Removing front axels for 2WD conversion

Greetings I've seen several threads where people remove their front differential, axles and drive shaft in order to completely eliminate the AWD system in a C4. But, I don't believe I've ever seen anything about removing the front axels only - leaving the drive shaft and front diff. Long story short, I want to service the front CV boots and rather than trying to order every part I might need ahead of time - or having my car out of service for 2 weeks waiting on parts once I get a list together - I could have some 2WD fun by removing the front axles and taking my time repairing them. Has anyone done it this way? Are there any reasons not to that maybe I'm not thinking of? If I understand the way the system works, the viscous clutch would essentially be engaged all of the time but with virtually no load on it from the front wheels. I'd imagine that since there is no load, any additional wear on the clutch or the differential itself would be negligible. Again, not considering this as a permanent mod, but more like a 1 month experiment while I get the axles and cv joints sorted out. Cheers Charlie

I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work. Maybe find a way to seal where the stub axels attached to the front diff? Plasti dip?

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If I remember correctly theyre pretty much exposed normally. Not sure any sealing would be necessary?

I think it is not as simple as all that. I know that some folks have removed all the components, but I think you have to consider the wheel carrier hubs. See this diagram for the wheel carrier hub, pay particular attention to Part No. 5 and 6, the splined shaft and wheel nut. http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...section=401-05 Then this diagram that shows the front axle with the splined shaft and wheel nut http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...section=401-10 If you remove the axle, how do you get a wheel nut on (without something like Part #5)? And doesn't the axle shaft go all the way through and connect with Part #9 in the wheel carrier hub? https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...96-to-rwd.html

Most shops replace the front axle shaft assemblies they don't service the cv joints alone. How many miles do you have? Inspect your hubs. Good time to replace them as well. When I converted to rwd we found my hubs were cracked.

You can't merely remove the front axles because they hold the hub together. When people convert their cars, they tear down the outer CV and reinstall the outer CV back into the hub. I make axle delete kits, which allow cars to convert to 2WD without tearing apart the front axles and further reduce weight by 3lbs. whit3out.com

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Others have spoken on the subject of the axles/half shafts. You can't leave the driveshaft (cardan shaft) connected that runs from the transmission to the front diff. This will cause the viscous coupling to overheat and destroy it. If you can find a way to deal with the removal of the axles/half shafts you still must remove the cardan shaft. The front diff/viscous coupling then will not rotate at all the viscous coupling will be ok.

All great points - thanks for the info! Looks like my plan is a no go.

I was going to point out that there are no axels on a 996 - However there are axles.

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good point.

Just ordered some tools + inner and outer CV boots, straps, grease, and axle nuts for both sides today. Going to attempt to tackle it in one go - hopefully there won't be any surprises. For anyone that has removed the front axles before - are there any other parts or tools that I'm going to need? Thanks Charlie

A giant-*** cheater bar to crack the axle nuts.

How giant-*** are we talking here?

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I believe its torque spec is 340 ft/lb. When I removed the axle nut on my old Audi I used a 24" 1/2" drive breaker bar with my jack handle slipped over it. It gave me about a 4' long lever and I still had to stand on it and jump a bit to get it to break loose.

The axle nuts are/should be torqued to 340 ftlbs. I used a 3' piece of pipe on a 1/2" breaker bar to break them loose and it was fairly easy. To re-torque the nuts, you can use the formula: Torque (in ftlbs) = distance from bolts (or socket end of wrench) x body weight at said distance. In my case this worked out to be my weight 170 lb.s at a distance of 2 feet = 340 ft lb. I did these last April (replaced suspension and front wheel bearings) and everything seems to be fine with them.

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I have a 10-lb 4-foot section of 1" stock (it's technically a slide hammer for rebar and other stuff you want to smash into the ground) that happens to work nicely with a 24" 1/2"-drive ratchet. I haven't found anything you can't crack with six feet of cheater bar. That's the one concession I've made to arthritis - trying to use mechanical advantage so I don't beat my hands up so badly they're useless the next day.

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I sure can relate to that. I wake up in the middle of the night with throbbing hands way to often at 54!

46 here - but at least I'm starting to figure out the rules.

Electric impact gun from Harbor Freight is your best friend.

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Have a link to one you've used for this? I've always considered buying a heavy duty impact but would hate to spend that kind of money to find out it doesn't have enough power to break these types of bolts loose. I'd also consider pneumatic as well.

I have an 18v electric impact wrench and a decent air gun as well. Hammering is definitely off the list. When I look back at doing stupid sh*t my entire life - like hammering sh*t with my fist - the arthritis seems less surprising/unexpected. Heh. As long as the battery is good, the electric handhelds work fairly well...but you're probably not gonna get the lugnuts off your superduty, at least with the one I have: Amazon Amazon Even if it's not good enough to blast off your lug bolts, it WILL be good enough to blast out those damnable rotor set screws. That alone is worth the price. My $20 HF air impact gun is ridiculously capable. I think I've remembered to oil it once in the last decade. Hard to bitch about ROI on that sucker. "Considering pneumatic" is the way to go. Once you have supplemented your hand tools with air tools, and become accustomed to shop air, you can't go back. I have a 5-gal pancake compressor and a 75-foot retractable hose built into one of my cabinets. It's hard to overstate how useful having a compressor can be. Also: If you happen to be working on your 911 in the driveway, and you use your impact wrench to zip off a tire while your (wife/girlfriend/husband/significant thing) is watching, there's an EXCELLENT chance you'll get some. The only reason they keep using that ridiculous "can you use your impossibly big wrench to help me fix my car" script is because it works for somebody, right?

Any update in the project? Considering converting over to a RWD vehicle as well. Two questions on this: i) if I convert to RWD, that would mean the car would have an open differential in the rear? Isn't this the same setup that a regular Carrera runs? I see a lot of people complaining about getting a Wavetec or LSD when doing this conversion, but just wanted to make sure that removing driveshaft and front differential would't make the car some unruly beast compared to a C2. ii) if I break axle stubs, pull driveshaft and front differential out, what mounts to the transmission to cover the now exposed piece? Maybe I'm not understanding correctly, but after reading multiple threads on the process, I'm still having an issue visualizing what's left on the front end of the transmission.

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Hey Andrew I removed the front axels and replaced the inner and outer CV boots - then put them back in. As others have mentioned, you cannot drive the car with the front axels removed unless you disassemble the outer CV joint and install the spline piece into the wheel hub assembly. My understanding is that the rear differential is essentially the same as a C2 - so it won't perform any different than a standard C2 in that respect. If you remove the front diff and the drive shaft - you don't have to cover anything. The transmission has an sealed output that bolts to the drive shaft via a little rubber piece (guibo). Hope this helps. I posted a couple vids on YouTube along the way that may help you with removing the front axles. You Tube

With the stock rear diff, it will act like a C2. There is nothing to cover on the trans. The metal disc the guibo bolts to is left exposed as it is in stock form (just without 3 bolts connecting it to the driveshaft.)