Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 20:51:10 +0000 (UTC) From: Craig's Saab C900 Site <c900nospam.apana.org.au> Subject: Re: '85 900 CV/axle replacement
Dave Hinz <DaveHinznospamcop.net> writes: >I've got a split CV boot on the left side, on my '85 900. A new axle is >only 66 bucks, cheaper than just the CV, so I'll probably be going with >that. Any surprises in this process? Seems like it'd be pretty >straightforward; pull the bottom ball joint, remove the castle nut & >caliper - pretty much all right there, or am I missing something? Very first thing is to loosen the big 32 mm nut securing the outer CV to the steering member. That has to be done with the car on the ground before the wheel nuts are undone. I use half of the handle off my trolley jack on the end of my 1/2" socket extension bar, and when I put my whole body weight on it, perhaps with a bit of bouncing up and down, it'll overcome the very high torque to loosen the nut. Sometimes it's not that hard but my white 900S had me springing up and down quite a bit before all that reverse torque got the front CV nuts to loosen! You might need to undo the lower shock mounting but generally that should only be needed if you're going to fully remove the steering member. If you don't want to do that, what you suggested will work but make sure that before you take any of the suspension parts off you put spacers under the lower control arm to relieve the coil spring tension off the control arm. And remember to undo the big nut before lifting the car off the ground. 8-) If you want to go 'whole hog' you can actually take the brake caliper off the steering member, undo the steering tie-rod (good time to replace them too if they have broken boots and the grease is oozing out), undo the top ball joint as well as as the bottom one, then remove the entire steering member off the CV and that way you can look at the back of the main bearing to check it's condition and see if the big circlip is still good. In fact any time you do that sort of work, replacing other parts that need it can save you in the future. Tie-rod ends and ball joints are simple jobs - make sure you don't re-use self-locking nuts unless as a last resort you can't get replacements. The bottom balljoint main nut can be a pig to undo because there is not much clearance between it and the bottom of the bearing housing of the steering member. You'll need an open-ended spanner, or a very shallow ring-spanner, and probably some WD-40/RP-7 type fluid and possibly a hammer to 'enhance' the spanner's mechanical advantage if the nut it very unwilling to release. When you replace the steering member onto the splined shaft of the CV, put some engine oil on the CV's shaft and that'll make it easier to slide it into the bearing as it's a snug fit. The Bentley manual is very good at covering all this. I've done CV replacement, etc. and there are a couple of sections on my ~c900 site which cover CV, etc. work but they're not really complete. More works in progress with bits of coverage of the processes not added in yet. I need to do driveshaft swaps on my 1983 turbo c900 because it's got inner CV boots broken. With all the work required to get the inner driver accessible, pulling out the whole shaft and replacing with a good one saves time. I've got two good shafts on my donor car still. 8-) Regards, Craig. -- Craig's Saab C900 Page at | Craig's Classic Saab Workshop - Sydney .au http://lios.apana.org.au/~c900 | http://www.classicsaab.net and other URL's Email: c900nospam.apana.org.au | For Saab 99/C900/9000 Enthusiasts World-Wide! Alternate: saabonautnospaml.com | Web-forums, galleries, library, links, etc.
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