45F Half Shaft Removal ??s

[RokonMan]

Hello,

I'm starting the removal of my MK9 and have run into a snag. It seems as though the cap overing the inside CV joint would just slide off but I tried a hand pry bar now afraid of damaging the rim of the cap. Any tricks here to remove the shaft from the trans? Do I use the weight of the carrier to pull out? I have all the links, shock, calipers undone and ready to swing it away but a little stuck here (pun intended) Thanks in advance.

Todd Buttrick

[kea]

No tricks. The threads of the bolts must be stuck to the lip of the hole in the metal portion of the boot. This because the holes have been deformed by the pressure of the nut that was holding it together.
Try a little pry force on the metal (CV Boot) lip, walking around the joint.

[trout roberts]

I've had decent results using a flat blade screwdriver with a wide blade. Place the blade so that it's perpendicular to the axle centerline with one corner of the blade under the lip of the cv joint metal cover. Lightly pry to get the cover to move over the bolt threads. As stated by Keith, work your way around the cover loosening it a little at a time. It's tedious but necessary.
Keith is absolutely correct about the deformation of the holes in the boot cover. I've wondered if enlarging the holes might eliminate the binding but as yet haven't tried it.
It happens on the outer boots, too. But, since you completely remove the bolts from the outer flange the binding isn't an issue.