ok, heres the deal:
im pretty sure my passenger side cv joint is going because i hear the clicking when i turn (if the music is low), and begin to accelerate in 1st and a little in 2nd. i recently was under my car and decided to check it out and could really find a tear in the boot.

what i want to know is whether or not the cv joint is the problem and if so, is it very hard to do, because the place i take my car is charging 240 for it.

the only tools i have are pretty much any hand tool and my stock jack, and ramps...is this doable?


on a side note...im about to drive my teg off a bridge, in the past 2 months my car has been hit, broken in to via passenger side window, piece of **** radiator is leaking after only a couple thousand miles and now this...im a poor college kid and this **** is breaking me, thats why i dont want to pay 240 for this to be done


cliffnote : how hard is it to change cv joints with basic tools?

 

changing out an axle is simple on dc2s. what you need is a 14mm,17mm, a pry bar. the hardest thing for you would be the axle nut. Its a 1 1/4 socket. more than likely gonna need a impact gun.

heres a easy way to do the axle.

1. raise the car and put it on jackstands
2. take off wheel.
3. with a 14mm socket loosen the shock fork.
4. with a 17mm wrench and socket remove the lower control arm bolt that holds the fork onto the arm.
5. remove shock fork
6. remove cotter pins from tie rod and lower ball joint.
7. with a 17mm wrench or socker remove the tie rod and lower ball joint castle nuts. and pop the tie rod off the hub
8. now for a hard part. separating the lower control arm from the hub assembly. best way i found is get a pipe or block of wood and a hammer and go to town on it.
9. once that is loose from the hub. peel up the bent in portion of the axle nut and with a 1 1/4 socket find a way to remove it. (since your using basic methods you would probably have to have a buddy hold the brakes.
10. once the nut is removed, lift the hub assembly from the lower arm and place it to the side.
11. with a pry bar, pry the axle from the tranny (probably gonna take a good bit of force if stock axle)
12. once removed, check the new axle for a locking clip on the tranny side. lube the splines w/ motor oil or whatever you use in your transmission , line up the splines and snap the axle in place. make sure it clicks in.

installion is reverse of removal.


Modified by AllMotorGSR94 at 2:10 AM 3/8/2004


Modified by AllMotorGSR94 at 2:11 PM 3/8/2004

 

sounds doable, i really appreciate the write up...but i heard that if u catch it soon enough, you dont have to replace the axle (excuse me for the ignorance if this isnt true)

 

if its clicking it's too late.

 

yea dude. sorry about your car problems. when a teg hits roughly 80-100k miles, all hell starts to break loose.

i bought my car at 75k miles, and between then and 100k, here is what needed to be replaced

-radiator
-both front axles
-exhaust manifold (cracked)
-catalytic converter
-02 sensors

those are the major pieces. besides the regular fuel/oil/air filter changes.

i know, it sucks, i am a college student too. and i did it all myself WITHOUT AIR TOOLS in my FRONT YARD! AHH!!!! IN THE RAIN!!! lol ****** a.

just stick with it, it will all work out.

and yes, if its clicking, you've got a few months to go.

 

son of a bitch...well hopefully after i get this done and put in a new radiator again, i can finally focus on some performance, which is what ive wanted to do since day one, but i keep getting jewwed out

 

Well remember, the boot doesn't have to be torn for the joint/axle to be bad. Sometimes the bearings in there just take a crap on you.

If it is simply the physical boot, then you know you can just get a boot repair kit from any car place, right? They're like $15-20.

For an axle swap, just use AllMotorGSR94's advice.