[Vwdiesel] Drive Flange

[Nate Wall]

I think that spring holds the flange against the
circlip so it won't come loose.

There are two types of pliers for "C" clips. Some
clips have little tiny holes fingers (points) of the
pliers fit into, others are just like a "C" (are these
called circlips?) Pliers for these look like needle
nose pliers that got flattened out on the tip. Press
the handle and they expand. I believe Craftsman sells
both types and not for much.

I never had a wheel lock up after replacing the drive
axle.

Damn, I noticed last night a really bad leaking axle
seal on the Jetta TD I bought a couple of months ago.
Oil just dripped out and fast after I jacked up one
side of the car to get the T-Belt off. I guess I will
in fact be doing another one. Who here replaces the
flange at the same time like Bentley says to (because
a groove gets worn into the old flange)? I did the
last tome and it was $80 from the dealer!

--Nate
--- jonathan hoehl <jjhoehl at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Dang, I think I need to try those circlip pliers.  I
> don't even know what
> they might look like, but they have to be better
> than what I did. I squished
> the clip under a bolt and washer, then hammered on
> screwdrivers to get the
> clip on.  Finally - I know I don't want to ever do
> that again!
>
> I think I might have made a big mistake though.  I
> left-out the big coil
> spring between the flange and diff.  I guess now I
> know what the puller tool
> was for.  I was being dumb and didn't take the time
> to figure-out what was
> happening in the Bentley pictures.
>
> Well, I didn't think the spring would really matter,
> does it?  I guessed it
> might have been the 'minislip' part of the diff
> because this was a GTI
> tranny.  I know - diesel! - but, I had to ask the
> question here because you
> guys really know what you're talking about.
>
> Actually there's now a bigger problem.  When I
> torqued the axle nut, the
> wheel wouldn't spin anymore.  Did I just crush the
> wheel bearings?  I swear
> the back of the 'new' CV is touching the upright.
> Has that ever happend to
> you before?
>
> Thanks Nate
>
> Jon
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >From: Nate Wall <natewall1 at yahoo.com>
> >To: jonathan hoehl <jjhoehl at hotmail.com>
> >Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] circlips
> >Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 06:47:02 -0700 (PDT)
> >
> >Hi Jon:
> >
> >I did one (side) and will never again unless I have
> >that tool! I made a tool, but it was not beefey
> >enough. I took the metal ruler from a carpender's
> >square (any flat steel stock about 10 inches long/1
> >in. wide should do) and drilled a half inch hole in
> >the center. I bent it into a "U" using a blow torch
> >and vice , being wide enough to contact the outter
> >areas of the flange. I used a long metric bolt and
> two
> >matching nuts and threaded it into the flange and
> used
> >two nuts on each side of the "U" to thread it down
> >against the flange and compress its spring. It
> >actually worked, but deformed somewhat under the
> >flange spring tension. Got the old flange off and
> the
> >new seal in o.k., but I found it impossible to seat
> >the new circlip on the stub that that the flange
> fits
> >onto. After I had the spring compressed and the
> drive
> >flange pressed past the circlip recess by "my"
> tool, I
> >attempted to put the circlip on. As I expanded it
> w/
> >the special circlip pliers it would permanently
> bend I
> >kept bending it back and trying again. Even w/ the
> >correct tool, this may happen. I never got it
> squarly
> >seated and its not come off yet.
> >
> >--Nate
> >--- jonathan hoehl <jjhoehl at hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > Hello everyone!
> > >
> > > Driving my rabbit today, the noises from my
> > > driveshaft were finally starting
> > > to sound scary.  My rabbit has also been leaking
> > > tranny fluid for quite a
> > > while, so I figured I would replace the oil seal
> > > behind the drive flange
> > > too.  I've never done one of these seals before.
>  I
> > > got the feeling I was
> > > opening a can of worms when I had so much
> trouble
> > > getting the circlip off.
> > >
> > > I got the flange off, and got a new seal back in
> OK.
> > >  So, here's the problem
> > > - how do you put the circlip back on?
> > >
> > > The Bentley shows a special tool I know.  I
> tried
> > > hammering a socket over
> > > it, screwdrivers all day, threading bolts in
> with
> > > washers... I just couldn't
> > > get in back on.  Does anyone out there have any
> > > tricks they could share?
> > >
> > > Thanks for any help
> > >
> > > Jon
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
>
>_________________________________________________________________




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