911/930 axle removal

john bach

GT40s Supporter
i have been told my SPFP2116 has 911/930 axles. ok, so far. now i have torn inner boot. and i have disconnected axle at RBT trans. now my question is how to remove axle from upright. any help would be appreciated. also i have been to "Pacific Customs" on the net and the are advertising a double boot. it goes over the inner boot. anyone tried that yet? as i was working back there i lifted on the threaded axle shaft with brake disc attached and there was a very slight movement, up and down. i would say half of a 1/64th. went to other side and lifted on mounted wheel/tire. same thing. very small movement. just went to garage and checked the still mounted wheel and tried to move from side to side. could not perceive any movement probably because of weight.
 
John,
I'm not sure I understand your question. Removing the axle to replace CV boots should only involve removing the 6 bolts thru each CV. I would not get a double boot considering how close to suspension pieces that would be. A good quality stock boot should hold up for years. If you're asking how to remove the axle outboard of the CV's you need a special tool Olthoff makes. That axle is splined and a very tight fit inside the hub. If there is any play at the hub the wheel bearings need to be tightened. That does involve removing the outboard axle with Olthoff's tool. Last time I knew the tool was about $500. A couple of owners have made their own tool, but it would involve machine shop access.
 
John, if you have unbolted the CV axle at the transaxle end then you may be able to replace both boots (inner and outer) without actually having to remove the axle from the car. In other words, without having to deal with removing the outboard end of the axle.

The CV on the inboard end is held on by a circlip at the end of the shaft. Remove the circlip and the CV will slide off the shaft. With the inboard CV removed you should be able to remove/replace both the inboard and outboard boots. The boots are available from Auto Parts at AutohausAZ - OEM Auto Parts - Discount Replacement Parts, Resources and Car Care Tips for around $15 bucks each. Be sure to appropriately support the inboard end of the axle as you're doing this work.

If you have the inboard CV off and on the bench it's worthwhile taking it apart, cleaning with solvent, and reassembling and repacking with good CV grease. It's an interesting process getting the CV back together and properly packed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GN9ZLdZ10M
 

john bach

GT40s Supporter
thanks for that. i'll try it that way. so from what you say there is a circlip on the outer end also. looks like taking of the brake disc also. right?
 
I'll have to differ with Cliff. Easiest way is just remove all 12 bolts (both CV ends) and work on axle off the car. It's no big deal and much easier to change boots and grease CV's on a workbench. I've done it several times.
 
Well, I like the idea of working on it on the bench, but on my CAV the outboard end didn't have a removable flange..... In other words, to remove the axle from the car required removing a lock nut at the end of the outboard axle wherein the axle was splined into the hub/carrier. That nut has roughly 600 ft/lbs of torque on it to remove, and it ain't easy.

So, if John has a traditional CV axle with bolts and flanges at each end then heck yeah, do it on the bench. As Dave says, that'll be the way to do it. But if it's like the axles on my CAV then it's quite a different matter altogether.
 

john bach

GT40s Supporter
how to make or where to get $500.00 tool or blue print and what does too do?

John,
I'm not sure I understand your question. Removing the axle to replace CV boots should only involve removing the 6 bolts thru each CV. I would not get a double boot considering how close to suspension pieces that would be. A good quality stock boot should hold up for years. If you're asking how to remove the axle outboard of the CV's you need a special tool Olthoff makes. That axle is splined and a very tight fit inside the hub. If there is any play at the hub the wheel bearings need to be tightened. That does involve removing the outboard axle with Olthoff's tool. Last time I knew the tool was about $500. A couple of owners have made their own tool, but it would involve machine shop access.
. john bach here. how to make by blueprint or borrow $500.00 tool" and what does it do? i have access to machine shop.
 

john bach

GT40s Supporter
what does this tool do? can i make it from a blueprint? can i borrow it from a previous user? sure don't want to spend $500.00 if i don't need to. return guaranteed.
 
The part you're trying to remove is the inner stub axle (#23 on schematic). It has a flange that the outer CV bolts to and the other end is threaded for a large nut (#24). It is splined inside the axle hub (#25). You need to remove this to access the wheel bearing adjuster (#3). See schematic of rear hub:
GT40s.com - PhotoPlog - View File
Also attached are photos of the removal and installation tool. The tool with large black object threads on the hub and then is used to push the inner axle inward for removal. 2 black parts are needed since there are right and left handed threads on the hubs. The other tool threads on the inner axle and pulls it outward for installation.
I sent you a PM regarding borrowing my tool.
 

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Howard Jones

Supporter
Are you guys saying that on a SPF you need to remove the stub axle from the upright to remove the axle assemble from the car? I have never seen a two CV joint axle assembly done like this. Why not just unbolt the two CV joints and remove the axel assembly from the car, leaving the stub axle and it's adapter on the upright?

Then clean it up, repack, and replace the boots. Or did I miss something? Somebody take a picture if I'm wrong. I might learn something.
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
I think I'm right on this one.
 

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Are you guys saying that on a SPF you need to remove the stub axle from the upright to remove the axle assemble from the car? I have never seen a two CV joint axle assembly done like this. Why not just unbolt the two CV joints and remove the axel assembly from the car, leaving the stub axle and it's adapter on the upright?

Then clean it up, repack, and replace the boots. Or did I miss something? Somebody take a picture if I'm wrong. I might learn something.

No Howard I didn't say that about SPF. I recommended to the SPF owner to remove the axle from both ends. Cliff said his CAV axle couldn't be removed from both ends. I don't know about CAV's. My other comments concern accessing rear wheel bearings. For this it is necessary to remove the outboard stub axle from the hub on an SPF.
 
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I just so happen to have my 40 apart so I thought I would share some pictures which may clear things up.

You just have to remove the 6 bolts at each end of the axle to remove it. On my car that took an 8 mm allen at one end and a 55 mm torx at the other. Go figure as they look to be the same size. To service the CV joint it looks like you'll have to start by removing the snap ring. As I haven't had the pleasure you're on your own. Looks really messy.

If like me you do need to pull the stub axles to adjust pre-load or replace the bearing you may need the special tools. I've tried many pullers but nothing worked until I got the real thing. Even then I broke one of them and had to put bolts in to repair it. Mine were in that tight. I hope SPF has fixed that problem. The tools are not cheap at around $400.

To remove the stub you first have to remove the 36 mm nut that hold the axle in place then push it out. Be careful like I said I tried many different approaches to remove the axle before getting the right tools. At first I borrowed a set of tools but then had to buy the kind gentleman a new set when I broke his. It ended up OK because I really needed a set of my own.

Just be warned there is a lot of very expensive parts that could take a long time to get back there so don't go beating on things. I've been lucky so far.

So I hope that helps. If you need more pictures or info just let me know. It has helped that I did my own install so I've seen most of this stuff before.
 

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John I looked into making the tools and had to give up. I thought if I could find the right size nuts I would be in, no joy. I wasn't able to find the correct left hand threaded nut. Maybe if you could find modern nut type equivalent to the wing nuts. I'm sure they would be very expensive. Then you would have to bolt on a threaded cross piece then find a big ass bolt to do the pushing. Then there is the matter of the installation tool. I'm sure the tools I have were hardened after they were made. They are really tough. IMHO there are worth every penny I just wish none of us needed them.

If your stub axles are as hard to remove as mine are do yourself a favor and just buy the tools. You never know when you might need them and you don't want to be without them. Because I've done a lot of long distance trips I keep mine under the drivers seat. Maybe if you have someone else in the area you could share but I wouldn't recommend it. My friend Lynn said his just slid out.

Sorry for the bad news. This is something that should have never happened. If I had to guess it boils down to manufacturing tolerances. With a big impact wrench I'm sure the guy on the line doesn't notice how tight the thing goes together.
 
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john bach

GT40s Supporter
really good info. detailed explanations. but, all this just to adjust loose wheel bearings? must be an easier way. and the 36 mm socket to remove # 24 "bolt", this must be a thinwall socket right? i recently talked to Mr. Olthoff and he said "36mm socket" also but pooh pooh'ed the special tool thing, but i do see the photos. i own SPF P2116 and wonder if all SPF 40's are the same. and i am still looking for correct inner cv boot for EMPI axles. did all SPF 40's use EMPI axles?
 

john bach

GT40s Supporter
i was given info for cv boot as GKN Lebro. ok, fine and dandy but lots of GKN Lebro boots there. do you have part no. for boot? sure would narrow it down.
 
Needing the tools will depend on your individual car. I think it was Olthoff that had the tools made then turned around and had special axle$ made that just slipped into place. I've tried several methods but only the expensive tools were able to push my axles out. I seem to be the worst case scenario. I knew this was all thrashed out in another thread and for all thous who haven't you should read it. It's a long but informative thread. http://www.gt40s.com/forum/superformance-gt40s/30710-adjusting-spf-wheel-bearings.html.

I think it would be important for anyone owning a SPF GT-40 to read, understand and remember (that was hard even though I wrote a lot of it) the contents of that thread and many others on this forum. I say this with all candor, this car is not for the uninitiated or faint of heart. It may be that the "newer" cars have fewer issues but it's NOT a Lexus it's a vintage race car with lots and lots of warts. The fact we can drive it on the street at all amazes me. These cars are a labor of love and when I say labor I'm talking delivery room labor. For me it's worth it but it's not everyone's cup of tea. Sorry about that got caught up in the moment.

John not sure it will help but I found a tag on one of my axles.
 

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