I am trying to remove the left hand side drive-shaft for boot replacement. The Haynes manual says to remove the inner CVJoint from the diff housing, simply pry it out with a bar. I have almost bent a quality tyre iron and the joint is still firmly in place. It is not seized as it slides about 4mm in & out quite freely, but at the end of that travel it comes up against something solid. In the exploded illustration of the assembly there seems to be a circlip on the end of the shaft. Is that somehow removable prior to pulling out the cv joint? Or, is there something else holding it in place?
========================== There's a secret. I went through the exact same thing. You do need a good pry bar. I found one at NAPA that has been very useful for a variety of other purposes. Cost around $30, one end was tapered, the main point is that it was very sturdy - solid quality construction. I also used a pipe as a "cheater bar" extension to gain an overall length of apx. 18 - 24 inches. But here is the secret. The Factory Service Manual tells you to position the open ends of the circlip at the bottom when installing the new axle. If you have a replacement axle, look at the installed circlip and notice how that when the gap is as the top, the solid part of the clip hangs down slightly at the bottom, whereas when the gap is at the bottom, the solid part is recessed into the groove near the end of the axle at the top. That is the position you want the clip prior to removing the axle. The problem is that you cannot see the circlip on the installed axle end inside the differential. Here's how it is done. Push the axle in slightly and rotate it apx. one third turn. Then pry with enough force to see if it will move, but not such pressure that you damage the clip. If not successful, turn the axle another one third turn, push in attempting to get that clip to drop into position, and pry again. Then turn and try again. You want that clip to slip into the proper position. When you get it right, the axle will slip out relatively easily after overcoming the initial resistance of the clip.
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