Go direct to Renault and purchase a complete hub assembly, the clamp bolts and nuts for this and new nuts for the ball joints, one each for the lower ball joint, one for the steering joint and one for the anti roll bar drop arm.
Tools you will require will be a jack, axle stands, wheel stud spanner, 32mm socket 'Halfords', a long breaker bar for the socket, a set of hex sockets for the brake caliper bolts and enough general tools to remove the brake caliper, any resonable tool kit will contain enough for this job.
You will also require a ball joint seperator.
Jack up the car and secure it on stands making sure the handbrake is on and the rear wheels are chocked so the car cannot move at all.
Remove the wheel on the side to be repaired.
Have someone put there foot on the brake to hold the drive axle steady and using the 32mm socket and the bar loosen but do not remove the central nut to the drive shaft.
Then remove the brake pads and take off the brake caliper, do not leave this hanging on the brake hose, use strong twine to tie it up out of the way securely.
Remove the two screws holding the brake disc and gently tapping it on the reverse side ease it off, It is heavy and easily chipped if dropped so take care, once off put it to one side out of the way.
Remove the central nut you loosened earlier and using a socket extender place this central onto the end of the drive shaft and give it a 'LIGHT' tap or two with a hammer to loosen it's splines slightly, they are a slight taper fit but on no account attempt to drive it through the hub, it will not go and you will damage the drive train if you do.
Using a wire brush clean the threads and then remove and discard the nuts from the lower ball joint, the streering joint and the anti roll bar drop arm then use the ball joint splitter to pop these out of there sockets, again a taper fit, failure to clean the threads fully will cause the nuts to jam and this will loosen the tapers on the ball joints making removal of the nuts almost impossible without a lot of problems.
Once the joints are freed while holding the drive shaft to prevent it moving outwards at all gently pull the suspension strut towards you until the threaded end of the drive shaft is free of the hub assembly and lay it gently down on the suspension arm below it, you can then turn the suspension strut slightly to allow free access to the clamping bolts for the hub assembly, remove these, note some have two some only one, either way remove them and throw them away, they will almost certainly break once you try and re-use them so Don't.
IMPORTANT:Before you proceed further, you need to mark the position of the hub assembly on the strut, I use a yellow paint pencil for this, remember it,s not the assembly your marking but were the assembly goes in relation to the strut, rust and paint scuffs already there will help you in this but you must make sure you mark it,s position.
Once the bolts have been removed take a large flat bladed screwdriver or thin cold chisel and open the joint slightly that the bolts held tightly shut, again not a lot of force is required here and care must be taken not to distort the tube the strut is made from, simple test is when a slight gap opens up in the joint around the tube then thats more than enough.
Now taking a hammer tap the hub assembly downwards on alternate sides until it comes off, again this is a heavy item and not a good idea to have your self underneath it when drops off. your not going to use it again so it,s not a concern if it falls on the floor.
Clean the end of the strutt fully of all rust and dirt.
Replacement is the reverse of the above really, but make certain the marks you made you then use to set the assembly into the correct postion, I cannot stress how important this is as this position is essential to the correct operation of the steering in the future.
Push on the new assembly, not a lot of force is or should be required but if it is tap it off again and check the strutt for cleanliness then using the same method you used on the orginal 'GENTLY' Open the joint slightly to easy installation.
Once in position use new bolts and nuts to clamp it tightly, it is not the titantic your building here but make sure the bolts are tight and there is no visible gap between the assembly and the strutt and that there is no movement between the two at all.
In an ideal world you would use a torque wrench for this but in the absence of one have a cup of tea and come back in 35 mins, 'seriously' then using your socket again turn the nuts a further half a turn, reason, new bolts stretch and stretch most when new,, leaving them for a period allows for this to happen, once done you will be finished with them.
Now take hold of the drive shaft and clean the mating face of it of all grease and dirt then inset into the hub assembly again..
Do not put the new nut on just yet.
Re-insert the bottom ball joint and using a new nut tighten it up, same with the steering joint and anti roll bar drop arm joint.
Now put the new drive shaft nut on finger tight only.
Re-assemble the brake caliper, good move here is add little locking compound to the threads of the bolts once more.
Then ask your trusty assistant to put a foot on the brake and using the 32mm socket tighten the drive shaft nut, tightly, no need to go mad at it but tight means tight.
Replace the wheel again and tighten the studs as required, let the car down of the stands and tidy up.
Job done, on average this can be done in around two hours allowing for cups of tea ect, by anyone with two arms and a still functioning brain
Jim
July 2011
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