Right had afun doing this today only to find that it was the diff thats the problem, warrenting me getting a whole new gearbox etc. Anyhoo, i took pics of various stages throughout doing it.
Start off,
Remove both Wheels from the front axle and then turn so that the caliper is facing out of the wheel arch. and there is a pinch bolt that the ball joint from the suspension is held in with. Loosen that and drop the wishbone out from the pinch bracket.
Now follow the driveshaft from the wheel centre, to the flange on the gearbox, and there are about 6-7 torx bolts on there, holding the drive shaft in there. Looks like this.
Use the torx key to loosen them, its usually easier if someone is holding the brake disc to stop the shaft just rotating when you remove the torx bolts. The shaft will then drop off from the flange and is still attatched to the wheel hub. Get a 19mm socket and remove the hub nut.
*caution have someone hold onto the drive shaft, as i nearly got cracked in the jewels when it came loose and swung out*You should do the same on the other side then have two shafts looking like this.
This is the drivers side one, the passenge side one should be about 2/3 the length.
Then you should be presented with what looks like this:
this is the internal driveshaft, Consequently if there is any movement other than rotary on the shaft that has been exposed then it will mean that your bearings will be on the way out, much like mine, in which case it is usually cheaper to get a new gearbox rather than have it all stripped down and replaced.
When removing the seals from inside the shaft you have just exposed in above picture there is a special tool required for pulling the seal out, or you can make a bodge plate to use and pull it out. (special tool is reccommended) Once removed then get the new one and knock it into the position of the old one. Then all you need to do is the reverse of the above, takes about 2 hours all in all, thats without any hitches.
When re-fitting the driveshafts, then put the wheels on first and then nip up the driveshaft torx screws as the wheel on there will give an extra bit of pull, so the bolts can be done up nice and tight again.
Car back on the ground and seals are done. Remember to tighten your wheel nuts on the floor, common mistake.
Cheers all, will go hunting for my new transmission setup now.ÂÂÂ