outer CV removal - where is the circlip?

[polskamafia mjl]

I've admitted defeat. I'm going to run it over to a mechanic and have them pull it apart tomorrow.

[erikv11]

I've admitted defeat. I'm going to run it over to a mechanic and have them pull it apart tomorrow.

Am I missing something - why not do it the regular way then, just remove the outer CV and do both boots from there? After all your wrestling with the inner, you might find the clip on outer not too bad. If you do go to the mechanic, definitely have them just pull the outer CV for you, not the inner. No bending, goes back on super easy.

[polskamafia mjl]

I did give a half hearted attempt at the inner CV joint. On the turbo axles it involves bending back the lip that prevents the tripod bearing from coming out all of the way. I was concerned about deforming the metal too much and having issues with the new CV boot slipping off.

Long story short I was frustrated and decided to give it a rest. I still have the driver side axle to do (no tears yet, just light cracking). Assuming those boots don't rip before the spring time I'll revisit this job then. A heavier hammer and a better drift I hope will make all the difference.

[erikv11]

I hear you on the inner, maybe give up on it totally.

But do you realize that by removing only the outer CV joint, you can replace both the inner and outer boots?

[j-dawg]

Dead thread revival - I'm baffled about this on my V70's axles. 99 T5 manual, which seems relevant because there are some changes between years, engines, and transmissions, though I seem to share most in common with erikv11's 850, which, if it's one of the ones in his signature, is an older NA car. As in his case, there are no apparent circlips on the inner race of the outer CV joint, but something is holding it on and it's not clear to me what.

I've got my boot off but can't get the CV apart (pictures below). I gave it a few pretty good whacks through a drift and now it'll slide in and out by ~1/8" easily, but it's catching on something. I'm afraid I've damaged it and I've definitely put some chips of wood in it, so I must disassemble this joint and clean/inspect it before I'm confident repacking, re-booting, and reinstalling.

Based on the first few responses in the thread it sounds like:
- there is some version of this axle on which there is an accessible circlip in the outer joint (pictured in Misha's post, cn90's thread, and the Volvospeed post cn90 links in that thread)
- there is some version that does not have an accessible clip but just takes some vigorous whacking to remove (referenced in mikealder's post, and apparently what erikv11 has)
- there is some procedure for one or another of these axles - not clear which - that involves hitting the inner race, possibly extremely hard, and then rotating the axle. At the very least the orientation is important.

Can someone who's done this explain how these pieces of information fit together? Pictured is my axle. The circular cutout for circlip access is absolutely, positively not present, so i have the second version referenced above.

[j-dawg]

Update: yeah, just hammer it. Here's the circlip holding that CV joint together. It's entirely contained within the inner race of the outer CV joint, and there no access hole for it. Nothing to do but whack the race until the ring squishes in and let's the CV slide.

It didn't take a ton of force. I used a 1 lb sledge and a drift of 3/8" round aluminum stock. A few good whacks - I am not a big guy, and it did not take all my strength, but they were sharp blows - popped the race off the ring, whereafter I could pull the CV joint off by hand.

[erikv11]

Thanks for posting this great info j-dawg about 99+ axles.

For the record, every axle I have worked on in 95-98 P80 cars has had the big circular cutout for accessing the circlip in the outer CV joint. Those have all been straightforward to remove, turbo or NA.

[j-dawg]

There are other axle changes with 99 cars too, so it's not surprising that that's the year the CVs change to the newer style.

[abscate]

The Cvs on the 1999 go from the cross type in 1998 to the six ball and cage design in 99

[j-dawg]

Per the Haynes manuals I have, the inner CV being a ball/cage vs a tripod is dependent on manual vs auto transmission on the S60 as well as the S70. The text is exactly the same in both manuals, though, so it may have just been copied over without any verification.