Broken retaining clip on CV joint - 1997 850

[DennisCA]

Figured this might merit it's own thread.

Tried to remove the outer CV joint (broken gaiter). I got the driveshaft out easily enough but the damn retainer ring in the CV joint seems to have broken inside the groove and there's no way to expand it. I am now not sure what to do. Force it off with violence? Or do I risk damage to the splines then? Otherwise it seems like my only recourse might be to cut and split it apart with an angle grinder.

[Sveedy]

It looks like the left side tab is intact and I see a bit of the right side. Can you tap the ring counterclockwise and expose the right side ?
If it's broken, then maybe slip a pick under that side and try to expand it then. A two man job regardless.
Worst case is you'll have to use a stretch boot.
https://www.stretchcvboot.com/cv-boots/

[DennisCA]

Nah this CV joint must come off... Now that I know there's a broken part it will not get back on ever. Worst case is me taking the angle grinder the CV joint and splitting it in two to save the shaft.

I've put a pick under the ring to lift it, but it only lifts it at that location, because a part of it is gone I can't bend out the whole ring as intended.

But you can't just violence it off then I assume. I know you can do that with Saab 900 CV axles, the rings just pop off.

[DennisCA]

Got it out. Bent and pried the ring out then pulled it out with some pliers



Then I got the last bit with a slide hammer, the best tool I've ever made. The cheap pick and scribe set was just as good a purchase, without them I wouldn't have gotten the ring pried out enough to get at it.



Cleaned the parts, well not enough to put them back but clean enough for inspection



But it doesn't look good



The rest of the drive shaft is cleaned though, had lots of rust on it so I've gotten the worst of it off, gonna use rust converter then put stone chip paint on it.





What lubricates the bearing that supports the drive shaft? Does it require regreasing or replacing?

[jreed]

I really appreciate the photos above... I'm going to replace the boots on the passenger side axle on my 97 855 GLT soon... helps to see your creative problem solving approach in action above!

[DennisCA]

Thanks! I decided to reuse the CV joint because it's all I got at the moment. After regreasing it feels better than it did before at least. I cleaned every part carefully and then wiped it all down with special wipes (Kimtech science brand) to make sure there as no lint or dirt.

Then I greased all the parts, greased the inside of the CV joint and started putting it all together adding more grease as I went and massaging it in. And all the surplus got squirted into the center of the CV joint and the boot itself.

Also painted the exterior surfaces with stone chip paint here. It's been reassembled now. I guess I need to think about adding some oil to the gearbox now.

One annoying part is the clamps for the boot, didn't fit at all. To get them to work I need to latch them and then compress them (I even bought a tool for it) but they where just too small to fit. I dunno if some kind of special tool needed to be used to get them latched but I didn't have it. So I used hose clamps.



Those really rusty metal parts are sacrificial anodes for an electrolysis bath I had got going on.

[scot850]

The carrier bearing you are asking about is a sealed bearing. The has been threads on it. Volvo still list the bearing. If it is not smooth it is getting to time to replace.

Neil.

[abscate]

Those CV joints are fine. You can run shiny polished marks for 100,000 plus

Even small divots can be knocked down with a file,lots of fresh grease, life is good

[DennisCA]

I'm afraid it still makes noise when turning. So likely I will want to replace it before next winter comes.

[scot850]

Sorry to hear that. After all that work too. Maybe worth seeing if you can find a good used axle and confirm if the issue is the axle?

You did check the hub bearing while the axle was out?

Neil.