Picked up a seized engine E70 (N55)

[BergA]

Originally Posted by bawareca

There is a chance that you pulled the axle too much when removing it and it was almost fallen apart when you installed it. Should be able to put it back together.

That was the project for tonight. I began by removing the driver's side front drive axle just as I had the first time. Once I had it on the bench, the fun began. Both the inner and outer joints felt funny so I serviced both of them. I worked on the outer joint first, the one with the 6 captured balls inside. I found vise grips to work well for removing one type of clamp-band. The internal components were completely covered in grease so I ultrasonic cleaned everything as best I could. The end of the spline which contacts the center pinion was fairly chewed up and the pinion would no longer slide on. Using a triangular jeweler's file, I carefully filed the teeth smooth until the pinion slid on. Once that was repaired, I used a tiny amount of grease to get the internal components back into place. Next I tapped the splined shaft into the pinion and seated the circlip.