As I don’t know if the CV joint is also goosed, I recon your better off removing the lot (not splitting the tripod joint). From memory (was only last night).
Drain gear oil. The drain plug faces rearwards – if it don’t you either looking at the filler hole (same size as the sump plug) or the wrong gearbox.
Remove hub cap and put wheels back on ground with wheel bolds in (no jack or axle stands).
May be possible to un stake the hub nut a bit which will help
Put handbrake on (and foot brake if poss) and crack off the hub nut – 30mm socket and breaker bar needed and as it’s soooo tight the car must be on the ground or you will pull it off the axle stands! Don’t do it the Haynes way lol.
When hub nut Is cracked and spinning free, raise car and put on axle stand, remove road wheel.
Split the steering ball joint with a ball joins splitter tool.
Remove the calliper as if you were going to replace the pads and tie up to one side
Remove the 2 strut to hub carrier nuts and bolts (located at the bottom of the strut). Cairfull it don’t let the track control arm fly downwards and hit your knee – have a jack underneath.
Remove the hub nut and tap the drive shaft through the hub carrier using a soft mallet or with a wooden block so as not to distort the drive shaft end. Once it’s moving free it should pull through by hand
Lower the track control arm, but support the outer end of the drive shaft so you don’t put all the weight on the inner tripoid joint.
With a big chisel and hammer, engage into the gap where drive shaft enters gearbox and strike it sideways so as to pull the drive shaft out of the differential. It’s held in by a clip (see arrow on attached pic) which you have to overcome without destroying the gearbox casing. It’s hard to describe and hard to do.. but once you’ve mastered it everyone will tell you it’s the wrong way of doing it.
Decide that it’s easier to pay Louie for his known good one than have your dad in tears as he tries his best to remove a DS.
with only 5 commas
