DIY halfshaft questions

[cowger]

Hi Guys,

New owner here ('05 vert) with a couple questions about replacing one of my halfshafts. After getting the car up on blocks for the first time, I found a cracked (damaged?) CV boot on the outer end of the driver side halfshaft. I'd like to consider doing this myself, as much to save some money as I enjoy working on cars.

I've tried to search this forum pretty thoroughly and I believe it's a reasonable job, though potentially a PITA. Couple points I haven't been able to clarify: Is a specialty tool needed, or is it possible to simply pry/pop it out of the diff? If a slide hammer tool is required, is it Miller 9052? Or 8846? Or just a pry bar?

Anyone have an OEM shaft they'd like to part with after upgrading theirs?

Finally, anything to be concerned about with alignment from disassembling / reassembling the rear suspension?

Thanks in advance!
Bryan
Meadow Vista, CA

 

[Sonoman]

There is a "C" clip in the splined part of the axle that slides into the rear end housing. If you're careful, you can use an appropriate pry bar to disengage the half shaft from the diff, but keep in mind the case is aluminum and a little extra finesse is best when doing this; on my '05 it didn't take much pressure to pop out the half shaft from the differential. Have you investigated the possiblity of changing the outer end boot without removing the entire half shaft from the car?

Dropping the upper control arm mounts and the lower shock mount didn't affect the alignment on my Viper. If you don't replace any ball joints or change any toe link adjustments, rear alignment should be OK... it's a bit less sensitive to minor repairs than the front end would be, but of course it is a good idea to have a competent shop check the alignment if there is any sign that something could be out (vehicle mistracking, tire wear pattern changes, etc.).

 

[cowger]

There is a "C" clip in the splined part of the axle that slides into the rear end housing. If you're careful, you can use an appropriate pry bar to disengage the half shaft from the diff, but keep in mind the case is aluminum and a little extra finesse is best when doing this; on my '05 it didn't take much pressure to pop out the half shaft from the differential. Have you investigated the possiblity of changing the outer end boot without removing the entire half shaft from the car?

Thanks, Sonoman! Great info... I did do a search for a replacement boot, but didn't find anything other than generic boots. Furthermore, I think it would need to be one of those "seamed" ones since, from what I can tell from my quick look, there's no way to slip on a boot over the CV joint. Finally, I'd rather have a lightly used halfshaft on there than the current one because I'm not sure how long mine has been cracked, leaking grease, ingesting dirt, etc.

One more, possibly dumb question: Is the clip accessible from inside the diff? I'm going to do a fluid change, anyway, so is it worth trying to pull off the cover and remove the clip before trying to pull it out? Or just easier to pull the halfshaft with the clip still on?

Thanks again!
Bryan

 

[Viktimize]

Thanks, Sonoman! Great info... I did do a search for a replacement boot, but didn't find anything other than generic boots. Furthermore, I think it would need to be one of those "seamed" ones since, from what I can tell from my quick look, there's no way to slip on a boot over the CV joint. Finally, I'd rather have a lightly used halfshaft on there than the current one because I'm not sure how long mine has been cracked, leaking grease, ingesting dirt, etc.

One more, possibly dumb question: Is the clip accessible from inside the diff? I'm going to do a fluid change, anyway, so is it worth trying to pull off the cover and remove the clip before trying to pull it out? Or just easier to pull the halfshaft with the clip still on?

Thanks again!
Bryan

It's like every other halfshaft in the world. Just pop it out of the diff, switch the spring clip to the new axle if it doesn't have a new one, then shove the new one back in.

 

[cowger]

Good, thanks, I'm probably making it more complicated than it needs to be. Perhaps I've read too many threads on horribly stuck shafts... : )

 

[Viktimize]

Ya nobody ever makes a post to say how smooth everything went for them. It's only the people with problems who are posting to look for help or just vent.

 

[cowger]

Just a follow-up and closure on this thread. I found that this job was very straight forward, but it did take some time and you definitely need the right tools in order to pop out the lower control arm joint and tie rod joint -- Harbor Freight has a "front end suspension" kit that made it all pretty easy. Also, in following the steps in the factory service manual, I never was able to get the hub end of the shaft out first; what did work for me just fine was to pop the diff end off first and then that gave enough room to slip the shaft out of the hub.

Hope this might help anyone in the future who found this thread...
Bryan

 

[speedfreak99]

How did the job go ? Did the halfshafts just pop out ? I am wanting to remove my whole housing to swap out gears and diff.so by the sound of it i could pop off rear halfshafts and unbolt diff housing and remove it and take to the shop right ??

 

[cowger]

How did the job go ? Did the halfshafts just pop out ? I am wanting to remove my whole housing to swap out gears and diff.so by the sound of it i could pop off rear halfshafts and unbolt diff housing and remove it and take to the shop right ??

No major problems. I used a medium sized pry bar to pop off the halfshaft, using a thin piece of wood to protect the aluminum diff housing. No special puller tool needed, but you will need to disassemble quite a bit of the rear suspension on each side. As mentioned in this thread, I tried following the factory manual but ended up removing the halfshaft from the diff first, rather than slip the hub over the outer end. Since it sounds like you're just interested in removing the diff, you might be able to keep the outer hub nut on the halfshaft and not even bother with that.

Good luck!

Bryan

 

[speedfreak99]

Thanks for quick reply Bryan!

Alright great to hear from someone who has done this , would i even need to remove the rear wheels ? Sounds like I could just pry the halfshafts out from diff housing ? How far are the halfshafts in the housing ? Should I get new c clips for original halftshafts when i re-install new diff housing ?

 

[cowger]

Thanks for quick reply Bryan!

Alright great to hear from someone who has done this , would i even need to remove the rear wheels ? Sounds like I could just pry the halfshafts out from diff housing ? How far are the halfshafts in the housing ? Should I get new c clips for original halftshafts when i re-install new diff housing ?

Oh, gosh, you definitely need to remove the rear wheels and a lot more...

You have to imagine that the halfshaft is essentially held captive between the diff on the inner end and the hub on the outer end. In order to get enough horizontal freedom for the halfshaft to slide off the inner spline, the hub needs to be able to move outward by a few inches, and that can only happen if you disconnect (I think) all but one of the knuckle joints (I believe it's all but the upper control arm that needs to be removed). It's not complicated work, but you do need the right tools (refer to the HF kit I mentioned). All I'm suggesting is that you can leave the hub nut on the outer end of the halfshaft, but you still need to get everything to slide outward (hub and shaft together).

Just to be clear, the halfshafts aren't "in" the housing; they slide onto a splined shaft coming out of the housing. See the picture below:

https://www.viperpartsofamerica.com/images/products/1007_large_image.jpg

Not sure about getting new C clips -- I didn't.

If you don't have the factory manual, let me know and I'll send you a copy of that section.

Experts, please weigh in. I'm anything but one...

Bryan

 

[Sonoman]

I just dropped the upper control arm mounts, lower shock mounting bolt, the inner toe link mounts (two), and sway bar end link to swing the knuckle down on one side (I did driver's side). Removed the diff but never removed the half shafts entirely, just zip tied the free ends up out of the way for removing and reinstalling the diff carrier. See other threads on changing the rear end. No special tools necessary other than a pry bar to pop out the half-shaft from the differential (mine came right out with no trouble /2005 model). C-clips on the splined shafts are reuseable.

 

[speedfreak99]

Got it !!! Thanks guys That is a huge help and great detail. Got the service manual and I will keep reading up as much as I can find. Cheers

Marc

 

[speedfreak99]

Thank you Sonoman ! Job went exatctly like you deacribed it thx .This forum is so helpful thanks all