Hi guys i need to replace both my axles and i've never done it before, i try to do most of the work on my car so i want to try it myself. If anyone has experience with it please tell me how hard it is and anything i might run into. thanks

 

Read through this... http://www.vfaq.com/mods/CVboots.html. It's on DSM axles....but it still has some very good pics and info that is common with all axles.

 

ive done it twice. what quesitons do you have.

 

Well my two concerns are first i'n my service manual it says that i'll need a ball joint remover, but everyone tells me this isn't so, second once i've removed suspension and nuckle how do remove the axle? also any special tools i will need. Thanks guys i'll look at that link now.

 

If you've taken apart your front suspension before, it's the same thing but now you have to pop the axle out of the hub and then out of the tranny, both of which are a pain. To remove the spindle nut, I'd suggest a breaker bar and to pop the axles out I'd suggest a BFH and some short prybars.

Do a search on the ball joint thread a couple of days ago, that'll help for that part.

 

ok, i think i understand but my only question is when removing the ball joing with my BFH where do i hit it, they say not to hit ball joint end cause it will mushroom it so where do i hit it? i just recently changed my tie rod end and what I did was put a piece of wood on the end and smacked the poo poo out of it and it worked, is this the same type of deal? thanks

 

if you gonna use the bfh method(brass hammer if you have one), then just loosen the castle nut, but not all the way off, this will protect the threads just in cast you happen to miss the knuckle/spindle and NOT the ball-joint! you will only need to take off the lower ball joint and outer tie rod end.


[Modified by vhd, 6:25 AM 1/30/2002]

 

this method is ALOT EASIER! take the LCA off.
just get an impact driver or a big *** breaker bar.
thats what i did for my swap/replacing an axle 2 weeks ago.

 

I would definately not recommend hitting the axle. Take your spring/strut/knuckle off and take the bolt and cotter pin where the spindle arm connects to the A-arm and you should have enough room to PRY it out from the spindle/hub. After that, pry it from the tranny but DO NOT pull it. HTH.

 

I just did this on my Civic. I got a ball joint splitter at Sears for $14.99. It was pretty easy with the splitter.

Good Luck

Steve

 

ok, i'm not shure what the LCA is? sorry so i have to remove the tie rod end again? i dont want to mess up my allignment

 

get the balljoint remover in the right size, it makes the job easier. also loosen the axlenuts when the car is still on the ground.

 

I had to remove my left side axle and center halfshaft to change my alternator, so here's what I did. If the car is in the air, you can stick a screwdriver through the brake caliper into the rotor vents to hold it while loosening the axle nut. Then what we did was remove the cotter pin and castle nut, and just smack the LCA w/ a hammer to get it off of the balljoint. We did not remove the tie-rod end. With one person pulling out/supporting the spindle, the axle came out of the spindle pretty easily. Then the axle was popped off of the center halfshaft. 3 bolts connect the halfshaft support to the block, and then the shaft just slipped out of the differential easily (left front corner jacked up, so no fluid came out). We got it all back together and the alignment is just fine, car drives straight and true.


[Modified by PatrickGSR94, 1:59 PM 1/30/2002]

 

LCA = lower control arm

 

ok guys thanks for all the help, i bought both axles today and will try to install them tomorow night. This is what i'm going to do: Jack up the whole front of the car and put it on stands, remove the wheel (whatever side i start on) drain the tranny (is it going to be a problem since the car is uneven?) then i'll undo the bold on the end of the axle and the lower A arm bolt and also undo the bolt on the lower ball joint (is this the castle nut?) and bang the LCA loose, then i should be able to swing out the nuckle and pry the axle out by getting inbetween the axle and tranny with a screwdriver and giving it a bang? then i'll remove the seal and replace it with a new one and push the new axle in untill it pops into place and put it all back together. Then do the same on the other side refill the tranny although i wont be able to fully fill it since the car is on an angle, put the wheels on and????? Am i missing anything? thanks!!!!! wish me luck

 

Replacing the tranny fluid isn't necessary.

-Loosen and the axle nut.
-Jack up the car.
-Remove the axle nut and castle nut for the lower ball joint.
-Spray some WD-40 b/t the lower ball joint and LCA.
-Hit the LCA with a BFM (try not to damage the ball joint), until loose.
-Remove the suspension fork at the bottom of the shock (14mm & 17mm)
-Lightly tap the axle out of the knuckle.
-Use a pry bar or a screwdriver b/t the trannycase and driveshaft end (passenger side) and b/t the main shaft and driveshaft end (driver side) and pry it out.
-Put a pan under the tranny in case some fluid comes out.
-The seal isn't necessary, but if you want to, nows the time to do it.
-Reinstall & Good Luck

 

TRUE! so youre saying that i dont need to drain and replace the tranny fluid? people have told me that all the oil will come out if the axle is removed! one small question, i noticed that the bolt on the end of the axle has a little indentation put in it, is that something i should do after instal, why? thanks

 

Some fluid may come out but it's not a lot. That indentation is like a safety measure so the nut doesn't come loose. Just use a screwdriver to take out the indent and then remove the nut. When putting back on, just use a flat head or chisel to indent the nut again...it doesn't have to be in the same spot as the original indent.

 

Tried replacing them tonight and unfortunatedly it didnt go that well. I managed to replace the drivers side fine, only holdup was the lower ball joint. We banged and banged as hard as we could but it wouldnt come off. We finnaly picked up a pickle fork and it poped it right off that was a waste of an hour. then we put it all together and went onto the next side where we spent four hours trying to get the bolt off the end of the axle, we tried everything from air tools to blowtorch snapped three big ratchets and breaker bars and used a five foot long pipe, soaked it for hours but it woulnt budge, so out of tools and morale we gave up we used a torque wrench and it went off the charts we figured something like 300 pounds. does anyone know what i could have done?

 

Just trying to get the obvious out of the way, but did you undo the part of the nut that is chiseled and prevents the nut from spinning?

 

The stake in the nut will not hold up to 300+ ft-lbs of torque. Something else is keeping it from coming off. If you tried all that and it still won't come off, I don't know man. Did you try loosening it with the car still on the ground? Just remove your wheel center cap (if you have one) and stick the socket in there. Have the parking brake on good and tight to keep the car from moving.

 

Be careful with the blowtorch...it can cause premature wear of your wheel bearing, as I made that mistake.

Personally, I tend to stay away from torque wrenches when removing nuts and bolts. When using the air gun/impact gun, set it to the max. Try tightening and then loosening the nut, by switching directions on the gun frequently. Make sure that you don't use any extensions as power is wasted through the transfer.

 

thanks guys, i did remove the little indentation. we tried going back and forth on it and the funny thing is that in the beggining the nut moved like an eight of an inch and then it stopped. I'm gonna go back to the dealership that put it all together tomorow and bitch. i think i just need to get a breaker bar with a 1" connector and put a ten foot bar on the end of it and have all my friends push.

 

Never done this, but could you just dremel that nut in half?

 

thats true. i guess i could try that if all else fails, it would be tricky though not to cut into the everything else. thanks