Removing the Front Drive Shaft

You will need a new hexagon bolt with a non-loosening locking element for the outer drive shaft joint, a new self-locking nut for the stabilizer link, and a new sealing gasket for the inner shaft joint (the gasket is not required on 6-cylinder engines with manual and automatic transmissions).

PROCEDURE

Remove the wheel trim cover.

Loosen the wheel bolts.

Loosen the hexagon bolt in the wheel hub; the vehicle must be secured for this.

Raise the front of the vehicle and secure it.

Remove the wheel.

Unscrew the stabilizer nuts on the right and left.

Press the stabilizer upward.

If fitted, remove the transmission guard.

Unscrew the internal hexagon bolts securing the shaft to the transmission.

Pry the drive shaft away from the transmission flange.

On models with ABS, carefully pull the speed sensor back slightly.

To remove the shaft, disconnect the steering as necessary.

Installation: install a new sealing gasket on the inner joint. To do this, remove the protective film from the gasket.

First insert the shaft from the wheel side. Then tighten the flange bolts on the transmission side in a crossing pattern (M8 bolts: 45 N·m; M10 bolts: 80 N·m). Do not forget the sealing gaskets!
Lower the vehicle and lock the wheels. Tighten the new wheel hub bolts as follows:
M14 x 1.5 bolt: tighten to 120 N·m, then turn a further 1/4 turn (90°).

M16 x 1.5 bolt: tighten to 200 N·m, then turn a further 1/4 turn (90°).

Tighten the stabilizer link nuts to 20 N·m.

On models with ABS, manually push the speed sensor in fully.