Replace front halfshaft

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mflecklr3

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I have a torn inner CV boot on the right hand side and would like to replace the halfshaft. Can I just pull the halfshaft out and replace it (after getting the hub/knuckle out of the way)?

On the RH side of the differential is a support tube and the rover workshop manual implies that you have to also remove that and replace the "halfshaft oil seal" before re-installing the tube and then installing the new halfshaft.

I found a pictorial walkthrough on landroveraddict dot com that has good info on the removal but it glosses over the installation of the new shaft (something to the effect of, "Now put everything back to together").

Any and all advice is welcome. I'm trying to figure out how big a job this is going to be.
 
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jwest

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Atlantic british has a lot of YouTube videos - you might try there. Mine developed a horrible pulsation under any throttle that turned out to be very worn half shaft ends, both.
 

mflecklr3

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Thanks but I've been all over their youtube channel and the closest I found was a video for replacing the wheel hub. In general, there doesn't seem to be any tribal wisdom on the interwebs.
 

jwest

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That's too bad. Maybe figure out how to get a shop manual. I have one for my disco 1 which is invaluable and plan to get one for the D2 and LR3 when I can. LR3 is hater though, so much has gone to Topix type manuals. I like the book format better.
 

maxx4wd

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Yes I've replaced both of my front half-shafts...once you get access then you can pull the shaft out - note don't pull the shaft at any point after the CV or you'll pull the CV out of socket and it'll be too long to actually get out without removing the entire hub....pull from the shaft as close to the diff as you can reach...it'll be tough to release the slip ring initially but once you get it unseated then it'll just slide right out. You may want to use a long lever to gently pull at the half shaft for the initial separation. Same for sliding the shaft back in...be careful not to separate that CV (it's a pain to get back together with the boot on) and make sure it's fully seated.

I replaced the seals while I was at it but I had a small leak which is why I was in there in the first place...make sure if you replace those seals that you get them square and fully seated - I ended up having to do this job 2x and it's a PIA. You can reuse the seals if they're in good working order but it's probably worth the time to replace...it's quite easy to accidently mar the inner portion of the seal when inserting the half-shaft if your not careful.

Take your time and you'll be fine.
 

maxx4wd

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yup those pics pretty much sum it up...wish I would have had a guide like that for reference when I did it but that'll get you mostly there. good luck, not terribly difficult but it does take a bit of time at least the first time through...one thing that wasn't noted though - if your center hub nut is really stuck on - get a portable torch and heat the nut up a little...and then use a decent breaker bar and it'll come off quite easily...I struggled through a tough nut on the first go around and it took forever...added heat and no it was just like a tight lug nut...
 

mflecklr3

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Finally got around to doing this job. maxx4wd is right, popping the stop/snap ring on the axle is the hardest part. There was also a trick to reconnecting the upper ball joint.

Prying out the right halfshaft requires leverage but both metals are too soft on the obvious place to get it, between the sheet metal flange on the inner cv and the axle tube. I ended up wedging a cold chisel on the mounting bracket for the axle tube and putting a piece of 2x4 between the chisel and what could have been the transmission case. I'm a small guy and it took a ton of leverage to pop the halfaxle.

I couldn't fully reconnect the ball joint because it would spin as i tried to tighten the nut. I found a video online for a D2 which showed that the ball joint stud is female. Put a #8 hex bit in there to keep it from spinning and it's an easy job.

I ended up with a BritPart halfaxle which came with an axle nut. Good thing because it has different threading than the axle nut I ordered which was also from BritPart. It was also a different size (1 3/8" vs. 32mm). Interesting that'd they sell an axle that isn't compatible with their axle nut.

Just a heads up for the next guy.
 

jondvd

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Hi all. This is my first post but I thought I'd share my experience with redoing the front end on my 2005 LR3 HSE and also ask for some input on a couple of things. I'm stuck on the left front cv axle.

Work includes:
Lower control arms with ball joint pre-installed
Upper ball joint
Inner and outer tie rods
Hub/bearings
Sway bar links
Sway bar bushings
Left front cv axle
Wiper fluid reservoir
Break pads and fluid flush
Front diff oil change

So most of it was pretty straight forward. The wheels were seized on pretty good but I slightly loosened all the lug nuts and drove around my driveway in circles, forward and reverse, braking periodically till I heard both sides pop. Lower control arms were a pain but well documented so no surprises. The ball joints popped out easily with a 3 lb hammer. I cut the stem off the upper ball joint with an angle grinder then pressed out of the control arm. The hub came off relatively easy after breaking the bolts free with a 24", 1/2" drive breaker bar. I then gave it quite a few hits with the previously mentioned 3 lb hammer. I took off the fender cover, headlights, and the front bumper cover to get to the wiper fluid tank. There are 4 bolts that hold it on. I'm going to try marine sealant as another youtuber suggested on his MB.

As I said, most of it was pretty straight forward but now I'm stuck on the cv axle. I've tried a few things but no luck. I just ordered a pickle fork set as suggested above but now have to wait a couple of days till they get here. Does anyone else have any other suggestions I can try in the mean time? Also, should the pry bars be under the part that covers the diff or just before it on the big block? I've tried both with no luck but might help if know I'm doing it right.

I also noticed a part just hanging behind the wiper fluid tank. It turns out to be a TPMS antenna (I think). The electronics for the fog lights were the same, just hanging in the bumper cover. Could someone tell me where these should be mounted?

Thanks in advance for any help. I'll try to do a full write up with pictures, if I ever get the cv axle off. If anyone needs any specific info, feel free to ask.
 

mflecklr3

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Take this advice with a grain of salt since my experience is with the right (NA passenger) side. I'd put a pry bar on the CV joint "housing" (not the sheet metal flange - too soft) and then use the frame rail for leverage. See the red circles of the attached pic. The same approach worked me on the right side but I really had to pull to get that snap ring to pop. Good luck!

IMG_20181023_091833943.jpg
 
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