A few Axle rebuild questions

[tdk930]

Going for my 1st axle rebuild and have a few questions. I have the 1/2 shafts off the car, boots cut off and the paint can lids pulled. Oh, and lots of grease.

When i reasseble the axles, are both ends the same or is the inner different than the outer?

One end of the shaft has a single groove and the other has 2 grooves in the shaft, does this tell what part is connected to the rear vs hub?

How do i tell if the parts are too worn or need replaced? I planned to regrease and put new boots on. What else should i look for?

One of the axle ends looked like it was wet with water in the grease (boot looked fine) Is that an issue?

Thx,

Todd

[TobyB]

Hmm, good questions, actually.

To make things a bit more confusing, BMW changed the

design slightly at least twice that I'm aware of, so there

are 'fat' and 'thin' inner races, outers that surround the

flanges and outers that don't... and probably more variations

on that, too.

Anyway, to try to help, ideally you'd keep the balls and races

aligned just the way they were when they came apart. But

I've never done this. Do keep the races as pairs, though,

and each set of balls with each set of races.

Is it worn? Yep! Is it worn out? Well, was it making noises

before you took it apart? Is there any scoring or denting of the balls?

Are the wear lines in the races rough or uneven? I'd say if you said

'No' to all that, you're good to go. The 2002 halfshafts aren't front-

driver halfshafts that have to work for their living, ours get to loaf

most of the time, so they last a LONG time.

That said, why'd you take them apart? I've only ever done it for

making hybrid 2002/320 shafts, or for torn boots.

Clip ring grooves- well, as there were 2 thicknesses of inner race, that might

be part of the reason. I've never come across that. But in the 'put it back

the way you found it' department, I'd bet you'll be fine.

Grease does separate over time- if what you found resembled a light oil,

it's nothing to worry about at all. If there's no rust in there and wear looks

OK, likewise.

Use good CV grease and good boots- I used CV2 from Redline with some

aftermarket boots, and they died after about 5 years.

Orientation- well, it's good not to change the way it goes back

together just for general wear and stress reasons, but nothing has

any inherent orientation. And on a street car, nothing's stressed

halfway enough to mind, so don't lose sleep over it!

Otherwise, cleanliness is next to Godliness, and half at it

t

[tdk930]

Toby,

Thanks - I pulled it apart as i had a suspension issue in the rear (sag & bushing clunk i think). Decided to rebush it all and rebuild it while it was out. Boots were worn and cracked but not ripped.

Will let you know when i get it apart if anything is worn.

Todd

[kbmb02]

There's a great write-up here:

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,348968/highlight,joint/

[jgerry2002]

Just replaced boots on the passenger side CV joint this weekend.

You can get a rebuild "kit" consisting of rubber boots, clamps, and CV joint grease.

After you pop the end cap off, remove the circlip and use a punch (or an old bolt) to drive out the shaft. It should fit snug, but not tight.

Watchout for the bearings/races, if you twist it the wrong way they can fall out.

I did mine one at a time, making sure things went back together the same way they came apart.

I rebuilt the driver side one last year, no problems since.

[tdk930]

All - Thanks for the help. I got the car on teh road last month. Here is a picture of the completed rebuild.