The Millionaires Club

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From: LP12

As I sit looking at the drive shaft in the bucket I muse on how nothing seems to be by the book with it.

1. REmoving the shaft from the gearbox, gearbox oil dripped freely, despite the car being raised on that side and despite there not supposed to being any oil there according to other volvo help info vids etc.
I eventually plug the hole with a suitable sized socket and a piece of plastic. All oil caught in a tray.

I then pop the drive shaft onto a UK beer crate and begin to work the steel band open so I can remove the gaiter. NOw all gaitors I've ever known in the world are rubber. 2. NOt this one, it's hard plastic. It will squeeze (compress) along its length but will not compress across it's width, meaning you can't feel what's going on inside, meaning while it was in place I couldn't feel anything untoward.

THEn I get the band off and pull the splined tulip cup end away from the shaft.
4. THe cup and gaiter do not contain grease, like every other cv joint in the world since Henry FOrd reopened the red rouge planet in deerbourne after the 1929 crash, no, this contains what appears to be, albeit thick, engine oil. WHich would explain why it dislocated relatively easily. SO that's difference.

I drained the oil into an ice cream tub that was to hand and pulled it apart.
5. I find it's not what's supposed to be there, a three sided type joint, it's more like the classic ball joint that IS at the other end of the wheel!!! 6 ball of steel, a 'race' for them to sit in, ... no circlips, no retainer, nothing.
I've got no grease so it's a job that will have to wait until monday, but getting the ball bearings inside the race and then into the tulip, forget about it if not with very sticky grease, so ?? I dunno, was grease but wrong type and 'broke down' (to a liquid)?

To cheer myself after eating a bowl of stew I decide to watch, 10 flight recorder disasters, because, it could always be worse. Actually, it's ok if it goes back together with the aid of the grease ... and I can top up the gearbox oil without too much bother. .. so I can then put the fking ball joint back on!! '10 minute job' (as done other side so familiar with it) turns into 4 day Norfolk Mathew Hopkirk witchfinder general show trial by ordeal.

I've got a lot of respect for aircrew.
10 Tragic Plane Crash Audio Recordings
https://youtu.be/tBtGrrIcOEU?si=Bu41yeqHeezE6jpI

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LP12