How To Remove A Driveshaft From A GT

[turbotog]

Hi! You guys and this forum are extremely helpful, so I thought I would start taking some pictures and creating a "how to" on any jobs I end up doing when possible!

Here is a "how to" for removing a driveshaft/Axel from a Renault Twingo GT (should be similar on the 1.2 and RS aswell)

Disclaimer : Please be careful whilst performing any work on a vehicle, they are a heavy item and can very easily cause serious injury or even death.
Make sure the vehicle is parked on a flat level surface and use jack stands and any other nessesary safety all times. Try not to rock the car in any violent motion whilst it is lifted.
If at any time you are unsure of what to do, take it to a professional (or ask on this forum )

1. Whilst the car is parked, ensure the handbrake is on.

2. Remove any centre wheel cap / cover to gain access to the hub nut. (one in the middle of your wheel)



3. Whilst the car is still on the ground, use a 30mm socket to loosen the hub nut.. it will likely require some gentle force to get it going without an impact wrench, I used a 6 ft breaker bar.
Be careful as your socket will likely try to fall off the bolt, so use a jack under the socket to support it. see below:



I took this pic after I had jacked up the car because I forgot to take a pic when the car was on the floor. ENSURE THIS BOLT IS LOOSENED FIRST WHILST ON THE GROUND.

4. Loosen the wheel nuts slightly before jacking up the vehicle.

5. Jack up the front of the vehicle - be careful here and follow any safety guidlines in the disclaimer. ensure the vehicle is stable!

6. Remove the wheel bolts and wheel.

7. Fully loosen the hub nut as above (use a screwdriver in between the rotor and caliper to stop it spinning or have a friend hold on the brakes)

8. Using the screwdriver technique above, remove the rotor/disc support screws on the hub x 2 torx - ensure to use the correct sized one, as they round easy!



9. Remove 2 18mm bolts on the back of the caliper. Remove caliper from the rotor and support by cable tie to the spring or carefully rest it on the lower arm ( DO NOT LET IT HANG FROM THE BRAKE CABLE!) you can now also remove the disc brake. (if it is stuck, hit it with a rubber mallet or a hammer (use a piece of wood to strike), hitting side to side, top to bottom)



10. Remove tie / track rod end by removing the top nut (17mm).
then a few gentle taps with a peice of wood and a hammer from the top of the bolt should remove it.





11. Remove the ABS sensor. Start by removing the retaining bolt (torx - check fitment as it rounds easily) then use pliers to grip and pull out the sensor. (start by turning it clockwise and anticlockwise, then add an upwards motion - it'll come out!)



12. Remove the 2 x lower ball joint bolts/nuts where it connects to the lower arm ( easier than popping out out the joint)



13.. Remove the 2 x 18mm bolts from the hub / knuckle to the suspension strut.





14. (ONLY REQUIRED ON THE PASSENGERSIDE /NEARSIDE) Drain gearbox oil using 8mm SQUARE. (the plug closest to nearside/left)

The gearbox has a 2.8 Litre capacity - make sure you have something big enough to catch the oil!

15. (ONLY ON THE DRIVERSIDE / OFFSIDE) under the car about halfway up the driverside driveshaft is a mount that holds a bearing thats built onto the driveshaft and helps support this driveshaft as is it longer. It has 2 bolts that require removing (16mm or 18mm I cant remember) to remove half of the mount. the bolt heads are on the top of the mount.

15. Carefully pull the driveshaft outwards and it should pop straight out.. its best to pull by holding the gearbox side of the inner cv joint by the driveshaft to avoid popping the cv joint.
If it doesn't pull out easily, use a crowbar between the cv joint and gearbox to pry it out (passenger side)

continued..

 

[turbotog]

continued...

16. You should now have a driveshaft with your hub/knuckle/lower ball joint stuck to it..
from my experience, you will need a hub puller or press to separate these parts..



(offside/drivers side driveshaft pictured)

Bear in mind you will probably require new bearings aswell as the bearing will probably perish upon removal.

Replacing/refitting should be performed as above, and as you are already removing the track rod ends, its a good idea to check these for wear (loose and knocking, possibly split boot) and you will likely have to have your tracking checked and aligned!

*Use copper grease on the back of your discs between the hub so they dont rust on.
*New disc retaining bolts should be used (or use lock tight.)
*A new hub bolt should be used (or lock tight)
*A new gearbox oil sump gasket is required
*Adhere to any torque settings.

Hope this is helps! if I have made any mistakes or missed something, please let me know and I will edit the post!

Good luck!

Tog

 

[oscar]

how come you've took the hub etc off tog? it's strictly not the wrong way to do it, just seems like you've went from london to glasgow via singapore if you get what i mean lol. all you need to do is remove the steering track rod end and the suspension bolts and then you can pop the driveshaft out from the hub side and then move onto the gearbox side which leaves everything else in place. only one thing to note, the transmission quantity is 3 odd litres i believe but this actual value is unimportant really, you can only fill until it comes level with the level bolt hole at which point it's filled to the correct quantity. perhaps it would be a good idea to update it with what you done with the little metal plate that spooked you lol. glad to see the driveshafts i sent you out fitted though

a good how to mate well done

 

[lgonzalez]

just seems like you've went from london to glasgow via singapore if you get what i mean lol.

think I just died! Never heard that expression before pmsl.

On another note good write up there mate but as Oscar said you have done more than is necessary to remove the driveshaft but that's not saying it's wrong, just that you don't have to take the entire hub off.

 

[turbotog]

Thanks for your input guys! I've seen videos of people just pulling their driveshafts out their hubs.. but unfortunately mine were pretty rusted together - I'll post a pic of what happened to the cheap draper gear puller later..!
Anyway I've used a hydraulic press to remove mine.. took some force, and was getting hard to pump, then, bang! out it popped! with quite some force behind it!
Anyway I've not put it back together yet - took some time getting my mate to grab his press from wherever he had it. blah blah...but a few more pointers for those who need to know..
*gearbox holds 3.4litre (ref. forum topic gt specifications) not my previous quoted amount (ref.some incorrect car part website)
*and also upon reinstallment it is wise to use some oil to help pop the driveshaft back into the gearbox (helps keep the retainer clip straight) and possibly a small amount to ease on the hub to the new driveshaft.. (I'm going to try and use a very small amount of copper grease to try and stop it rusting on again!)

oh and as oscar mentions, if you are missing the small metal cover attatched to the driveshaft on the gearbox join (dust/oil cover) just use your old one by slightly tapping it off with a peice of wood and a hammer from each side until it pops off then use the same method to reinstall on the new driveshaft!

also whilst talking about the driveshafts you sent me.. I've given them a look over (obviously I still haven't fitted them) but on one the inner joint is exceptionally "loose"
as in when you hold it vertically, under the join, it pretty much flops around.. is this normal, as all the other joints are stiff and hard to even move by hand.. just want to clarify before I fit them and fill the box with oil!
hopefully its ok!

cheers anyway and hope this info can help someone else out in the future!

 

[oscar]

yeah that's perfectly normal ; you'd be worried if that wasn't moving.

the inner cv joint (driveshaft inner joint) only serves one purpose ; to slide on it's axis inside of the cv cup. when turning left or right, or going over bumps .. drive shaft needs to increase in length so this is what allows it to change it's length. as a rule of thumb, one always has a much greater travel than the other as one is much longer and the other is much shorter, it's just basic fulcrum thinking there