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Ultimate sin. Not looking at how something was before dismantling it.
I am replacing the front left outer boot on my W166 ML63. The axle was removed from the ML, the CV joint came away from the axle, I was able to remove 7 bearings from the cup, but got challenged to remove the last one and lost track of which side the inner and outer cages were placed. The inner cage is straightforward. The outer cage, not so much, as it is symmetrical with the only difference being that one side has a thicker ring than to other one. I tried dry fitting the outer cage both ways to see if one was simply not working but it seems to be working both ways. Obviously, only one way is the correct one.
After searching the forums, the WIS, and the internet for hours I could not confirm which way the outer cage must go.
I am attaching two picture of the CV joint without the bearings in it. One picture is with the thick side of the cage inward (towards the transfer case), and the second picture is with the thick side of the cage outward (towards the wheel). I think the correct one is the second picture is with the thicker side of the cage outward toward the wheel.
Thicker side of the cage inward (towards the transfer case)
Thicker side of the cage outward (towards the wheel)
Can anyone confirm which way that outer cage must go in or know where to go to find this info?
Thanks!
Ultimate sin. Not looking at how something was before dismantling it.
I am replacing the front left outer boot on my W166 ML63. The axle was removed from the ML, the CV joint came away from the axle, I was able to remove 7 bearings from the cup, but got challenged to remove the last one and lost track of which side the inner and outer cages were placed. The inner cage is straightforward. The outer cage, not so much, as it is symmetrical with the only difference being that one side has a thicker ring than to other one. I tried dry fitting the outer cage both ways to see if one was simply not working but it seems to be working both ways. Obviously, only one way is the correct one.
After searching the forums, the WIS, and the internet for hours I could not confirm which way the outer cage must go.
I am attaching two picture of the CV joint without the bearings in it. One picture is with the thick side of the cage inward (towards the transfer case), and the second picture is with the thick side of the cage outward (towards the wheel). I think the correct one is the second picture is with the thicker side of the cage outward toward the wheel.
Thicker side of the cage inward (towards the transfer case)
Thicker side of the cage outward (towards the wheel)
Can anyone confirm which way that outer cage must go in or know where to go to find this info?
Thanks!
Is it not plainly obvious? Serious question. If the thicker part of the cage is outboard (toward the wheel), doesn't it hit the outer race in full articulation? Said differently, doesn't the joint have more angular freedom when the thicker part of the cage is inboard (toward the axle)?
I reached out to my local dealer service department for advice. My assumption was confirmed, the thicker side of the outer cage should be outward (toward the wheel). So, when the CV joint gets rebuilt it should look like this.
I'll post back once I got the CV joint rebuilt, the axle back in place, and road tested the result.
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