9000 Drivetrain
Removal
Removal
If your CV boots busted open, you need to take care of it right away as it will damage the cv joint further.
The CV joint will be okay if you catch it quick. I usually check these at least twice a year (when rotating tires).
This is an easy repair job that can be done in the driveway in about an hour per side.
The first thing to do is loosen up the lugnuts before jacking up the car.
If you don't do it now, you will need to press the brakes to loosen them up while the car is in the air!
Now unbolt and tie wrap the brake caliper to the coil. These are usually held on with loctight
so you may need a long 1/2" breaker bar to loosen these up.
Now undue the tie-rod bolt. The tie-rod is stuck in the spindle so you must either hammer it out or
use a pickle fork to force it out. Either way, you may want to buy an extra just in case you screw
up and break the boot or damage the threads.
The spindle is almost ready to be pulled!
Remove the ABS wheel sensor. Sometimes this can be a little difficult as it tends to rust inside the hub.
You probably should spray this with some penetrating oil the night before.
Now, unbolt the 3 ball-joint bolts, the 2 bolts on the strut, and loosen the clamp on the inner cv boot.
The whole thing will now come right out of the car!
This probably only took 15 minutes, so let's move on to the fun stuff!
9000 Drivetrain
Replace and Reinstall
Replace and Reinstall
Now it's time to remove the axle from the CV and see the damage.
First, use wire cutters to remove the clip that is holding the cv boot onto the hub.
To free the axle from the CV joint, there is a C-Clip that needs to be split open.
Unfortunately, it is completely invisible in the grease!
I use a screwdriver to open it enough to get my c-clip pliers in there to do the rest.
Once the clip is open, the axle will pull right out.
For inexperienced folk, this may be easier with two people!
Now it's time to inspect for any damage that may have occurred while the boot was broken.
The first sign will be no grease left in the CV joint. This is bad, as the CV
joint will wear out very fast when
this happens. The second sign is having dirt/sand in the grease. This wears down the balls of the CV
joint and it doesn't move as smoothly.
To really see the damage you need to take apart the CV joint to look at the CV balls and the walls of the CV joint.
First, remove the balls by using a screwdriver to move the joint to one side and pull the ball out.
Once the first ball is remove, the rest almost falls out. The CV is then easily removed from the carrier.
Now inspect the CV carrier walls for scratch marks and wear. Also inspect the CV balls for gouge marks from dirt and sand.
If you find scratches or gouges, you should replace the whole CV joint.
If the damage is significant, you can order new CV joints from any online Saab store. The outer half of the CV joint is attached to the spindle with a big nut.
You just need to undue the nut and the outer CV hub will come out.
The real trick is holding the spindle still and stopping the rotor from turning so you can get the nut off. A big impact wrench is the best tool for this.
If everything looks good, it's time for reassembly! This can be more complicated than it looks.
Take your time and it will go smoothly.
First, insert the cv joint into carrier. Then, one by one, insert the balls into the joint.
I use a little grease to make moving the CV joint around easier.
9000 Drivetrain
Reassembly
Reassembly
Now place the new boots on the axle. There are grooves where the top of the boots are supposed to clip
to make sure they do not move around. Grease up the CV joint with the supplied grease or use a
synthetic alternative. I usually use Mobile 1 synthetic CV grease.
Now, simply push the axle into the CV joint until it clicks. The C-clip will prevent it from backing out.
Tighten the clip on the boot and your ready for reassembly!
Before inserting the axle back into the inner CV joint. Clean out the old grease and feel for any ridges
in the inner CV cup. If you feel ridges, then the cups should be replaced at some point as this causes
a shake in the steering wheel when accelerating.
Be sure to grease up the inner tri-pod bearing.
Once the axle is back on the car, assembly is reverse of removal.
Tighten up the ball-joint bolts, strut bolts, and tie-rod.
Clean up the brake rotor with some break cleaner to remove any grease that may have gotten on it and then place the caliper on the rotor and tighten it down.