im replaing my front axles soon, cuz ive got this terrible creeking/knocking sound, and it's not the LSD or the suspension... we're pretty sure it's the axles. does anyone know of a good how-to on how to do this? thanks

 

jack the car up, take the wheel off, break the axel nut loose, take the tie rod loose, take the lower ball joint loose, pull axel out of spindle, pull axel out of tranny. reverse for reinstall.

thas just a basic overview.

also make sure you have a pan under the tranny when you pull the axel out to catch the fluid, and be sure to have fluid to fill the tranny back up.

Adam

 

oooh never thought about the fluid, thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ncVTEC1313 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">jack the car up, take the wheel off, break the axel nut loose, take the tie rod loose, take the lower ball joint loose, pull axel out of spindle, pull axel out of tranny. reverse for reinstall.

thas just a basic overview.

also make sure you have a pan under the tranny when you pull the axel out to catch the fluid, and be sure to have fluid to fill the tranny back up.

Adam

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You don't need to loosen the outer tie rod, there's really no purpose in doing that; just loosen the lower ball joint . If you know what you're doing you can drop a CV shaft in 10 minutes or less.

 

can i get some more detailed descriptions? thanks

 

how much would it cost if you got it done from the shop ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CivicSiR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how much would it cost if you got it done from the shop ?</TD></TR></TABLE>

too much

 

shop will get about 175 a side---including the axle that is....there for take some time and try it out your self....the worst to happen is your gona need a little help right?

 

its pretty straight forward.. as described above. just watch out putting them back in that you dont pound on them or else you might mess them up too (dont ask how i know )... and also, its easier (if you dont have an impact gun) to break the spindle nut w/the tire on the ground and a pipe extension to a ratched (or breaker bar)...

you might run into a very annoying problem which is the "floating" ball joint.. i'm not sure about the solution to that but what i did is get a big flathead screw driver and push the ball joint up to keep it from spinning while i tightened the nut from the bottom (and ripping the ball joint boot in the process )

 

where di i fill the tranny back up with fluid...will i need a surenge of some sort?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dwchkypmp20 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">where di i fill the tranny back up with fluid...will i need a surenge of some sort?</TD></TR></TABLE>

remove the VSS from the top of the tranny (two long 10mm extensions) and then fill from there using a funnel. leave the real fill hole open (the one on the side of the tranny case) and keep pouring from the VSS hole until it barely starts comming out of the side fill hold (should be about 2-2.5 qts) then just put everything back and youre done.

 

what parts will i need to replace aside from the axles? what should i buy for this process? thanks

 

Be Nice if someone have a step to step instruction, for this process.

Since this is a Very common problem for all of us. ^_~ Maybe i know how to do it, i would write a HOW TO on this.

 

I've done this several times, I'll see if I can do a step-by-step.

While car is on the ground, loosen the axle nuts w/ a breaker bar and pipe if needed.

Jack up car and remove wheels.

Drain the tranny fluid. You should probably go ahead and change the fluid anyway w/ fresh so have some new fluid on hand before starting.

Remove the balljoint castle nuts and cotter pins, and then break the lower balljoint loose. I do this by pushing up on the LCA w/ my jack, sticking a 1/2" drive ratchet handle between the spindle and LCA (on the backside of the spindle) and then lowering the jack. The ratchet handle should force the 2 parts apart. This has worked every time for me.

Remove the lower shock forks.

Lift the spindle/balljoint out of the LCA and work the end of the axle out of the hub. This can be tricky, have a friend to help because that spindle and brake assembly can get pretty heavy. If the axle doesn't want to come right out, try tapping it with a rubber mallet or something that won't damage the end of the axle. Although if you're changing the axle, damage to the end probably doesn't matter much.

Using a big flat head screwdriver, pry the passenger side inner joint out of the differential, and then set that axle aside.

Separate the inner driver side joint from the center shaft and remove the driver side axle. Sometimes this can be difficult, and if so you can remove the axle and center shaft as one piece, so go to the next step.

Unbolt the center shaft carrier bearing from the engine block. After this, the center shaft should slide easily out of the differential (there are no c-clips or anything keeping it in place since it's usually bolted to the block). If the axle is still connected, just remove the entire axle and center shaft assembly as a single unit. It will be heavy, so again have a friend to help.

Installation is pretty much the reverse of removal I think. If you have trouble with the balljoint stud spinning when you install the castle nut, try raising the suspension again with the jack.

Also when you put new fluid in the tranny, the car MUST be level (either on the ground completely or on 4 jackstands). Otherwise the tranny will not have enough fluid when it starts to run out the filler hole.

Hope that helps, lemme know if anything isn't clear.

 

Good writeup Patrick. Just a few things, though...

Don't forget to unstake teh axle nuts. Just stick a small blade screwdriver in there and tap it with a hammer. You'll see what i mean. Then you can use your pipe and a breaker bar to get it off, and trust me, it's a bitch. I used a 6 foot pipe and a beefy craftsman breaker bar, and the nuts came off, but I bent the breaker bar in the process Last time, I broke the breaker bar.

For teh spinning balljoint stud, what I did was put the nut on as far as it could go, then I took a blade screwdriver and put it between the nut and the LCA and twisted the screwdriver to force that taper fit into the LCA. Afterwards, the nut should go on and the stud should be stationary.

Good luck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by garados &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Don't forget to unstake teh axle nuts. Just stick a small blade screwdriver in there and tap it with a hammer. You'll see what i mean. Then you can use your pipe and a breaker bar to get it off, and trust me, it's a bitch. I used a 6 foot pipe and a beefy craftsman breaker bar, and the nuts came off, but I bent the breaker bar in the process Last time, I broke the breaker bar.
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Well if you think about it, you don't really have to unstake the nut unless you really want to. There's no way that little piece of bent axle nut would keep it from coming off when you apply torque from a 6-ft bar on it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> </TD></TR></TABLE>

Damn, only if you got some pictures with this. Would explain it much easier. -=P But looks like a good write up to start out with. Time to get down and dirty. THanks. ^_~

(if you got picture, i can help host them for you) lmk..

 

Also, I heard about the tranny fuild refill. Can you just lean the car to one side. So the refill hole face upwards? So you can get some more oil in? O_O not sure.. (since i heard, if you overfill the oil, it will eventually burn out anyways, and level itself . Is this correct?)

Any brand of tranny oil to recommend?

 

if you fill the tranny through the vss opening, there is no reason you won't get enough fluid in there.... it's on the top of the tranny, so just keep pouring until mtf comes out the "real" fill hole.... what's recommended? honda mtf is good enough. gm synchromesh is better, though more costly. stay with those two.


Modified by Team 4R at 9:03 PM 1/3/2004

 

gm synchromesh friction modified part #12377916 at any gm dealer, easiest to find it at chevy dealerships.

thanks for the write-up!!! it'll definitely come into use

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Team 4R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you fill the tranny through the vss opening, there is no reason you won't get enough fluid in there.... it's on the top of the tranny, so just keep pouring until mtf comes out the "real" fill hole.... what's recommended? honda mtf is good enough. gm synchromesh is better, though more costly. stay with those two.


Modified by Team 4R at 9:03 PM 1/3/2004</TD></TR></TABLE>

If only the front end of the car is in the air, and you fill it till fluid runs out the real filler hole, then it doesn't matter where you filled it from, the tranny will still be low by almost 1/2 quart or possibly a little more. Low fluid will make 5th gear eventutally start grinding.

 

^_~ Thanks you. One last thing, how much exactly fluid can the tranny hold? Thanks.

 

You have to buy 3 quarts, and you put in around 2.3 - 2.5 or so.

 

Very good write up Pat

Here is another good thread by B18C5-EH2 with some good pictures to explain everything.

Axle Replacement Tutorial With PICS!

 

do you HAVE to replace tranny fluid? i just changed mine like 2,000 miles ago and i dont wanna go spending 40 bucks to change it again