Got a whole box full of groceries and started to rebuild the side shafts.
I must compliment the folks at Suspension parts in Pretoria, I got there just as they were closing and Shannon sorted all the bits and bobs that I needed with no problem.
- Some of the new goodies
I had to strip the pajero down to get samples of the offending parts so that the splines could be matched. While it was in this state I decided to replace the ball joints and tie rod ends as well as there was a bit of play in the ball joint on the lower left hand side. I suppose 333,350 km does justify new parts
- Stripped down
The strip was straight forward with the worst part having to drop the bash plate to get proper trestles under the chassis.
Once the vehicle is supported and the wheels are off remove the dust cover on the axle and take the retaining circlip off.
Next remove the brake caliper and tie it up out of harms way. Unless you plan on replacing the disk pads do not get grease or oil on to them it would seriously affect your braking.
The next step is the tricky one and a lot of folks are hesitant to remove the taper fit pins of the ball joints and tie rod ends. All it requires is a sharp blow with a heavy hammer, start by loosening the nut from the tie rod end, do not remove it completely as it serves to protect the threads if the hammer slips. Use a good heavy hammer (mine was a 1kg unit) and hit the ring around the taper pin hard, the shock will release the pin and the tie rod end will drop out, you might need a few blows to have success. Do the same with the ball joints starting with the upper one.
When the wheel hub is loose gently pull it from the splines of the side shaft taking care not to lose the seating ring in the front or the thrust washer on the back of the shaft. Cover the hub in a dustbin bag to keep dust and grit out.
The left and right shafts are different in that the left hand side is a splined shaft that fits in to the diff and just pulls out while the right hand side has 4 bolts and nuts holding a flange to the drive on the diff.
The new CV joints was slightly different than the old ones in that they are of the 3pot type instead of the ball & cage type used by Mitsubishi. this is similar to the outer cv joints and much stronger than the original parts.
With the outer cage removed and the old grease cleaned the damage to the centre drive can clearly be seen. This is what causes the "death rattle"
- damage to oldCV
Use some old news paper to clean out the bulk of the old grease. to split the CV one has to remove the clamp on the rubber boot and pull it back to expose the inside. the outer housing is held by a wire retaining ring just inside the steel section, once this is removed the outer cage can be taken off. The inner cage is held buy a circlip on the end of the splines and poses no barrier to a pair of circlip pliers. once the rubber boot is pulled from the shaft most of the old grease will come off with it and the shaft can now be cleaned for the new parts.
It is important to work clean as any dirt will make a grinding paste and kill the CV. Slide the new clamp over the shaft followed by the new rubber boot. Nothing is more frustrating than finding out one forgot the boot when everything is fitted.
Slide the new center cage over the splines and fit the new retaining circlip.
- New center portion fitted
Put half of the tube of grease supplied in the lower part of the new cv and work it in to the bearings on the center cage, the rest goes in to the boot and on top of the cage. Put the two halves together and fit the retaining ring. Slide the boot over the outer cage and in the grooves on the shaft and tighten the clamps. One side shaft ready for installation.
- CV ready for installation
, so much for stealer support, they could however get me two complete side shafts at a mere R 7600 per side 
I hope this includes Vaseline. 
