Axle Shaft Inner Joint & Seal: Reassembly
WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2003 Cadillac Escalade EXT, 2003 Cadillac Escalade ESV, 2003 Cadillac Escalade, 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT, and 2002 Cadillac Escalade. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.
- Place the new small seal clamp onto the small end of the joint seal. Compress the joint seal and small seal clamp onto the axle shaft bar. Position the small end of the joint seal into the joint seal groove on the axle shaft bar. See Fig 1 .
- Secure the small seal clamp with Axle Shaft Seal Clamp Pliers, or equivalent, a breaker bar, and a torque wrench. Tighten the small seal clamp to specifications. See TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS . Inspect the gap dimension on the clamp ear. Continue tightening until the gap dimension is reached. Gap dimension is .085" (2.15 mm). See Fig 2 .
- Assemble the tripot joint with the convolute retainer in the correct position, as illustrated. See Fig 3 . Install the convolute retainer tool over the inboard joint seal, being sure to capture 2-5 convolutions.
- Install the tripot spider assembly onto the axle shaft bar. Install the spacer ring in the groove at the end of the axle shaft bar. Pack the tripot seal and the tripot housing with the grease supplied in the kit. The amount of grease supplied in this kit has been pre-measured for this application.
- Assemble the tripot housing and the tripot seal using the following procedure:
- Pinch the swage ring slightly by hand in order to distort it into an oval shape.
- Slide the distorted swage ring over the large diameter of the seal.
- Place the tripot housing over the spider assembly.
- Install the seal onto the tripot housing.
- Align the tripot seal, with the swage ring in place, over the flat area on the tripot housing.
- Assemble the bolts and the support plate to the base of the Axle Shaft Clamp Swage Tool and secure the base in a vise.
- Position the inboard end (tripot end) of the axle shaft assembly into the base of the Axle Shaft Clamp Swage Tool. Install the top half of the Axle Shaft Clamp Swage Tool.
- Align the swage ring and the swage ring clamp. Insert the bolts. Hand tighten the bolts until the bolts are snug. Align the following during this procedure:
- The tripot boot.
- The tripot housing.
- The swage ring.
- Tighten each bolt 180 degrees at a time. Alternate between the bolts until both sides of the top half of the tool touch the bottom half.
- Loosen the bolts and remove the axle shaft assembly from the tool.
- Inspect the inboard stroke position, using measurement "A". See Fig 4 .
- Remove the convolute retainer tool from the boot.