Before removing the half shaft, the rear suspension has to be lowered to the ride height with a drive-on hoist or screw-jack stands. Remember that both boots cannot be serviced or replaced on their own; only the complete shaft assembly is changeable. It's important to pick out and tag the shorter left halfshaft when removing it to ensure its right installation. Don't use the boots on the halfshaft assembly as grips, because it could damage them. First, place the vehicle in neutral and keep the hoist under the car while it's raised. Carefully loose the drain plug by using a 14mm hex and draining the fluid into a suitable place as it flows out. Fit the drain plug (1) and fasten it by hand until it creaks. Then, use a socket and torque the drain plug to 60 Nm (44 ft. lbs.) for the 198 axle or to 50 Nm (37 ft. lbs.) for the 210 axle. Take away the rear exhaust (2) and the wheel assembly (1) from the side of the vehicle where the shaft will come out. After removing the wheel hub nut, apply alignment index marks to both the rubber parts: the propeller shaft coupler and the axle flange. Together, reposition the three bolt/nuts on the propeller shaft coupler-to-axle flange and undo them, then, using a screwdriver, start to separate each halfshaft from the axle assembly. When using a drive-on hoist, lower a transmission jack (1) to the back of the axle assembly, but if not, first compress the rear suspension and position the transmission jack. Remove bolt/nut (2) on isolator (1) from the rear axle mounting plate, as well as the two rear axle-to-crossmember bolts (1). Lower the back of the vehicle at the same time as slowly separating the back axle from the propeller shaft, leaving it supported with a rope or wire (1). Loosen the axle just enough so that you can take out each halfshaft one at a time, shifting the assembly to compress one side as you pull out the other (1), always watching over the seal and journal. During the halfshaft assembly, be careful so that you don't bend the slinger and cause it to come in contact with the axle seal assembly. Take the halfshaft out of the hub, check the rubber isolation washer (1) and discard it if the rubber surfaces are worn away, repeat for the other side if you notice the damage. Then, loosen the axle seals (2) with a proper screwdriver.