1990 L300 auto free hub lockring install.

[north54]

Hey all, this job is my last "to do" of 2013 so I hope I can get it resolved here. So when you unscrew the Auto free hub cap on your front wheel you will see a splined shaft about 1.5" in diameter. On the end of this drive shaft is a lockring. My lockring came off somehow and I tried a couple of months ago to get it back on to no avail. Just couldn't pull the 4wd axle toward me enough to get the ring back on. I tried it when I was parked in 2L. All I needed was a frustrating 2mm more clearance or so...

So if I try it while shifted in 4wd will it give me more clearance to put the ring back on? Any ideas are great.

Cheers

[Firesong]

I don't think it will. I remember that all to well. Have to pull the shaft out with your grip and pop it on.

[north54]

Thanks Firesong. I'm guessing if I jacked up the right wheel only it would help making that axle straight and thus making it easier to pull.

[thelazygreenfox]

Jack up the front side youre working on ,with the wheel removed reach inside to the CV joint and pull it towards you. Use snap ring pliers to spread the ring. If the snap ring is too large bend it inwards . slip on the snap ring and you're done.
Tlgf

[Firesong]

It's hard. That shaft always wants to push in. Once the shaft is pulled out as much as I could get it I always ended up using it for leverage and it would sink back in.

I had a nifty '2-flat screwdriver ' system. The key was to make sure it's in the groove. Tap it with a hammer to make sure it's seated 'not too hard'

[north54]

I got it on and it was much easier with this tip: Clamp some vice grips on the CV joint near the shock, then use a pry bar to lever between the vice grips and shock. It gives a few more mm's of leverage to get the ring on. Cheers

[delicawannabe2]

Hi there,
I'm trying to reinstall the lock ring after replacing my lower ball joint and I'm not having much luck. I currently have everything I took off reassembled, upper ball joint, lower ball joint, tie rod end and shock. Just wondering if it would make a difference if I loosened all the those components back off in order to get more movement out of the drive shaft?

Thanks

[Growlerbearnz]

Loosening all the bolts is a good idea when reassembling. No point loosening the taper pin nuts, but loosening the other bolts that hold the balljoints in place might give you a little more movement.

You're following the workshop manual, right? Have you checked that there is actually enough clearance and that none of the shims have fallen into the groove and are blocking the snap ring? Maybe do a test run without the shims, just to confirm that there's actually enough room.

It's a pain of a job, even with everything going right. You might need an assistant pushing from behind to hold the CV joint hard into the hub. Proper blind snap ring pliers make the job a lot easier.

Don't forget to install the snap ring with the sharp edges facing outwards.

[delicawannabe2]

Thanks Growlerbearnz

Yup I'm following the manual. There's only one shim and as you suggested I'll do a dry run without it and loosen all of the other components and I had already filed the flared out edges of the ring.

If I can get only the ring on, would it be alright to do without the shim?

[Growlerbearnz]

Ideally you'd add or remove shims until you have the clearance the manual says, but I've seen a few vans with no shims at all so it's probably ok.

[delicawannabe2]

Thanks a lot. I finally got the ring installed, minus the shim however. Now I have to tackle the driver side hopefully that will go a little bit smoother.