Disassembly Procedure

This procedure is to be performed only after the wheel drive shaft has been removed from the vehicle. Refer to Front Wheel Drive Shaft Replacement - Left Side  or Front Wheel Drive Shaft Replacement - Right Side .

1. Wrap a shop towel around the wheel drive shaft bar.
2. Place the wheel drive shaft horizontally in a bench vise.
3. Remove the small seal clamp from the wheel drive shaft bar using side cutters and discard the clamp.
4. Using the J 35566  or equivalent, unlatch the large seal retaining clamp. See Special Tools .
5. Remove the large seal clamp from the tripot joint and the clamp.
6. Separate the wheel drive shaft inboard seal from the trilobal tripot bushing.
7. Slide the seal away from the joint along the wheel drive shaft bar.
Fig 1: View Of Housing, Tripot Joint Spider & Halfshaft Bar
Courtesy of GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
8. Remove the housing (1) from the tripot joint spider and the wheel drive shaft bar (2).
Fig 2: View Of Wheel Drive Shaft Bar Retaining Ring
Courtesy of GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT reuse the old retaining ring, discard and replace with new.
9. Using the J 8059  or equivalent, remove the retaining ring.
IMPORTANT: Accurately reference mark the tripot spider position on the wheel drive shaft bar before disassembly.
Fig 3: Compressing Barrel Retaining Ring On Wheel Drive Shaft Bar
Courtesy of GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
10. Reference mark the position of the tripot spider (1) on the wheel drive shaft bar (2).
11. Using a brass drift and hammer, carefully tap around the tripot spider to remove the tripot spider (1) from the wheel drive shaft bar.
12. Remove the joint seal from the wheel drive shaft bar.
13. Inspect the following parts for damage and/or wear:
    • The wheel drive shaft inboard seal
    • The tripot joint spider assembly
    • The housing
    • The trilobal tripot bushing