Would I be foolish to attempt this myself?

That looks the fella if they said it was for the front ARB.

For that price I'd change the pair.
 
Not sure I'd attempt a drive shaft as my first foray into mechanics.

At a guess you're going to be up against a bunch of rusty nuts before you get to release the steering knuckle from the strut, so some penetrating oil would be handy. You'll probably want a ball joint splitter so you don't damage your tie rod end, and then there's the circlip on the gearbox end of the driveshaft - you'll need some sort of puller or a crowbar to lever it out without damaging the gearbox. Also if it's anything like other Ford gearboxes you'll have to deal with the gearbox oil needing to be refilled too.

Pricing up some of the tools that will make your life easier means your £35 driveshaft just suddenly became a lot less attractive.

Understanding the instructions in a Haynes is one thing, but implementing it is a whole different world... If you're going to actually make this worthwhile, then you're going to need to invest in some decent tools and ideally start off with something a bit easier. But hey, don't let me discourage you ;)
 
If the driveshaft set-up is the same as the Focus ST I'd be pretty certain there isn't a circlip holding in the driveshaft to the gearbox - they just pull out, and when mine have been out for gearbox/clutch job and replacing a boot the struts stayed in the knuckle.

But can't remember exactly how they got enough movement in the knuckle to get the driveshaft out of the hub before pulling the other end out of the gearbox......and this was done on a 2 post lift maybe using a gearbox stand to jack up the knuckle or drop the car down onto it with the lift.

For a garage which has changed tons of the things they do it so quickly you hardly notice what's happening. And good point about the gearbox oil, care needed too putting the driveshaft back into the gearbox so you don't damage the oil seal.

Wouldn't hurt to research it as much as possible including youtube videos, and have a back-up plan/mate ready if you get stuck.
 
Galaxy said:
Not sure I'd attempt a drive shaft as my first foray into mechanics.

At a guess you're going to be up against a bunch of rusty nuts before you get to release the steering knuckle from the strut, so some penetrating oil would be handy. You'll probably want a ball joint splitter so you don't damage your tie rod end, and then there's the circlip on the gearbox end of the driveshaft - you'll need some sort of puller or a crowbar to lever it out without damaging the gearbox. Also if it's anything like other Ford gearboxes you'll have to deal with the gearbox oil needing to be refilled too.

Pricing up some of the tools that will make your life easier means your £35 driveshaft just suddenly became a lot less attractive.
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He bought a cv joint not a driveshaft. I presume mondys are mcpherson so you do not need to split the track rod end either. Simply undo the shock and hub nut and squeeze the driveshaft out. Then pop the c.v off with a hammer.
 
1) £35 for driveshalf or even a CV joint seems cheap.

2) The wheelnuts on a Ford do not hold the bearing in place.

3) The large tapered nut that holds the bearing in place is torqued tight and not get slackened back like the rear drum type on cars which uses a splitpin to stop it coming any more loose.

The nut is only supposed to be used once and replaced because it has a soft allow shoulder than you bend into a groove in the drive shaft to stop it coming loose.


Rear Drums :

PICT0817.jpg


The front uses a taper bearing so it is tightened tight and wheel still turns.

Front Hub with Taper (soft shouldered) Nut (see its damaged where its been in the groove before it was slackened)

03022008103.jpg



I had a mate who put his car into a garage from a new CV joint or bearing or such and they reused the old nut and a few days later his CV joint came loose and car fell down at that side and wheel damaged his arch as well as he grinded to a halt luckily it was in a 30 zone pulling out his street.
 
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mrgubby said:
As soon as you get the wheel off put it under the car, I've heard too many stories of failed axle stands / crap jack points & soft driveways.
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has this happen 2 times, once getting a gear box out got out from under the car and the went to the floor. and the secound time was both rear wheels wer off and jack gave way and the car rolled over the chock ( was on a small hill) and rolled down the road 5 foot with no rear wheels. i just laughed but if some one was under it, would have ended very differently.
 
Massive anti climax incoming..

Loosened hub nut, jacked car, placed on axle stands. All simple.

Then the fun begins. Almost every chuffing bolt I need to loosen is seized tight. Now I'm not a wimpy guy. I'm like 15 stone. I spray all of them with penetrative stuff and let them soak. Some eventually crack loose with force. Others are starting to round off nuts.

I get grubby, I get sweaty. And I get defeated :-(.

That's 30-40 quid spent on tools and a Haynes manual. (which is bloody confusing for a noob by the way Lol).

I've put it all back together and I'm gonna wallow in a feeling of incompetence.

It was looking like I would damage the things I couldn't loosen. So rather than get in a pickle on drive I'll leave it to a pro with an impact gun.

How disappointing :-(

Gonna change my drop links though because I saw how easy that will be. And also now I see how brake disks are changed too. So I've learned a little bit.
 
ayyy don't stress it! we all have to start somewhere, you gave it a go and used your better judgement to quit before you caused more work for the pros at more expensive to yourself. I'd say partial success ;) as you said, you've learned somethings so now those other jobs should be a bit easier too :)

ay the haynes can be super confusing, still got my escort one and some of the descriptions are just mind boggling! :p




on a semi-related side note :p was watching some youtube videos of this "Car Mechanic Simulator 2014" last night. looks pretty fun to be fair xD does have quite a level of detail. would be amazing if you could mod it so it was near enough 100% accurate for a specified car. could use it as a practice tool then. think i'm going to buy it tonight for the £15 on steam and stream it when i get back from the pub :p
 
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jh30uk said:
1) £35 for driveshalf or even a CV joint seems cheap.
Click to expand...

I have had a £30 C.V joint on my car for the past 3 years without any trouble. I only replaced it because the old one had a cracked ABS ring and took a punt as it was only a couple of quid extra than pressing a new ABS ring onto the old C.V.
 
Well done for giving it a go but also calling a halt when things got beyond it being the basic job it should have been.

There's all sorts of tricks and tools to help get rounded nuts and bolts off, but worst case is when one snaps and then it gets more complicated. Not impossible but obviously turns a basic job into a bit of a biggie.

Drop links should be nice and simples, they're an example where it's tricky to torque them up without a special tool (crow's foot) if the ball joint starts to spin and you need to hold it in place. Nice and tight with an allen key and ring spanner will do the trick :)
 
Well since I failed I got a garage to do it. He fitted it and a droplink whilst there for £60

Cant really complain at that. Just goes to show how easy life is when you have all the tools and easy access.

Gonna do my driver side drop link this week though. Shouldnt be an issue.
 
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