Sahil2000

Hi Guys,
this is my first forum post and I would just like to share a quick tip which might save someone some hassle when removing the rear CV axles. I tried looking up other solutions to this problem and there were none which were s2000 specific, and the only other solution involved using a slide hammer and vice grips which would basically destroy the CV bucket. This method preserves the original CV Buckets.

Getting on with it, my s2000 vibrated violently in the rear during acceleration due to worn rear CV Joint buckets. The easy correction for this problem is swapping the CV joint Buckets from side to side, and there is a great thread on here detailing this process which I will link at the bottom of the post. There is also a great video on swapping the buckets by DIYGuys on youtube which I will also link at the bottom.

So on a relatively free Saturday, I decided to take on the repair in my garage. Things were going very smoothly on the driver side of the car and the CV bucket easily slid out of the differential housing. The problem occurred on the passenger side of the vehicle. After removing the bolts holding the CV axle to the CV joint, the CV bucket just would not budge out of the differential housing or spin independently of the differential. By spinning independently, I mean that the flanges on the CV bucket would not freely misalign with the flanges on the differential as circled in the image below, indicating that the CV Bucket and the diff are no longer bonded together (This will be the goal of what we want the CV bucket to be like in relation to the diff so that we can remove them).

The stuck CV joint seemed to be caused by excess rust and oxidization between the differential flange and the CV bucket. Nothing I tried to loosen the two would work. I blasted the area where the joint met the diff with PB blaster and let that soak overnight. The next morning I tried to pull the CV joint off with a rope around it, and it still would not budge. After a few failed attempts I tried something different which actually did work. So in case anyone is in a similar situation, this is the solution that worked for me:

Step 1:
Reattach the CV bucket opposite to the stuck bucket so that the axle opposite the stuck CV bucket is completely connected from differential to wheel hub. If the first CV joint which you are trying to take off is the stuck CV joint, then you can skip this step as the CV joint opposite the stuck one should still be connected to the differential and the axle.


Step 2:
Pull Up the handbrake on your car to lock the rear wheels.

Step 3:
Ensure that your car is very secure on the jack stands on which it is placed, you will be starting the car up on jack stands.

Step 4:
Start the Car up and push the clutch in completely. Put the car in first gear and very gently let out on the clutch. Preferably, have someone watching the seized CV Joint to let you know when the Cv joint becomes free again. This will be easy to spot as the Cv joint and the differential flange will start spinning separately, such as shown in the first image of this post. As soon as the joint is free, push the clutch back in and take the car out of gear ( I only had to let the clutch out about a quarter of the way before my joint became free, you will not have to let the clutch out completely) You can now turn the car off and the CV joint will be free to remove.

This process works on the S2000 because the inboard CV joint has a smooth shaft which connects into the differential which allows it to move independently of the differential flange. This can be seen in the image below. This means that the differential will spin separately from the CV bucket. So when you pull up the handbrake, the CV joint is locked in place. Turning the car on and putting it in first then causes the diff to spin. Since the CV joint is locked and the diff wants to spin, the joint is forced to become unseized. Additionally, THIS WILL NOT WORK ON CARS WITH WELDED DIFFERENTIALS. I don't know why anyone would put a welded diff on an S2000, but this will not work on a welded diff and you will probably mess something up so don't try it. This works on a Torsen diff because it acts like an open diff in low torque settings and allows for one axle to spin while the other is stopped.


So that about sums up my solution. I hope this helps someone in the future, as these cars get older the parts to become harder and harder to remove.

Here are the two aforementioned links
Original CV bucket Swap thread: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-un...y-pics-241367/
DIYGUYS CV Bucket Swap Video:
I also used various images off of the internet, if you own any of these images and have a problem with their use in this post, please pm me and I will have no problem taking them down.
Sources
DIYGuys video Screenshots: Image of CV Bucket: https://www.balladesports.com/produc...passenger-side

Car Analogy

Cool. Use engine torque to cleanly and smoothly apply torque directly where its needed, with no loads in any directions that wouod damage parts. Clever!

Thanks for such a well written post. Sometimes when describing something complicated and unusual, its difficult to get the point across. You did that very effectively. I didn't have to read any of it twice to fully follow along!

Looking forward to your second post on this forum!

Sahil2000

FastUnicorn

Thank you so much for documenting this! This trick worked perfectly!

Car Analogy

BTW, you rightly stated not to do this if someone has a welded diff. But there is still a way to perform your process in that case.

I bet me saying that, you already realized what it is.

If someone somehow had a welded diff, and an axle cup frozen to diff flange, they could just make sure BOTH flanges are disconnected. All diff to axle cup bolts removed for both L and R axles. Then otherwise follow your procedure.

E brake on (or car back on ground), start engine, first gear, slowly let out clutch until it breaks free.