the dif and the shaft. There was no real risk of damaging the oil seal as the splined shaft is much smaller than the oil seal. Putting the new driveshaft in and engaging the circlip properly was just a matter of engaging the splines, pushing the shaft in until you can feel the spring encounter some resistance, and then pushing it backwards and forwards hard to force the spring home.

The hardest part of the job was spliting the bottom ball joint. My ball joint splitter wouldn't fit because the joint is very close to the outer CV joint & hub (the photo in Haynes only seems to show the track rod end joint being split!!). I had to go out and by one of those wedge-type splitters, and then knock seven bells out of it to finally split the joint. I also had to buy a 32mm socket for the hub nut.

The cost for a recon driveshaft, exchange, was £58 plus VAT. It came complete with new boots, circlip at diff end and new hub nut (you will write of the old one once you knock up the retaining staking). 2 litres of gearbox oil was £10 from Rover (couldn't find any at Halfords) and it stinks rotten!!!!

Good luck!!!

weston118
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top