Soda Bottle Cap on Drive Shaft under Yoke
 

I am replacing the carrier bearing on my 2004 Saturn Vue V6 AWD. I removed the hog ring with no problems but now need to remove what appears to be a soda cap on the end of the shaft. How is this cap removed so the shaft can be pushed through the yoke. No one seems to address this cap. The cap is metal and would not pry off with two screw drivers.

Thanks!

From what I have found, you just drive/press it out.

http://www.justanswer.com/saturn/5cg...e-carrier.html

The shaft pulls out by pulling on the Yoke and pressing onto the shaft. Pushing on the bottle cap would not allow the yoke to come off the shaft, due to the cap's lip. Have you actually done this or are you surmising how it would be done?

Why would it have a lock ring on it if you couldn't remove the shaft?

Did you click on the link?

please explain in greater detail.

Explain what in greater detail? How to click on a link that was posted showing the procedure?

Sorry - My smart phone failed to show the link. I am on a PC now and see your link. The information that you provided fails to show the bottle cap. (I already reviewed this exact instructions on my subscription to AllData.) I also went to the Chevy dealer and showed them the actual shaft and they were stumped. (That's scary.) I thought that you may have some actual hands-on experience in this repair.

The tool, which I have, pushes on the bottle cap and pulls up on the yoke. This would work perfectly BUT the bottle cap edge is larger than the shaft hole. I crawled the web and found only one other instance where someone posted a question regarding removing the cap. The responses were weak, at best, with links of manuals showing how the repair is done. The problem is, the books fail to show the cap or how it is removed.

Yes, this is the OEM original shaft? Maybe this was a protective cap, for shipping, that was supposed to be removed at the drive-shaft assembly plant?

It seems strange that no one has experience on this or other forums with this crazy cap. The cap is steel and will not budge when pried on with two large screw drivers. CRAZY. Rather than man-handle and beat the hell out of the cap and possibly ruin the splines under, I thought someone would have experience with this....

I've never seen anything like that in my 45 years of tinkering with cars. Since it has notches in it, maybe it screws on. Have you tried putting a pair of vise grips on it and turning it counter clockwise? IDK Maybe place a screwdriver or chisel in the notch and hit it with a hammer to see if it unscrews if you can't get vise grips or some type of pliers in there?

I'd start cleaning some of that rust off to see what comes to the surface.

To me it looks like the yoke has splines.

I tried to place a pair of vice grips on the cap, but considering the cone shape and limited area, the grips slide off and up. I tried the screw driver and hammer unscrew game with no luck there either. I might have to use heat too?

I am going to visit a reputable private non-chain transmission shop on Monday and see what they say.

I am Glad that I can run this thing in FWD, for the two weeks that this has taken so far....

I will update on Monday. Thanks for everyone's feedback.

The "bottle cap" you see is a continuation of the drive splines on the pinion. The "hog ring" retains the yoke on the shaft. It looks like rust retains the yoke now! You need to pull the yoke off the shaft, it is ready to come off after the snap ring has been removed. A quality puller and some rust remover and/or heat will be needed. Hopefully you have not destroyed the end of the shaft.

What he said. Needs driven out with a press or BFH.

Take Andy's advice. He knows these cars for sure! Sorry if I misguided you. I just have never seen such a thing. I miss the days of drive shafts and U-joints!

What Toots said.

Bottle cap enigma
 

Hello: A truly amazing story. I am the lowest grade of backyard mechanic and am very interested to see what your solution is. I like the "looks like splines" comment and bet it takes heat and pulling to remove it.
Let us know and much respect and many thanks for your persistence.
Riviera8

Just my two cents, Andy's right, that "cap" is not a separate piece but is part of the shaft. During manufacturing the splines are machined to the end of the shaft, then the groove for the retaining ring is cut in. Those splines need to still be in good shape if you want to be able to press that yoke off without damaging it. Hopefully they haven't been boogered up too badly from the vice grips and screwdriver. If they are, either scrap it and look for a replacement or try using a dremel or file to restore the splines on the "cap" so that the yoke can slip off.

I just sat down to see what is going on and carefully read through this thread. I agree with the assumption that the bottle cap is nothing more than them the extension of a threaded shaft. A clip was placed in the groove to hold the yoke in place. I suspect a better job of cleaning off the YUK and RUST might have shown it had it been done.
Like Ruby, a lot of time has gone by and I probably question whether I have seen things like that or not but then again I don't need something with all wheel or four wheel drive and probably would not have bought one 'specially with that kind of mileage on it. But, and there is always a butt, I have a 12 ton press and used it to change a front wheel bearing one time when (actually twice now) the service center for Saturn (hey still had dealers) said it was a non-serviced item and could not be replaced. But they had the parts so I bought them. Good luck on your project. I have to admire some one who tackles the improbable things and succeeds.

They just didn't want to do the work on pressing out the bearings without trashing the hub...my Saturn Tech spent almost 45 min replacing a wheel bearing on my 95 sc2 so that the hub was not damaged.

And I too admire those who conquer what others deem undoable. Takes a certain drive and mindset to do such things.