Dear Friends,
Finally after analytical treatment to the issue occurred with my beloved Fiat Palio 1.2 nv petrol is resolved through a DIY activity. Your valued feed-back and suggestions were very much useful in achieving the success in the matter.
I could replace the cracked and spoiled rubber boot / gaiter myself successfully and effectively with a neat and clean job work perfectly. I would like to share all possible detail at their full length and depth to help others who refer our outstanding forum and the post of the subject.
Take all safety precautions and measures for each and every step of operation and handlings and activities of doing the joib. Avoidance and negligence may cause fatality or may give unrepeatable loss. The under mentioned procedure is just an outline of the job.
Let me focus to the issue related activities. This I would like to distribute in main 4 parts as under:
(A).Procuring the required material.
(B).Removal of the Left side drive shaft.
(C ).Servicing and Repairing.
(D).Reinstalling the drive shaft.
(A).Procuring the required material.
1.
I procured a new Gaiter/Rubber-boot and its Collars for the inner side of the left side shaft from 99rpm which I could receive with in a week. Also purchased Grease for CV joint from local market. “Servogrease CVJ” is very specific but is not available usually in the retail market as it usually comes in large (barrel) packing as per vendors. The cvj grease I purchased is APJ brand transparent red colored one. I bought 2X75 gm packs each costing Rs.40/-
(B).Removal of the Left side drive shaft.
2.
First of all placed the car on a flat ground surface, engaged gears and hand-brake, placed stone cubes/lumps to prevent wheels rolling while jacking and working and disconnected the battery. Drained oil (80W-90) from the gearbox and loosen the wheel bolts from hub. Carefully jacked up the car’s front left wheel and removed the hub cover with fiat logo from the wheel and again put the car on the ground ( i.e. unjacked) as the hub nut was to be made loose to open and remove it later on. Punched slits are required to be lifted using an appropriate screw driver or similar tool from the shaft’s slots at it6s end which are of tapper-shaped. If you don’t have an impact wrench, unscrew the nut with a long socket wrench when the wheel is on the ground. I used 32 mm socket (having 0.75 inch lever adaption hole rather then 0.50 inch hole )with a ‘T’ drive handle-bar. This one made the job very easy and comfortable. Otherwise the hub nuts are usually very strongly tightened on the axles in most of the vehicles.
3.
The car was jacked again up top the comfortable height level so the all working components and areas could be easily reached. The wheel was completely removed. Sequentially Tie-rod bolt (ONE), Shocker’s bolts (TWO) and Lower Arms Ball-joint nut (ONE) were carefully removed and the knuckle/hub assembly was hanged with a strong screw-driver inserted in the hole of shocker (at the place of upper bolt) and hub assembly and also hang it with a strong wire at its usual height level so that brake-fluid piping and other things do not get damaged. The brake console is not required to remove. Then carefully axle nut was removed. This makes the outer end of the axle free.
4.
Carefully hold the whole axle straight with two hands, make the outer end free. With the help of other person, wedge out the inner end using a flat hard strip or similar tool. Just place a rod/flat hard strip/hard screw driver edge between the differential casing body and the shaft end-can and uniformly press through leverage action outward to let the axle slides out. During this you may need to little rotate the axle clockwise and anticlockwise to let it come out as there is a lock ring in the grove at the end of the axis (which helps it locking inside the differential assembly). Finally it will come out. The operation is not so hard. In my case, as the gaiter /boot was teared out, the end of the axle with with a spider came out and a can-shape housing (accommodating spider/tripod) remained attached to the differential. So it was removed after taking the shaft-rod out. The cup was easily removed as described above.
(C ).Servicing and Repairing.
5.
Both the parts of shaft ( Inner end with cup + outer end with boot/gaiter and shaft rod) were taken out on the floor, cracked boot and its tightening old collars were removed. Both parts were cleaned of old grease. The tripod/spider was pulled out after removing the circlip from the shaft end. Everything was cleaned by a soft cotton cloth. Again the Spider was reset and locked with circlip.
6.
On the spider holding rod part, insert the Gaiter/Rubber boot 's narrow side and fit it with small collar at its original position (old markings appears on the shaft rod). Then fix the spider and lock it with a circlip (Snap-ring) as it was.
7
Take the inner-end cup and fill it with cv joint grease. Usually it is found that about 70 to 120 gm of grease is required in different cases. Here I used about 100 gm to fill it. Stir the grease inside with a small iron rod(screw driver rod) to remove air gaps inside.
8.
Let the rod with spider be rolled in carefully, little grease will come out. Re-paste it inside in such a way that no air gap or bubble/cavity remains inside and the material covers the spider from outside also. Too much grease is not required as it may exert unnecessary pressure on rubber boot from inside and may damage while the car runs. Extend the wider side of the rubber boot and cover-up on the can-shaped spider housing up to its original mark and fit it with a larger diameter collar. There is also a grove there. Now the complete axle drive shaft of left side is ready. Fully clean it with a cotton cloth. It is now ready to install.
(D).Reinstalling the drive shaft.
9.
Make required every places easily accessible and approachable under the car where the shaft is to be re-installed. Remove non required things away from the working area under the car.
10.
First prepare setting of Hub/Knuckle to get ready to insert the outer end of the drive shaft once its inner end is pushed and set in the gearbox differential. For this just bolt up the lower arm's ball joint so that the hub can be freely tilted to introduce the shaft. Break assembly was not required to be detached. Let the shocker remain loosely attached/supported by a screw driver rod.
11.
Take the ready axle in both hands and move under the car carefully. Let the inner end of the shaft go in the hole (differential unit's casing) slowly and apply pressure to push it inside rotating the axle clockwise and anticlockwise. Keep on trying this till the lock-ring at the end on the shaft will set inside and will give feel of its fitting inside. Once fitted the shaft will not come out on very normal pulling force. You may repaeat this by pulling and pushing the shaft-end. Set it properly.
12.
Ask your co-worker/helper to keep and adjust the hub unit's hole in such a way that the outer end of the shaft gets into smoothly and normally. From outside stroke the shaft-end with a wooden/fiber hammer softly and carefully so that the inner-end sets inside as it was and then continue soft hammering on the hub-plate so that it sets properly on the outer-end of the shaft. Apply shaft's lock-nut and two nut-bolts of shocker at their place. Then link the Tie rod at its original place.
13.
Observe and check the fitting of the whole drive shaft and its both the ends. Carefully and gradually keeping uniform pressure application in mind tighten the Hub-nut, Shocker's Nut-bolts, Lower arm nut and Tie rod nut up to their respective Torque values. Clean every places of work with a cotton cloth.
14.
Fill up the OIL in Gear box and connect the battery ends.
15.
Lower the car from Jack- stand and /or jack and put it on the ground. Release hand-brake and remove any obstacles put around the wheel to prevent the car's rolling while working. Take a test drive up to your satisfaction.
16.
My car is running well as normal.
Thank you all for sparing your valuable time to read this post. Please send your feed-back for the betterment of the topic and presentation.
Navin Talati