Axle Replacement
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Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 105
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From: Resisting the rich in Boulder, CO, USA
Axle Replacement
Alright, tomorrow morning I have to replace my axle because my ******* cv joint is alllll fucked up...plus there is something seriously wrong with my front passenger side suspension (I just got new snowtires and that tire is scraping against the rear of the wheel well when I brake goddamnit). ANYWAYS this seems very straightforward...
1)Break the hub while the car is on the ground
2)Remove rotor assembly and basically anything connected to the axle = pull ball joints until the cows come home
3)Remove axle from tranny
4)Intstallation is the opposite of removal...or something
The point is, all previous posts about this seem to be about how ******* hard it is to get the axle back in, which is something I know all about from changing my clutch. So, because I don't have my bible/helms yet, I was wondering if there are any major problems or concerns I should know about at this point, or do I have the gist of it. Thanks for you help!
1)Break the hub while the car is on the ground
2)Remove rotor assembly and basically anything connected to the axle = pull ball joints until the cows come home
3)Remove axle from tranny
4)Intstallation is the opposite of removal...or something
The point is, all previous posts about this seem to be about how ******* hard it is to get the axle back in, which is something I know all about from changing my clutch. So, because I don't have my bible/helms yet, I was wondering if there are any major problems or concerns I should know about at this point, or do I have the gist of it. Thanks for you help!
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,109
Likes: 0
From: Sportscar Heaven, England
if its a 4th Gen there is a front lower supporting rod that holds the lower control arm in a central position to the arch.
It is bolted to the front section of the cradle and the lower control arm. If the wheel goes back that far then either Its been streched seriously (doubtfull that much stretch) and/or the bolts have been sheared off from force at one end. You will need a new supporting rod either way.
If the rods are ok then the front crossmember for cradle will have been damaged like bent right back (highly unlikely the rods will givein first).
The lower control arm is mounted on the rearmost section of the cradle, If the mounting point (pivot point) for lower control arm is damaged then you will need a new cradle.
Remember your car is only ever as good as its components, If you dont fix all damaged parts then it will never drive right! Its the Joys of motoring! lol
As your wheel is scraping against the well; you more than likely need a new plastic arch liner and clips.
You could possibly need some welding done if youve worn the metal away by driving it like that.
Also you must be very carfl removing the calipers and the ABS sensors (if applicable).
Also check wether the damper has been bust from the impact. It doesn't take too much lateral force to break the seals on dampers.
by the way, What did you hit? slid into a curb? thats what I did in v. bad weather swering for an idiot!
The front member of my cradle is damaged (dented slightly from high curb but affects rod length by appx 3cm! Wayy too much) so I thought what the hey! might aswell give the front suspension a full rebuild to ensure Its going to drive perfectly.
Remember, make sure you torque all bolts to Honda specs. If you need them give me a shout and Ill post them up.
Oh and check the steering tie rods and tie rod ends for bends as they may need to be replaced! If you dont replace trhem then this will cause steering alignment problems and excess tire wear due to the sligh angle change on full lock that will affect the way Ackerman works for your steering. (Ackerman = inside wheel on any turn turns in more than the outsid ewheel to give better control and allow more responsive throttle steer on track).
Hope that help. PS Dont rush the job, do it properly and it will reward itself. Also when you have completed the work and can say your proud of your workmanship quality, then measure and compare space between front and rear of each front tyre and arch to check for continuity; if one is diff (further forward or backward) then you know you have a bent/streched supporting rod that will need replacing. (Some Salvage yards wont be bothered about selling you bad components, or may not even know it is slightly damaged!)
Just for an idea of cost: I bought a Cradle, PAS rack (using old one though!), Full front suspension, dampers, grooved rotors calipers pads along with them and sensors from a JDM 4ws Prelude BB1 all for £350 UK pounds (bout $540). Always inspect the parts and get a written warranty.
Any other help needed just post back ok.
Modified by OTT at 10:32 AM 12/31/2003
It is bolted to the front section of the cradle and the lower control arm. If the wheel goes back that far then either Its been streched seriously (doubtfull that much stretch) and/or the bolts have been sheared off from force at one end. You will need a new supporting rod either way.
If the rods are ok then the front crossmember for cradle will have been damaged like bent right back (highly unlikely the rods will givein first).
The lower control arm is mounted on the rearmost section of the cradle, If the mounting point (pivot point) for lower control arm is damaged then you will need a new cradle.
Remember your car is only ever as good as its components, If you dont fix all damaged parts then it will never drive right! Its the Joys of motoring! lol
As your wheel is scraping against the well; you more than likely need a new plastic arch liner and clips.
You could possibly need some welding done if youve worn the metal away by driving it like that.
Also you must be very carfl removing the calipers and the ABS sensors (if applicable).
Also check wether the damper has been bust from the impact. It doesn't take too much lateral force to break the seals on dampers.
by the way, What did you hit? slid into a curb? thats what I did in v. bad weather swering for an idiot!
The front member of my cradle is damaged (dented slightly from high curb but affects rod length by appx 3cm! Wayy too much) so I thought what the hey! might aswell give the front suspension a full rebuild to ensure Its going to drive perfectly.
Remember, make sure you torque all bolts to Honda specs. If you need them give me a shout and Ill post them up.
Oh and check the steering tie rods and tie rod ends for bends as they may need to be replaced! If you dont replace trhem then this will cause steering alignment problems and excess tire wear due to the sligh angle change on full lock that will affect the way Ackerman works for your steering. (Ackerman = inside wheel on any turn turns in more than the outsid ewheel to give better control and allow more responsive throttle steer on track).
Hope that help. PS Dont rush the job, do it properly and it will reward itself. Also when you have completed the work and can say your proud of your workmanship quality, then measure and compare space between front and rear of each front tyre and arch to check for continuity; if one is diff (further forward or backward) then you know you have a bent/streched supporting rod that will need replacing. (Some Salvage yards wont be bothered about selling you bad components, or may not even know it is slightly damaged!)
Just for an idea of cost: I bought a Cradle, PAS rack (using old one though!), Full front suspension, dampers, grooved rotors calipers pads along with them and sensors from a JDM 4ws Prelude BB1 all for £350 UK pounds (bout $540). Always inspect the parts and get a written warranty.
Any other help needed just post back ok.
Modified by OTT at 10:32 AM 12/31/2003
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 105
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From: Resisting the rich in Boulder, CO, USA
hey, thanks for the speedy and extremely informative response! I appreciate the help. Yeah, my plan for tomorrow WAS to just replace the axle and do a damage report to find out what needs to be fixed and replaced. I know for a fact the lower and upper ball joints will need to be replaced, and I am guessing tie rod ends and "supporting rod" (is that the same as the front radius rod?). BUT I may wait to replace the axle until I get all the other parts and just replace everything at the same time. I have a pretty good feeling that most of the suspension will have to be replaced for that wheel. And that's okay. I can make it better, faster, stronger.
I am guessing this happened when I shredded a tire and had to drive it about a mile at 20mph to the nearest discount tire. My spare was already being used, so I just said screw it and drove the ****** real slow...luckily it was 1 in the morning. ANyways, thanks for the help, I owe you one
I am guessing this happened when I shredded a tire and had to drive it about a mile at 20mph to the nearest discount tire. My spare was already being used, so I just said screw it and drove the ****** real slow...luckily it was 1 in the morning. ANyways, thanks for the help, I owe you one
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,109
Likes: 0
From: Sportscar Heaven, England
No problem, and Id wait till you get all the parts first, get all parts before otherwise u'll just be wasting your own time as the problem will still be there.
The Tie rods (Power steering rack side)
and Rod ends (steering knuckle end) are for PAS system.
Front supporting rods are like a brace, one on each front wheel (literally a strong metal rod) that hold the lower control arm in place.
Just edited some bit to make it clearer on that post aswell.
Ive got mine up on axle stands at mo doing it. Only started sunday but only sepnt a couple of hours removeing arch liner, skid panel under engine, front bumper.
I know whats its like not having your Favmotor on the road, Im having to drive a crappy '99 206 1.6 Peugeot french crap car. They're clipped together top to bottom just about.
and are really bad for problems...
*Fuel gauge stopped working (nearly blew a petrol station and myselft to hell when it sprayed everywhere!
*Thrust bearing squeaks like hell
*Sumps gaskets got a slight leak
*Seats feel loos but bolted firmly
*CD changer never works just skips and scratches cds
*Ask for radio code every time start engine! like batt has been disconnected
*Doors somtimes Freeze shut b'cos bad design in v.cold weather
*Wiper will only wip for 5mins on 1st intermittant mode
*Lights blow like every f**king day
Just a god damn crap car. The Japs defo know how to make a car properly and build them to last!
But like I say, do it properly and itll drive like a new car.
Ever heard the saying "Itll never drive properly again etc etc"
This is because when service centre repair they do the cosmetic side but do minimal on the mechanical side and also just jam all the nuts up to liek 500ft-lb with an impact wrench! (It defo wont come loose at that but certain points need the exact torque to perform optimally!)
Anyway let mew know how it goes and ill keep u up to date on mine aswell. Any ehlp just giz' a shout!
The Tie rods (Power steering rack side)
and Rod ends (steering knuckle end) are for PAS system.
Front supporting rods are like a brace, one on each front wheel (literally a strong metal rod) that hold the lower control arm in place.
Just edited some bit to make it clearer on that post aswell.
Ive got mine up on axle stands at mo doing it. Only started sunday but only sepnt a couple of hours removeing arch liner, skid panel under engine, front bumper.
I know whats its like not having your Favmotor on the road, Im having to drive a crappy '99 206 1.6 Peugeot french crap car. They're clipped together top to bottom just about.
and are really bad for problems...
*Fuel gauge stopped working (nearly blew a petrol station and myselft to hell when it sprayed everywhere!
*Thrust bearing squeaks like hell
*Sumps gaskets got a slight leak
*Seats feel loos but bolted firmly
*CD changer never works just skips and scratches cds
*Ask for radio code every time start engine! like batt has been disconnected
*Doors somtimes Freeze shut b'cos bad design in v.cold weather
*Wiper will only wip for 5mins on 1st intermittant mode
*Lights blow like every f**king day
Just a god damn crap car. The Japs defo know how to make a car properly and build them to last!
But like I say, do it properly and itll drive like a new car.
Ever heard the saying "Itll never drive properly again etc etc"
This is because when service centre repair they do the cosmetic side but do minimal on the mechanical side and also just jam all the nuts up to liek 500ft-lb with an impact wrench! (It defo wont come loose at that but certain points need the exact torque to perform optimally!)
Anyway let mew know how it goes and ill keep u up to date on mine aswell. Any ehlp just giz' a shout!
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,109
Likes: 0
From: Sportscar Heaven, England
BTW the pug is my beater car and once the ludes running im going to clean it up and fix all problems them get rid.
PS: make sure you have:
*long reach sockets#
*torque wrench for re-installation.
*Breaker bar (defo needed!)
*Torque Specs
*Axle stands, cast! just make sure its well supported with wheels chocked and hanbrake VERY taught.
*Full spanner set
*Locking pliars
*Penetrating lube
*WD40 or other high qual like Silkolene/Fuchs lubes
Also You could go for gold like me...
Ive bought a wire cup drill bit so I can take any surfacerust off of my salvage components I bought and will then heavily treanthe fininshe/cleaded up parts with silkolene Pro-Prep (a silicone based hard surface conditioner) This will prevent rust and aid in component life greatly. Plus it you have to work on your motor again you wont get covered in rust crap.
Also be extremly careful when breaking bolts, remember that the car can rock on axle stands and you dont want 1300kgs dropping on you so make sure it is secure and give caution when putting force on nuts etc!
and youll probly know this but Dont support the car on a jack, put axle stands under it; cant stress that enough!
And remeber if you take the calipers off (it can be done without takign them off); Brake fluid is corrosive and will burn thorugh Flesh, bodywork, metals.
Oh and you may have bend the edge of your wing where the inner arch liner is clipped in so might need to get new clips from honda but should be able to just bend wing manually into place with thick gloves on. (This happened to mine slightly hardly noticable but didnt damage paintwork on it)!
PS: make sure you have:
*long reach sockets#
*torque wrench for re-installation.
*Breaker bar (defo needed!)
*Torque Specs
*Axle stands, cast! just make sure its well supported with wheels chocked and hanbrake VERY taught.
*Full spanner set
*Locking pliars
*Penetrating lube
*WD40 or other high qual like Silkolene/Fuchs lubes
Also You could go for gold like me...
Ive bought a wire cup drill bit so I can take any surfacerust off of my salvage components I bought and will then heavily treanthe fininshe/cleaded up parts with silkolene Pro-Prep (a silicone based hard surface conditioner) This will prevent rust and aid in component life greatly. Plus it you have to work on your motor again you wont get covered in rust crap.
Also be extremly careful when breaking bolts, remember that the car can rock on axle stands and you dont want 1300kgs dropping on you so make sure it is secure and give caution when putting force on nuts etc!
and youll probly know this but Dont support the car on a jack, put axle stands under it; cant stress that enough!
And remeber if you take the calipers off (it can be done without takign them off); Brake fluid is corrosive and will burn thorugh Flesh, bodywork, metals.
Oh and you may have bend the edge of your wing where the inner arch liner is clipped in so might need to get new clips from honda but should be able to just bend wing manually into place with thick gloves on. (This happened to mine slightly hardly noticable but didnt damage paintwork on it)!
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