Outer Joint & Seal: Disassembly
WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2003 Pontiac Montana, 2003 Oldsmobile Silhouette, and 2003 Chevrolet Venture. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.
- Remove the small seal clamp from the axle shaft bar using side cutters and discard the clamp. Remove the large seal clamp from the tripod joint with side cutters and discard the clamp. See Fig 1 . Separate the axle shaft outboard seal from the trilobal tripod bushing. Slide the seal away from the joint along the axle shaft bar.
- Remove the housing from the tripod joint spider and the axle shaft bar. Reference mark the position of the tripod spider on the axle shaft bar. Using a brass drift and hammer, carefully tap around the tripod spider face in order to compress the barrel retaining ring on the axle shaft bar.
- Remove the tripod spider from the axle shaft bar. Remove and discard the barrel retaining ring from the axle shaft bar. Remove the joint seal from the axle shaft bar. See Fig 1 .
- Inspect the following parts for damage or wear:
- The axle shaft inboard seal.
- The tripod joint spider assembly.
- The housing.
- The trilobal tripod bushing.