Rear axels rebuild

Meirschwartz · 02-13-2012, 02:28 PM

also posted this on the 986 forum.
will appreciate you help as well.

Since all the axel boots in my car was torn up and I’m at 76k, I decided to perform a full rebuild including new CV joins and all 4 axel boots. At the same chance, I removed the secondary cats and planning on installing the bypass pipes. So if the cats are out, I thought it would be a good idea to remove the whole axel assembly from the car and work it on the bench.
Everything worked out smooth until I got to remove the axel from the wheel hub.
Man… this thing is stuck. After some lubrication and heavy persuasions from my hummer, the RH side came off. The LH side is still stuck and won’t budge. I hit it as hard as I can and it won’t even move a bit.
So, question # 1: can anyone give me a useful tip before I go and purchase a 10lb sledge hammer?
Question # 2: once I get it out, what can I put on it before I get it back on, to help me remove it in the future?
Last question:
On the axel I managed to remove from the car, I noticed that the outer CV joint (the non replaceable one) sounds like it’s got sand in the grease, when I move it around.
Any ideas of how to wash away all the old grease before applying the new one?
Thank you all in advance.

Meirschwartz · 02-13-2012, 06:21 PM

I guess half a can of PB blaster over night did the job.
Still needed to hammer it pretty hard.
Now i need to figure out how to clean all the old grease.

nosnow4pc · 02-14-2012, 09:31 AM

Remember those are suppose to be tightened to over 300lbs of torque, look up the exact spec. They were a pain for a reason.....

Meirschwartz · 11:38 AM

340 if to be exact.
but the problem i had was not with the big nuts, it was with sliding the axle out of the hub. so remember, if you have that issue, bolt on the nut, spry the shaft with a large amount of BP, and go Jackie Chan on it the next day, with a heavy hummer.

Meirschwartz · 02-14-2012, 11:37 AM

by the way.
still looking for advice how to dissolve the old grease and remove it from the joint.
any idea will be appreciated

harryrcb · harryrcb's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meirschwartz

by the way.
still looking for advice how to dissolve the old grease and remove it from the joint.
any idea will be appreciated

try brake cleaner, it pretty much dissolves anything. as for getting the half shaft out I use a small air chisel with a thin blunt bit so you don't bugger up the threads, gets out the most stubborn of axle shafts. Try putting some anti seize on the splines before you reinstall them, in case you need to take them out again.

Meirschwartz · 02-14-2012, 09:29 PM

Hello Harry.
You pretty much covered all my issues.
Thanks.

dghii · 02-15-2012, 12:11 PM

Agree with use of air hammer! Mine were loose in about 10 seconds! Don't know how much luck you'll have with the outer CV joint as you can't really apply the grease to the outboard side, but its worth a shot.

I went through about 3 rolls of shop towels trying to get all the grease out of the joints. What a messy job! Bottom line is get the most out you can, regrease and be happy.

Don't forget to add a little loctite to the allen head bolts for the transaxle upon reassembly (and check torque again after 500 or so miles).

Meirschwartz · 02-15-2012, 02:13 PM

hi dghii.
thank you for the useful tips.
i got bunch of chemicals including brake cleaner (as recommended by Harry).
gonna try it tonight. hope it will help

Meirschwartz · 02-16-2012, 11:18 AM

manage to get 99% of the grease out of the joint.
usually i don't do commercials for free ....

but this stuff is amazing.

let it set for 10 minutes and you get a high quality of CV joint milkshake.
left the joint very clean but a little bit oily.
didn't want to use water as instructed, so i washed it couple of times with carb cleaner.
let it dry over night, and today i'm going to assemble it.

thanks for the help guys.

seventythree · 02-16-2012, 05:47 PM

I don't want to contradict anyone on this thread, but the following is what I remember:
1) The stub-axle slips in the rear hub.
2) The rear hub slips into the inner race of the rear wheel bearing, which is a split race.
3) The big nut with 340 fl-lbs of torque, in part, presses the split inner race together to properly load the bearing.

Going Jackie Chan on the stub axle will most likely damage the bearing. One might get lucky using an air chisel, but that entire assembly needs to be pressed in/out using various pullers and contraptions to prevent damage to the bearing.

Please accept my apology if my ramblings amount to nothing but a brain fart.

Turd · Turd's Garage

I removed and replaced my drive shafts for my 01 Boxster S but used full new replacement driveshafts complete with boots for $128.00 each and saved all the muss and fuss. So glad I researched and found the full replacement. Best extra couple of $ I have spent so far on the "Turd".

Meirschwartz · 06:40 AM

Hello seven.
First, you don't have to apologize for anything.
One of the things I like about this forum, is the fact that anyone can express his opinion on any matter without raising any bad feelings. It did cross my mined that by hitting the shaft I can damage the baring, but I didn't have any other choice at that point. One of the resons I think I had difficulties with removing the axel, was the fact I was using a relatively light hammer ( so I was going more Jacklyn Chan then Jacky Chan on it

) but still, I think you have a point.
I guess I will find out sooner or later if the bearing was damaged or not.
Worst case I have another project to do. (yes I'm one of the guys that enjoy every hour under the car same as behind the wheel) so thank you for sheering your opinion with us, and let's hope this time you are wrong (or not ?)

Turd. I also invested some time in researching for a full axel assembly. How ever, the only thing I could find, is recommendation of not using any assembly that is not the OEM.
The " made in China" replacements have bad reputation all over the different forums.
I will be happy if you could share with us which one you used, how long you have them installed, and how they are performing so far.
thanks.

philip_damon · 09-24-2012, 03:19 PM

Was wondering if you had any trouble getting the inner CV's onto the transmission end of the shaft? I can get it to about a quarter inch of the shaft protruding (so I can put in the circlip) and then it stops. Using a rubber dead blow hammer to get it onto the shaft....lubed it with engine build, but that didn't seem to help.

Meirschwartz · 09-24-2012, 06:46 PM

Hi Phlip.
If I understand your question correctly, the CV joint is not going all the way in.
If that's the case, make sure the joint is facing the correct way.
If you look at the inner part of the joint, you will see a groove.
Install the joint when the groove is facing the wheel direction.
And yes, it took some ״persuasion״ to get it all the way in.

philip_damon · 09-25-2012, 07:50 AM

Hi Meirschwartz,

Thanks for the response; not sure I understand where the groove is located and how it needs to be oriented.

The center hub has 25 slots that match to the 25 splines on the axle. Is there a groove on the exterior of the hub? And so the groove needs to be on exterior side of the axle (closest to the wheel)? Is that what you mean?

Meirschwartz · 09:19 AM

its a little hard to explain with my English.
i hope my drawing skills are better (not sure).

the Red line will represent the grove, located on the inner "ring" of the CV joint.
ignore the proportion of the drawing. whats important is to understand the location of the grove on the inner part of the joint, and the fact it is fecing the wheel.

let me know if it helped.

philip_damon · 09-26-2012, 08:45 AM

Hi Meirschwartz,

Great drawing, very good English. Now I know where to look, I will let you know what I find. But I don't recall a groove on the inner race.

Thanks for the input.

Phil

bala · 09-27-2012, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meirschwartz

manage to get 99% of the grease out of the joint.
usually i don't do commercials for free ....

but this stuff is amazing.

let it set for 10 minutes and you get a high quality of CV joint milkshake.
left the joint very clean but a little bit oily.
didn't want to use water as instructed, so i washed it couple of times with carb cleaner.
let it dry over night, and today i'm going to assemble it.

thanks for the help guys.

That can is nothing but diesel that they charge more for. I got a gallon of kerosene from HD and dipped the ends in 1/2 gallon over and over then flushed with a some clean kerosene. Took every bit of grease out.

Meirschwartz · 09-27-2012, 07:32 AM

"That can is nothing but diesel that they charge more for. I got a gallon of kerosene from HD and dipped the ends in 1/2 gallon over and over then flushed with a some clean kerosene. Took every bit of grease out"

LOL!
could be you are right (and it dose smell like Diesel fuel). but it cost only 2$ per can.