C900 Drivetrain Replacement
Introduction
Introduction
In this section, Jeff and I will take you through the replacement of the drive train from the inner CV joints all the way out to the wheels!
This section includes replaing the inner drivers, tripod bearings, cv-joints, ball joints and tie-rod ends.
Be careful when changing out entire rebuilt axles. Both sides are differnt lengths! Some people have had major issues installing the wrong axle on the wrong side!
Enjoy!
C900 Drivetrain Replacement
Driveshaft & Spindle
Driveshaft & Spindle
Part 1: Brake loose the center hub nut, loosen the lug nuts/bolts, remove the wheels, and shimming the A-arms.
Part 2: Moving the brake calipers out of the way without completely removing them.
There are 4 main bolts on the caliper. Loosen the two that hold the pads in place and remove the two that hold the caliper to the spindle
assembly. Then slide the caliper off the rotor and hang it up out of the way.
Part 3: Removing the ball joint nuts, tie-rod end nut, and removal of ball joints and
wheel (spindle) assembly.
Remove the nuts that attach the ball joint to the spindle (are visible in the photos above.)
In most cases the ball joint bolts are severly rusted onto the spindles. The best way to free them up is with MAP gas and heat them up until they glow red.
This is the easiest method I have found!.
Don't remove the ball joint from the A-arm yet as it will help with leverage.
Once those nuts are removed, remove the nut on the tie-rod end and pop the tie-rod end out of the spindle arm.
Once that is out, remove the ball joint bolts that hold them into the A-arms.
Once the spindle assembly is freed from the A-arms and tie-rod, it is ready to be removed.
HOWEVER!!! Be sure to remove the retaining clamp from the rubber boot on the inner driver.
This is the end of the drive shaft closest to the transmission. Once removed, pull the spindle assembly (including the drive shaft) out of the car.
This is how it should look if you've been successful.
Perfect time to replace those KYB shocks with Bilstein, isn't it?
Too bad you forget to buy them...just like I did!
C900 Drivetrain Replacement
Tripod Bearing
Tripod Bearing
Part 4:
Remove the drive shaft from the spindle. It should pull relatively easy.
You will also need to remove the ball joints from the upper and lower arms. The ball joints may be pretty tricky and it really helps to have a ball joint removal fork.
Use care when removing the ball joints and be patient (yeah right)...they're a pain to remove sometimes.
If you have the right kind of press, this would be a when you would replace the wheel bearings.
They are located in the center of the spindle.
Part 5:
Tripod bearing and CV-Joint replacement
Tripod Bearing
Jeff and I replaced the tripod bearings first. Pull back the rubber boot to expose the bearing.
The first step is to remove the C-Clip that holds the bearing in place.
Find a spacer ring or large socket that will fit around the base of the new bearing so you can "tap" the bearing up the shaft.
Be careful that this spacer doesn't push the rings that surround the needle bearings off.
If so, the bearing will break and you will see the result pictured above and need to buy another new bearing.
Be sure the bearing is tapped far enough up the shaft to fully expose the slot at the end for the C-Clip.
Do not put any grease into this end of the drive shaft at this time.
C900 Drivetrain Replacement
CV Joint
CV Joint
Part 6:
The CV-Joint is a little bit easier to replace since you don't have to worry about shattering it into a million pieces like the tripod bearing!
Remove the old joint and boot by spreading the C-Clip and pulling the axle out of the joint.
Clean the shaft and grooves with some brake cleaner and slide the new boot up the shaft.
Be sure to remove all dirt. It can get ground up in the new joint and ruin it really fast!
On the new joint, position the C-Clip as shown above if it isn't already there.
You should have received a tube of axle grease with the new CV-Joint.
If you didn't, you will need some. Choose your brand, but make sure it was made for CV-Joints.
Put some of the grease down into the center of the new joint before you put it onto the shaft.
Then, tap the joint onto the shaft until the C-Clip snaps into its slot.
Take the shaft out of the vice and hold it upright with the CV-Joint side down.
Fill in the ball bearings of the joint with more grease and work it into the joint by rotating the shaft around.
Work the joint itself to help circulate the grease into the bearings.
Use all of the grease on the bearing even if you have to cut the tube open.
You want it to look similar to how it looked on the old bearing.
When that's done, slide the boot up over the CV-Joint and clamp it to prevent any dirt from getting into it.
Part 7:
C900 Drivetrain Replacement
Inner CV Drivers
Inner CV Drivers
Part 8:
There are a couple of ways to determine if your inner drivers need to be replaced.
The first sign is that you have a shake in the steering wheel as you accellerate.
If you feel this, then most likely one or both of the inner drivers are worn.
The second way is to go under the car and feel the axle and cup together.
Take one hand and hold the cup, then take the other hand and twist the axle.
There should be little to no play in a good inner cv joint.
If you have the axle out of the car, you can just use your fingers and feel the inside edges of the cup.
Worn cups will have indentations you can feel.
Before removing the inner drivers, you must drain the transmission fluid.
With older transmissions, there is a 3/8" square drive nut or a 12MM hex nut behind the oil drain plug.
With the newest C900 trannies there is no drain plug at all. To drain the fluid out of these trannies, you need to pull off the rear cover.
Be sure to buy another gasket before doing this!
The inner CV driver is the cup shaped piece that provides power to the axle.
It is attached to the transmission with 5 bolts on the driver's side and 6 bolts on the passenger side.
It is EXTREMELY important to replace only one inner driver at a time.
The shaft end of the driver is attached to/supports the differential of the gearbox.
If both inner drivers are removed at the same time, the differential will fall within the transmission and it will be impossible to recover without opening the rear of the transmission case.
Also...be sure that you remove the bolts from each driver equally.
By this, we mean to loosen each bolt a little bit at a time and move to the next so that the driver comes out of the gear box straight.
This keeps the differential in a position to make installing the new shaft easier.
Once you remove the joint, there will be some very thin spacers. These are very important in aligning the differential to the pinion bearing.
Do not lose them and make sure they stay on the correct side!
Part 9:
Part 10:
Each driver should have some very thin spacer rings that fit between the housing and transmission case.
Be sure these have been wiped clean and are lined up correctly when you begin tightening.
The holes only line up one way, so just spin them around until the holes line up.
Reattach the driver to the gearbox. Be careful that the spring doesn't fall out into the transmission case.
Tighten each housing bolt a little at a time to make sure the driver goes back on straight.
Do not over-tighten the bolts...check your manual for the correct torque.
DON'T FORGET TO RE-INSTALL THE SPEEDOMETER CABLE!
C900 Drivetrain Replacement
Finishing Touches
Finishing Touches
Please forgive the lack of pictures for this step. Re-assembly is a reverse of Step 1, therefore we did not take pictures during re-assembly.
Part 11:
Add grease to the tri-pod bearing boot and attach it to the inner driver. Be extremely careful not to get any dirt or debris in the boot as you move it into position.
Any grit inside will begin to grind up and wear down the driver and bearings. Tighten the boot well to prevent grease from leaking or dirt from entering.
In most CV boot kits, you will get a strange looking clip. There are actually special pliers you can buy at an autoparts store to compress these rings properly.
Part 12:
Reverse the steps taken to remove the spindle assembly from the a-arms.
Grab a beer and spend the afternoon washing and waxing your Saab!