Front Wheel Drive Shaft Outer Joint and Boot Replacement 3.5L LX9

Tools Required

1. Remove the large seal retaining clamp from the CV joint with a side cutter. Discard the seal retaining clamp.

Notice: Do not cut through the wheel drive shaft inboard or outboard boot during service. Cutting through the boot may damage the sealing surface of the housing and the tripot or the constant velocity joint bushing. Damage to the sealing surface may lead to water and dirt intrusion and premature wear of the constant velocity joint.

2. Use a hand grinder to cut through the swage ring in order to remove the swage ring.
3. Separate the halfshaft outboard seal from CV joint outer race (1) at large diameter.
4. Slide the seal (5) away from joint along halfshaft bar (4).
5. Wipe the grease from the face of the CV joint inner race (2).
6. Spread the ears on the race retaining ring (3) with J 8059 .
7. Remove the CV joint assembly (1) from the halfshaft bar (4).
8. Remove the halfshaft outboard seal (5) from the halfshaft bar (4).
9. Discard the old outboard seal.



10. Place a brass drift against the CV joint cage (1).
11. Tap gently on the brass drift with a hammer in order to tilt the cage (1).
12. Remove the first chrome alloy ball (2) when the CV joint cage (1) tilts.
13. Tilt the CV joint cage (1) in the opposite direction to remove the opposing chrome alloy ball (2).
14. Repeat this process to remove all 6 of the balls.



15. Pivot the CV joint cage (4) and the inner race 90 degrees to the center line of the outer race (2). At the same time, align the cage windows  (3) with the lands of the outer race.
16. Lift out the cage (4) and the inner race.



17. Remove the inner race (1) from the cage (2) by rotating the inner race (1) upward.
18. Clean the following items thoroughly with cleaning solvent. Remove all traces of old grease and any contaminates.

•	The inner and outer race assemblies

•	The CV joint cage

•	The chrome alloy balls

19. Dry all the parts.
20. Check the CV joint assembly for the following items:

•	Unusual wear

•

Cracks

•

Damage

21. Replace any damaged parts.
22. Clean the halfshaft bar. Use a wire brush to remove any rust in the seal mounting area (grooves).

1. Install the new swage ring or eared clamp (2) on the neck of the outboard seal (1). Do not swage or crimp.
2. Slide the outboard seal (1) onto the halfshaft bar and position the neck of the outboard seal (1) in the seal groove on the halfshaft bar. The largest groove below the sight groove on the halfshaft bar is the seal groove (3).




Important: For eared clamp installation, proceed to step 6.

3. For swage ring installation use J 41048 in the following way:

3.1.	Position the outboard end of the halfshaft assembly (1) in J 41048 .

3.2.	Align the swage ring.

3.3.	Place the top half of J 41048 on the lower half of J 41048 .

Notice: Refer to Fastener Notice in the Preface section.

Important: Align the following items during this procedure:    •  The outboard seal (1)    •  The halfshaft bar    •  The swage ring

3.4.	Insert the bolts (2) and tighten by hand until snug.

Tighten
Tighten each bolt 180 degrees at a time using a ratchet wrench. Alternate between each bolt until both sides are bottomed.




4. Loosen the bolts and separate the dies.
5. Check swaged ring (2) for any lip deformities. If present, place the ring (2) back into the J 41048 making sure the ring covers the whole swaging area. If necessary, re-swage the ring.




Important: Place a towel in the vise before inserting the halfshaft.

6. For eared clamp installation, mount the halfshaft into a vise.
7. Install the new eared clamp (2) on the neck of the seal. Do not crimp.
8. Slide the seal (1) onto the halfshaft bar and position the neck of the seal in the seal groove (3) on the bar.



9. Crimp the eared clamp (1) using the J 35910 , a breaker bar, and a torque wrench.

Tighten
Tighten the eared clamp to 136 N·m (100 lb ft).

10. Check the gap dimension, continue tightening until the gap dimension is reached.



11. Put a light coat of grease from the service kit on the ball grooves of the inner race and the outer race.
12. Hold the inner race 90 degrees to centerline of cage with the lands of the inner race (1) aligned with the windows of the cage (2) and insert the inner race into the cage.



13. Hold the cage and the inner race 90 degrees to centerline of the outer race (1) and align the cage windows (3) with the lands of the outer race.

Important: Be sure that the retaining ring side of the inner race faces the halfshaft bar.

14. Place the cage and the inner race into the outer race.
15. Insert the first chrome ball then tilt the cage in the opposite direction to insert the opposing ball.
16. Repeat this process until all 6 balls are in place.
17. Place approximately half the grease from the service kit inside the outboard seal and pack the CV joint with the remaining grease.



18. Push the CV joint (2) onto the halfshaft bar (1) until the retaining ring is seated in the groove on the halfshaft bar.




Important: The outboard seal (1) must not be dimpled, stretched or out of shape in any way. If the outboard seal (1) is not shaped correctly, equalize the pressure in the outboard seal (1) and shape the seal properly by hand.

19. Slide large diameter of the outboard seal (1) with the large seal retaining clamp (2) in place over the outside of the CV joint outer race (3) and locate the seal lip in the groove on the CV joint outer race.



20. Crimp the seal retaining clamp (1) using J 35910 .

Tighten
Crimp the clamp (1) to 174 N·m (130 lb ft).

21. Check the gap dimension on the clamp ear. Continue tightening until the gap dimension is reached. Dimension a= 1.9 mm (5/64 in).