Replacing the universal joint on Renault Clio 2

Before starting operations, the vehicle must be wedged on the other 3 wheels.

Here we will take care of the left cardan, gearbox side, but the operations are the same for the right cardan

First, stand on flat ground, chock the wheels, then unscrew the 4 wheel bolts a little (19mm wrench).

Then, raise the car with a jack and put a candle on it.

Finally, finish unscrewing the bolts to remove the wheel.

At this stage, you can already see the transmission nut (there may be a cover on it, in this case remove it with a screwdriver, the cover is just fitted)

No matter what work you do on your car, always have your technical manual with you.

The tightening torques are given for a Clio 1.5DCI 65hp, CTTE 3 doors. Refer to your RTA for the correct torques.

Always be careful to wedge the car properly, with logs, wheels, and candles.

When changing the universal joint, make sure it is exactly the same.

I'll give you a summary photo of the elements we're going to see.

The ABS sensor is just held by a screw that must be removed (10 key).

Then you just have to move it a little to be able to remove it from its housing.

Once removed, hold it with a piece of wire in the shock absorber spring so that it does not bother us later.

To remove the caliper, unscrew the fixing screws of the caliper support located behind the disc.

The screws can be a little hard because they are locking screws. You need an 18 key.

Once the screws are removed, you can remove the caliper and hang it with a piece of wire on the spring so that it does not get in the way for the rest of the operations. Be careful not to damage the brake hose.

If the caliper is difficult to remove, you can spread the pads a little (this will have the effect of making the piston go back in). BE CAREFUL not to damage the disc.

Once the wheel is removed, you must unscrew the transmission nut (under the cover)

To do this you will need a 30 key, and find a tool (or make one) that will allow you to immobilize the hub so that you can unscrew the nut. Be careful that the nut does not force on the transmission when you try to unscrew it!

The tool manufactured allows the nut to be unscrewed without forcing the transmission since it is caught in the wheel nuts and on the ground.

NOTE: Keep the nut but it is normally supplied with your future new universal joint.

Now you need to uncouple the shock absorber from the pivot.

To do this, unscrew the 2 screws. You need 18 mm wrenches.

Here the screws are self-locking so they can be a little difficult to remove

Once the screws are removed, tilt the pivot towards you and the shock strut rearward.

CAUTION: Be careful that the bottom of the shock strut does not touch the gimbal bellows once you remove it!

Note: the suspension strut is still held by its upper part (because it is held by the shock absorber cup) so it will not fall.

Note: The pivot is still held by the gimbal so it will not swing completely but will be quite "loose" so be careful when removing it.

In the last photo you can see that the lower part of the shock strut is removed from the pivot. Here the cardan had already been removed to show that it does not fall off.

Now that we can remove the universal joint on the wheel side, we must unscrew the screws on the gearbox side.

There is nothing complicated in unscrewing the 3 screws on the gearbox side, except that you have to be careful because oil can leak if you remove the universal joint on the gearbox side.

For the right cardan, there are no screws, the cardan is just inserted into the engine block.

Note: On some Clios, you may have a clip on the right side, refer to your RTA to find out if you are affected.

To remove the cardan shaft on the wheel side, you have to turn the steering wheel completely to the right (or left depending on the cardan shaft you are removing), then lower the pivot (the hub) a little. In the photo, the cardan shaft is removed from the hub. The red and black arrows show you in which direction to pull/push to release the cardan shaft from the hub.

Reminder: As we have removed the screws on the box side, you just need to remove the universal joint gently.

Be careful, there may be a little oil on the gearbox side, but very little.

In the last photo the red line indicates where the gimbal was.

Once you have removed the gimbal, check that the new one you purchased is the same:

1- Check that there are the same number of grooves

2- Check that the ABS ring is there, in 22 or 44 teeth depending on your car (red arrow in the photos)

3- possibly check that the rubber is good.

4- Check the length of the cardan

If everything is good, you can put the new gimbal in place.

Insert the universal joint on the gearbox side and replace the 3 screws (or simply insert it on the right side)

In the same way that you removed the universal joint on the wheel side by pivoting the hub downwards and turning the steering wheel to the right (or left), repeat the same operation but this time inserting the splines of the new universal joint into the hub.

When the cardan is put into the hub, you will see it come out 1 or 2 centimeters

Note: There is no need to force it, if it does not fit, there is a problem somewhere! The only thing you can do is to rotate the hub so that the splines are facing each other. If this is not enough, then take out the cardan and check the dimensions.

Replace the lower shock absorber screws in the pivot (18 wrench)

ATTENTION: The screw heads are towards the inside of the car

Then tighten the bolts (to 10.5 for my Clio)

Replace the steering nut that comes with the new universal joint.

Replace the tool to lock the pivot.

Screw the nut to 28 (refer to your RTA if it is not the same Clio).

Put the cover back on the nut if you had one.

Put the caliper back on the disc

Replace the two screws with thread lock and tighten them to 4 (18mm spanner)

Since we did not open the brake circuit, there is no bleeding to do.

We put the ABS sensor back by simply tightening the screw without forcing it "like a brute" (10 wrench)

Tighten the wheel nuts.

Remove the jack.

Tighten the nuts to 9

Replace the hubcap and remove the chocks from the other wheels.