Greetings. Been a while since I posted. In today's adventure, attempted to remove the right front hub. Didn't have any C4, so ended up removing the strut & pulling out the hub/spindle with the right axle. Unlike the youTube video, when I pulled the axle out of the transfer case, got a lot of fluid- about a pint unlike the guy in the video who didn't get a drop.

Either I had too much or he had too little. In 2020, I replaced all the fluids in the transfer case, transmission & rear end. Remember having to fill the transfer case from the drain hole. Did have much else to do other than drop the gas tank to replace the fuel pump. Did it for ,like $95. Welsh Enterprises had a pump motor that didn't require a new plug. It was plug & pray.

Had a terrible vibration at 50 MPH+. Sounded like the driveshaft. Went & replaced the carrier bearing. Car btw, has 117k miles. It's a 2004 Sport. Bearing cost $60. Replaced it myself- a bit of a challenge but when you have tools, it's fun. A driveshaft specialty shop balanced it for me. Imagine my surprise after replacing the driveshaft & having the same problem. Put it up on lift & ran it at 50 MPH. Would have done it myself earlier, but it's hard to be in 2 places at the same time.

Hello... vibration on right front tie rod. Rotated the wheel & at only one place was there any wobble. Unless at one spot, was impossible to discern and wobble. New wheel bearing ordered.

Time to get the hub off....not Tried the usual hub pullers. That <SLJ expletive deleted> was not coming off. Tried everything except the acetylene torch. Had a similar problem getting the ball joint bolts out.

Well if you can't raise the bridge.... lower the river. Wasn't until the strut was removed that the ball joint popped out. Noticed both ball joint boots were cracked. After removing the strut, ended up pulling the right spindle the driveshaft still attached to the hub. Have a 3-day weekend to mess with it.

Am not a person who believes in bandaid maintenance. Will replace the struts (& rear shocks) wheel bearings, tie-rod ends (the right one snapped when removing the nut), and ball joints (control arms & bushings look good). Doing the work myself means I can spend more on better quality parts.

Thoughts/suggestions?

Right side on left. Left side flipped 180 on right. Can see the EPA disaster.

 

You likely damaged the inner seal in the transfer case as Jaguar says NOT to remove the inner axle shaft and to separate the half shaft at the end of the inner shaft!!!!!!!!!!!!!( the halfshaft separates from the transfer case shaft!)

The circlip at the end of the inner shaft will tear the transfer case seals so ONLY the halfshaft should be removed.

Please read the TSB we got a few decades ago regarding the right side axle shaft as part of the gearbox replacement.(page 14/15)

Displace and remove the transfer case support bracket.
CAUTION: THE TRANSFER CASE LINK SHAFT SHOULD ONLY BE EXTRACTED BY A MAXIMUM
OF 200 MILLIMETER OR DAMAGE WILL OCCUR TO THE INTERNAL SEAL.
27. Using special tools 100-012 and 100-012-03
displace transfer case link shaft (Illustration 17).
Illustration 17
28. Loosen and remove special tool 100-012 and 100-012-03 from the link shaft.

29. Align and install special tool 307-446 and install
and fully tighten securing bolt to the transfer
case and extract link shaft to special tool
(Illustration 18).
Illustration

I have done this without the special tool but keep the shaft in the case as far as you can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What motorcarman said. I had mine replaced by a shop (because I incorrectly installed the ball joint in the "A" frame and damaged the CV joint) several years ago and watched them separate it correctly.

BTW, the left replaces "normally" with entire assembly coming out.

 

Couldn't find a TSB addressing half shaft removal.
Watched this video: Tapped a few times & it popped free. Then carefully pulled it out as in the video. Came out smoothly.

Replacement right half shafts are sold like the pic below; not 2 pieces. This is the confusing part as I don't see where it separates.

My thought on the fluid is that I maybe overfilled the transmission when I changed the fluid or should have had the right side jacked up a bit higher. Car is on jack stands.
Left side is higher than right.

The million dollar question is why the splined CVJ is stuck in the hub. Thoughts? Is it possible rotational friction caused by the wheel bearing is the culprit or is almost 20
years of driving in the winter where roads are treated with salt?

 

I attached the TSB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Page 11/12 has a diagram of where the separate seem is on the shafts.

 

Thanks all. Motorcarman, didn't see anything attached. Since found a number of threads with pics showing how its done. 200mm BTW is just over 7.75". That's quite a bit.

Used an endoscope to inspect the seals in the transfer case. Didn't see any damage- doesn't mean there isn't any. Used calipers to measure the inner axle seal surfaces & the splined end with the notorious clip. Looks like the middle seal is where the damage might happen. That means the end it's okay for the axle to pull out of the transmission, past the first seal & almost halfway out of the transfer case.

The inner axle appears to be inside a pipe- at least to the middle seal using an endoscope. Perhaps the TSB procedure is more for keeping transmission fluid from leaking; not so much seal damage. But never say never.

Has anyone here taken a transfer case off? Better yet, suggestions for getting the out CVJ out of the hub. Have the hub inverted with PB Blaster filled up almost to the top. Will it work? <smile>. On Tuesday will go to the joint base hobby shop. Whenever I've been in a pickle, they had the tools I needed along with far better access to professional on-line tech support.

Am I gonna worry about an inner seal? Nope. Car is almost 20 years old. Wife has been after me to get a new one. Last car was a Volvo 240 wagon. Picked it up from the factory in Gothenburg & drove it 25 years- until the body started bending from rust inside the frame. Best car we ever owned.





Can easily see where the half shaft splits. Measured 4 points on the half shaft. Where it mates to the outer seal is 1.085". Next two surfaces, measured 1.020". Next measured the splined surface that goes into the transmission. It's only .85". At the clip, measured 1.010 at the widest part. Didn't feel anything on the clip that might damage an inner seal.

Plan is to first get the outer CVJ joint out of the hub. Using the correct tools, wasn't able to budge it Have to wait till Tue to have access to powerful presses. This is the reason I went to plan B & pulled out the half shaft. Unfortunately, watched a YouTube video (above) showing how it was done the wrong way. Doh. No wonder comments were off.

Will replace the outer transfer case seal once I get read to reassemble. May have to replace the half shaft. Stay tuned.

 

I attached the TSB XT307-S941 so you can see how to remove the axle as well as the entire transfer case.(see post #2)

 

Thanks MotorMan,
Got your responses & I still don't see any attachment. Maybe I'm having cockpit trouble. I'm using Safari. Attached what I see below. Is there something else I should click on?

Being the cow is out of the barn, will never do that again as shown in the YouTube video. Since comments are disabled, I reported the YouTube video showing how easy it is to pop the intermediate shaft out for misinformation. Perhaps that might save someone else. The Ford Fusion has a similar setup except... looks like there's a bracket that prevents pulling out the intermediate shaft.



Still don't see an attachment. But that's okay. Do you have a link?


Yesterday, got the out CVJ out of the hub. Had to whack the puller tool a number of times before anything happened. Was a very slow process- unlike any I've done before. Wish I still had my 1957 Fury.

Then used a 3-jaw slide hammer puller to pop the hub. A few slides & it popped out. Would have been a lot easier had it the spindle still been on the car.



Rented a brand new front wheel bearing remover/installer tool (57205) from AutoZone for $254. The weakest link? Where the threads started after the 19mm end of the threaded rod.



Set up as per the QR code. Used a not so powerful battery powered impact wrench. Wrenched a point & nothing was happening- no sense in breaking anything. Started backing off & the nut on top of the threaded rod snapped cleanly off. Should have taken a pic. Looked like a fine fracture line. AutoZone took it back without any issue. Wonder if this is a common problem?

Just found a YouTube video where the guy turns the 1 1/4" nut on the bearing side; not the 19mm end of the threaded rod.

Living close to JB MDL, took the spindle & hub to the Auto Hobby Shop. A 20-ton press struggled 2 times. First time was getting the bearing to budge...BOOM! Second time was pressing the bearing.....BOOM! Cut a channel in the inner race still attached to the hub, tapped with a hammer & chisel... ping & success.

Just a matter of pressing in the near bearing. Well actually no. Went to press the new bearing in. Opened the package. One half of the bearing had popped out- just like the top pic.pic where the hub was pulled off. Considered pushing it in, but going to get another bearing as the grease was in my hands & contaminated.

Been bending wrenches longer than most. Have a PhD from the school of hard knocks in know usually knowing what not to do. Never, ever force something unless you have no choice. Also know guys who believe they know everything don't need books or schematics. Years ago helped a guy repair an engine with a blown head gasket. He usually never used a torque wrench, so brought over another friends 3/8" Snap On. The head bolts are the kind that get stretched over 3 torque settings to my understanding. I set the torque to the first setting being I have better eyes & handed it to him. Told him he might want to first check it out on a lug nut or something to feel the click which it can be very subtle as I'm sure many of you know. That's what I do. He took the wrench & said, "I know how to use a torque wrench...do you think I'm stupid?"

Not sure about you guys, but a little silent voice in my head was screaming "Yes!" He got on the first bolt & the next thing I saw was it gave way- as if there was a clutch. Before I could say anything being the radio was loud & I'm a low talker & he's hard of hearing, he did the same thing to the other 15 bolts in world record time as if he was on an Indy pit crew. The last bolt was sorta stuck in the socket & came out... Holy you know what. Every single bolt had snapped. So he looks at me & says, "Say it!" I wouldn't call him stupid- figured he could do a better job of that himself. Only thing I could think of: "Randy, it's a Snap On...not a Snap Off"...

 

Found an old forum thread on the transfer case with lots of pictures. Can it find it now? nope The author mentions transfer case (TC) inner seal damage is caused when a planetary assy, normally supported by the intermediate shaft, is pulled out more than 200 mm (as I understood) drops. The damage is a result of the seals collapsing by the weight of the planetary assy. So what did I do?

Getting a replacement intermediate seal was gonna take a week. Rather than prolonging the agony, slid the intermediate shaft back & it easily popped back in place just like any other half shaft. Nothing had moved.

I'll change the TC oil & see if any automatic transmission fluid leaked into the transfer case. At least a quart of ATF spilled out after removing the intermediate shaft. A shame these "sealed for life" transmissions don't have a dip stick.

This is the first car I ever "fell in love" with. In 2003, rented one in Germany & drove it for 2 weeks on the Autobahn, Autostrada, & through the Alps. At 130 MPH, speed-assist steering made the car handle like it was only doing 55. Drove through the Alps like James Bond. Dynamic stability control allowed me to take turns much faster than I would normally.

My wife screaming for me to slow down, just hit deaf ears. Felt like the minister towards the end of Caddy Shack playing the best game of his life in a thunderstorm. Only thing that bothered me were Mercedes & sport cars tooling at 180 MPH+ that made it feel like we were hardly moving. When the spousal unit got her fingernails out.... knew she meant business & slowed down to maybe 90-100 MPH. Otherwise we'd be stopping more often for restrooms.

Both lower ball joints are fine; however the boots are cracked. Anyone know where I might get replacement ball joint boots?

Waiting for a replacement wheel bearing to press in. Then some assembly required. Wanna get the car back together to see if the new wheel bearing fixes the problem. Then I might change the struts/shocks/etc, or maybe I'll just lie down until the feeling goes away.

If anyone is interested in hearing what spinning the hub in the spindle sounds like, here's a YouTube link: Spinning freely, it makes a racket. All this stemmed from a vibration that seemed to be coming from the center of the car.

 

Quick update: Carefully reinserted the intermediate shaft into the transfer case/transmission. Endoscope showed no damage to the seals. Went in just like any other half shaft assembly. Car now has all new Bilstein struts & shocks, ball joints, & one tie rod end.

Drained the transfer case. There was about 900 ml of gear oil mixed with ATF.

When the intermediate shaft was pulled out, ATF flowed in the transfer case & once it was full, out the hole. Wasn't because of a damaged seal. Was the result of the ATF fluid level being high & gravity causing to flow out.

If I were to do it again, would first drain the automatic transmission. Have replaced half shafts on other vehicles & that's usually the first step to prevent fluid from draining out. But trust me, am not gonna press my luck.

Flushed the transfer case once & refilled with fresh gear oil. I'm getting better at it. Added a couple quarts of ATF to transmission. No leaks other than a tiny bit of oil seeping out around the oil pan gasket. It's not dripping on the driveway, so I'm gonna live with it. Car has a new padded interior. Got tired of looking at the upholstery clips holding up the sagging headliner. Gonna be 20 years old next year. Runs like a champ since the 100K service. When I changed the plugs, also changed the upper/lower intake manifold gaskets. Result? No more 171/174 code when it's cold out. Soon as the engine warmed up, the lean condition went away. Never thought it would take 17 years to reach 100K.



The car is a 2004 Sport that came with 18" low profile BBS wheels. Never cared for low profile anything, so replaced the 18" BBS wheel with Jaguar OEM 17" wheels. Price of tires has come down significantly since 2005, so sprung for new 18" Michelin tires for the BBS wheels which were sitting in the shed since 2005. Was amazed the almost 19-year-old tires showed no cracks or rot.