Drive shaft gaiters

[The Surveyor]

Picked up my Chimaera from Hexham on Saturday and they have done an excellant job on the front suspension / 4 wheel allignment / waxoil work that was asked. they even washed and hoovered it.

But they have given me a list of items that will need attention including a PAS fluid leak, minor oil leaks and perished drive shaft gaiters.

Question is, how DIY-able are the drive shafts. I haven't had a look under the back end yet, but the Bible doesn't describe how to remove these, only what they are?. It is clear that there is a six bolt flange connection at the diff end, but is this repeated at the hub end, is there a seperate bolted connection, or is it just a splined shaft that can be withdrawn?

[david beer]

Probably get told off for this, mine are done in and i have just bought some that can be just put on, no need to remove anything.Pop them on and glue the seal, put the ties on and thats it. Whether they will survive, we will see !

[martyn911]

Replacement diy gaiters which glue together have worked well on several cars of mine. You just have to make sure they are spotless before glue is applied

[shpub]

Pages 231-232 2nd Edition.
Remove joints, slide off old and slide on new.

Would have thought the sticky ones are worth a try but keep a watch on them to make sure that there are no problems.

[joospeed]

The genuine one piece items are only about a fiver each or something, and will take you an hour per side to do all four gaiters ..

[The Surveyor]

Steve

I have your 2nd edition book and the section on driveshafts shows an exploded isometric drawing of the drive shaft which is all nice and clear. the drawing shows CV's on both ends, with the six bolt flanges. My concern was whether the hub end is the same as the diff end, and also whether there is physically enough room to withdraw these from the suspension without splitting the suspension and swinging the up-right out of the way.

I would like to fit the standard gaiters myself if this is relatively simple, but if the suspension needs dismantling, it off to the experts in Hexham.

[Podie]

PAS… they all leak… usually from the bottom of the reservoir… crappy design.

Minor oil leaks… sometimes cheaper to keep filling up than having it repaired… but depends where they are coming from.

Drive shaft gaiters will cost more in labour than parts if you get my drift.. But need to be done.

[The Surveyor]

Thanks Podie

Agree with the oil leak issue, they are not to bad and may just leave tham to keep the chassis free from rust. Have reviewed the PAS leak as its comming from the input shaft oil seal.

Would also agree with the drive shafts, as they will need replacing, but would prefer to use full gaiters rarther than the glued ones!

The question remains as to how easy these are to remove?

[Podie]

The Surveyor said:

Thanks Podie Agree with the oil leak issue, they are not to bad and may just leave tham to keep the chassis free from rust. Have reviewed the PAS leak as its comming from the input shaft oil seal. Would also agree with the drive shafts, as they will need replacing, but would prefer to use full gaiters rarther than the glued ones! The question remains as to how easy these are to remove?

PAS leak seems quite common... virtually every PAS car I looked at was suffering from it. It's a cheap design which isn't as good as it should be…

Must admit I though the drive shaft gaiters were an on-the-ramp job.. Seem to recall about an hours labour each side when I was looking at some history bills when I was buying...

[martinipaul]

Hi all, can anyone reccommend a good online / mail order supplier for a set of replacement drive shaft gaiters? I'm hopeing to to have the car on the stands for a few days over chrismas and replace the gaiters and fit the Steve Heath Drop links at the same time.

Do I need to watch out for anything in particular (like preserving suspension geometry) with these jobs? How easy is it to get the drive shafts out? I guess with the drop links you just start by setting to equal lengths, same length as the originals

would appreciate any tips

Paul

[GreenV8S]

I wouldn't bother replacing the CV gaiters unless you need to.

[martinipaul]

I do - one is split so i thought i might as well do both on that side at least

then i guess the two on the other side could be close to going?

[that daddy]

dont bother with the split/glued gaiters they dont last and in my opinion are a BODGE,why dont you get the genuine ford MK3 granada scorpio gaiters i would have thought they are still available an they will last years.failing that go to your local motor factors and they can match em up,there nothing special in dimensions,word of advice get proper quality tools for the flange bolts there tight and you only get one go at undoing them if you use poor tools or slip out the bolt head your in trouble.good luck messy though.

[martinipaul]

thanks for the reply daddy - yes I want use the proper gaiters, didn't know they were Mk3 Granada parts, I will try my local dealer / factors next week.

[v8sag]

If you can't get Granada one's,Toyota Hilux are a good fit,don't forget to get a circlip tool for undoing the drivshafts from the Cv's.

[that daddy]

if those HI LUX one,s are fitted then you will never have to do them again,genuine toyota of course,great tip.V8 sag.

[martinipaul]

....does anyone know what torque setting to use for the CV joint bolts? Doesn't seem to be specified in the bible. Thanks, Paul

[that daddy]

paul if know one comes up with the goods just use the torque settings off a ford sierra cossie/granada etc,you wont go wrong with them.or just tight with a little nip of blue locking compound on each bolt(DONT USE THE RED ONE).

[martinipaul]

ok thanks I'll look into finding the ford data. I've been looking through the forums and have found two lots of data for the chim CV joint bolt torque setting:

useful looking torque setting list at: www.thegriffithpages.com/modifications/chassis-modifications/torque-settings.html which says 32-35 lbft

and a pistonheads forum post www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=140791&f=13&h=0&hw=torque+settings advising 45lbft

anyone know which one to trust??

[seasider]

martinipaul said:

ok thanks I'll look into finding the ford data. I've been looking through the forums and have found two lots of data for the chim CV joint bolt torque setting:

useful looking torque setting list at: www.thegriffithpages.com/modifications/chassis-modifications/torque-settings.html which says 32-35 lbft

and a pistonheads forum post www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=140791&f=13&h=0&hw=torque+settings advising 45lbft

anyone know which one to trust??

Ooops just looked at my original print that Simon copied for the Griff pages & its 32-35 !!

Looks like mine are done up a bit tighter