Well, I have the passenger side driveshaft separated from the transmission, but it absolutely will not come free of the hub (free it with a gently tap my ***). I don't see any real need to remove it to drop the transmission. Is it alright to just leave it hanging there? I have the exposed splines and bearing wrapped in a trashbag.

By the way, I used Willard's method to separate the lower ball joint, after BENDING a ball joint separator fork. It worked, but only after I substituted a 5/8" socket for a 1/2" drive ratchet handle

 

If you took the 32mm castle nut off of the end of the axle, you should be able to tap it through the hub without a problem. It will be fine to just leave it hanging there, but it may get in the way a bit when you go to drop the tranny.

 

The castle nut is off. A light tap is definitely not going to get it out.

 

Smack the **** out of it. Now that I think about it, I had to hit mine pretty hard the first time I pulled them.

 

go to autozone and buy a ball joint remover about 7 bucks it has two little arms and is shaped like a rectangle with a half opened end. this slides over the ears on the lowe contron arm steering etc. they are there for a reason. you turn a socket and the screw pushes the bolt up through the arm. if you are trying to remove a ball joint from the side it is pressed in use a bench vise and a socket over it and press it out that way. also it took a 20 ton press to press the cv axels out of my hubs. and this after pb blaster wd 40 super penetrate brass hammer and drift. brass headed impact hammer and heat from oxyacetalene torch. these can be a sob. if you have to get some arbor press plates from harbour freight and use the sphere shaped openings to support your hub and put in hydro press. go easy with a pump and a pause because you dont want to over do it. sometimes after it sits loaded it will start to slide out .


[Modified by vtecmissle, 1:02 AM 9/17/2002]

 

you dont need to seperate the ball joint, all you need to do is remove the 3 bolts that hold the LCA on then secure it to somthing to it dosent hang from the balljoint, then hit the head of the axle with a BFH.


[Modified by KAMiN, 5:09 PM 9/16/2002]

 

Yes.

 

I'm way past ball joints here (but that was another huge pain in the ***). Thanks for the advice anyway. I'd have both driveshafts out today if I hadn't smashed my hand on the cat trying to pry out the driver's side shaft. I need to restock on band-aids