Front Drive Axle ('half shaft") replacement - 2001 Intrepid

Hi Phil. I did the passenger side on my '99 Concorde one time. I only ran into one snag, but that went away once I figured out the trick to it

- which I will pass on to you now. The problem was that when I pried outward on the innermost part of the axle to dislodge it from the tranny stub, it wouldn't come out. I finally figured that, due to the shape of things, most of the prying force was going in a radial direction and causing a binding - prying harder didn't help. Once I realized what was happening, I applied two levers at one time on opposite sides of the axle (more like 120° apart - again, due to the shape of the axle) to minimize the side-wise force and binding, and it popped right out. It was rather awkward to manage the two levers simultaneously, but it only needed a second of the dual lever action to get it out - if it had taken longer, I probably wouldn't have been physically able to do it (or would have needed a helper). I think the pros maybe have a slide hammer type deal with a clevis that grips the tranny end of the axle - that would have worked really well since it applies a purely axial force.

Also, if there seems to be a bit more radial play in the tranny stub (which gets amplified by the axle length) than you expect, don't let that alarm you - it's normal (and if I had known that, I probably would not have needed to replace the axle - I had let a shop convince me that the axle was bad when it really wasn't).

HTH!

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Oh, one more thing - pushing the axle stub out of the bearing/hub assembly is straight forward. Sometimes the stub is tight and needs a good strong puller, other times, it slips out by hand. If it is stubborn (corroded, tight due to tolearance stackups, or whatever), a moderately decent three-legged puller is a must. A two-legged puller will just flip over to one side or the other when the force starts building. (I do not like the "hit it really hard with a big hammer" method that a lot of people seem to be comfortable with.)

Pay attention to the fit of the control arm ball joint stud in the bottom of the knuckle when you are putting things back together. Check the condition of the keeper bolt and make sure it properly lines up and goes thru the relief in the side of the ball joint stud. That's a single point failure for your whole wheel coming off. Use the specified torque on that bolt - no more - no less. It's a non-tapered clevis joint (makes removal really easy - no puller needed).

I guess that was two more things.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Thanks for all of that Bill. Much appreciated.

Any difficulty with the retainer clip (circlip) on the inner end of the shaft ?

You're welcome, and no.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')