drive axle replacement question

[johnwc723]

i am doing a drive axle replacement and i have gotten to the step of removing the fork bolt.. i have gotten the nut off the other side of it and i went at the bolt with a wrench and ended up breaking the wrench!! from what the HOW TO says it dosent even seem like it should be hard at all to remove once the nut is off!! anyone have any idea how to get that thing off (im afraid to put heat on it cause of all the rubber around)

also when i do get that off it looks to me like the shock and spring would shoot down right? wouldnt that be bad for it (and for me?)

thanks guys

[skull1441]

the shock and spring will not shoot u , dont worry

[AccordEpicenter]

oh god... those fork bolts are PITA to get off... i highly reccomend taking apart the inboard joint to get it in instead of messing with that fork bolt... As for the spring etc, the shock actually holds it all together so it wont shoot out if you take it apart like that. I suggest put the nut back on and take apart the inboard cv joint instead to install it.

[johnwc723]

okay well thats a relief about the shock

however yes i cant get the fuckin fork off!! i have pounded the hell outta the nut side to no avail! you said disassemble the inner cv joint to take off/put on? eeek that sounds like it might be even worse!!

--however i am right to pound on the nut side right? (the threads are only for the nut right its not threaded inside the fork or anything right?)-- main question

i cant apply heat to it cause of the rubber, however im gonna try to use my neighbors breaker bar tomorrow when he gets back (i already broke a socket wrench on it!)

[nswst8]

You will need to use some PB Blast penetrating oil and let soak in overnight if possible or at least 20 minute. then go at it with at least 1/2 in breaker bar or 3/4 if possible.
But you should be able to get the torch wrench in there without doing any damage.
Hope this helps

[smufguy]

you cant and should not remove a high torque bolt like that with your 3/8" ratchet. Use a breaker bar a 1/2" one.

Also once the bolt it loose, all u have to do is just swing it out.

Here is the easy way to do it and the way i did it.

1. Loosen the axle nut and remove it.
2. Instead of going to the fork bolt, go for the bolt that holds the strut into the fork and remove it. use a crow bar to widen it a lil so that the strut slides out (hard because of rust).
3. Loosen the lower control arm (lower ball joint). Loosen this nut and use a regular heavy hammer to hammer the lower control arm near the bolt (be sure not to take the nut out cause u might damage the threads). On the other hand the right way to do it is to use a balljoint remover and find ur way thru it. I just use a regular hammer and the lower control arm is solid and strong enough to take two hammering.
4. Loosen the spindle/axle nut and slide the axle out after u detach it from the tranny.

[SteveDX89]

The axle won't fit through the fork. You either need to separate the fork or take the CV joint apart. Those bolts are not threaded internally, only where the nut goes on. They're also a bitch to get out. I took mine to a machine shop and had them pressed out.

[smufguy]

well i just opened up the boot, took the rooler and the shaft end apart and made sure not to drop then in the dirt or anything and it just slides out.

[johnwc723]

hmm im thinking of taking it to a shop do you guys think that it is a bolt that will be able to be loosened with a good set of impact tools ( i just bought a breaker bar and it wont budge on it)i have been sprawing PB blaster all over it for a long time already

i know that opening the boot is the best idea, i just called a shop and they said thats what they would do but im scared as hell to open it as i know if something isnt assembaly exactly right in the grease filled mess then i just screwed the new cv-joint up

[SteveDX89]

It depends on if you want to pay for it. I took my lower control arm off and disconnected the fork at the strut. I took the whole mess in and had them press it apart and then had new bushings pressed into the lower arm. It took them 5 hours to do all that cause it was so tight even with a big hydraulic press. They charged me $60 to do that. Figure on that price plus bushings and another bolt cause they'll probably fuck it up trying to get it out.

[johnwc723]

well the shop said that they would prolbably just dissassembal the cv and put it back togheter to get it on and off

i am condisdering your fork strut removal but how exactly would that work?

would i take off the lower arm before or after that, and once i have the fork off wouldnt it be really hard to re attach it cause it woudl move a little bit because of the spring tension?

[SteveDX89]

There's no spring tension. Once the car is jacked up, the suspension is not loaded. The spring is at it's max length. Unbolt the fork pinch bolt on the back of the struts on the bottom. Get your lower ball joint apart and then take the bolt out of the lower arm that goes into the crossmember close to the engine. You'll have to take the axle along with it or you can cut them in half or take the CV joint apart to get it out. Since you're replacing them anyway, the easiest is to just cut them in half.

[johnwc723]

so i would still have to take apart the cv joint (the new one, as well as the old one) to do this installation?

[SteveDX89]

Yeah. Sucks, don't it?

[johnwc723]

i hate drive axles ....

[smufguy]

they are not that bad. Takes about an hour to change em both, given u got the right tools and they are not that many anyway. Ask Jim, He knows all about changing axles. hehe, well again, its not a hard thing to do. Maybe 2 hours, but its only cause we work on jack stands and not enough room underneath the car. So its a bit straining, but shit ull be fine

[tatmark1]

put some ass behind it or get some air, thatbolt should be nothing. when you do get it put anti sieze on it when you ut it back

[maxoutracer]

compression n impact driver should do the works!

[HostileJava]

they are not that bad. Takes about an hour to change em both, given u got the right tools and they are not that many anyway. Ask Jim, He knows all about changing axles. hehe, well again, its not a hard thing to do. Maybe 2 hours, but its only cause we work on jack stands and not enough room underneath the car. So its a bit straining, but shit ull be fine

That and we didn't have to worry about getting the spindle nut off. I went to actually change out the drivers side axle and had to cut a huge notch in the nut and stick a chisel in there at an angle. I just kept hitting it till it started to turn. This was after letting it soak in PB blast for about a day and hitting it with the torch for like 5-10min. Anti-seeze is your friend.

[smufguy]

you saw how i took urs out right JIM. with the 18" breaker bar, its easier to turn. Ur tranny filler bolt wont pop out because its in an akward place. I should have used my 12" pipe wrench that i had in the car. That shit is the final solution to anything impossible out there. LONG LIVE PIPE WRENCH AND BREAKER BAR!!!!!!!

[HostileJava]

you saw how i took urs out right JIM. with the 18" breaker bar, its easier to turn. Ur tranny filler bolt wont pop out because its in an akward place. I should have used my 12" pipe wrench that i had in the car. That shit is the final solution to anything impossible out there. LONG LIVE PIPE WRENCH AND BREAKER BAR!!!!!!!

If your talking about using that on the spindle nut forget it on mine. I used a 2' breaker bar, a pipe wrench, and also took the breaker bar, put it on the nut, layed the other end on the floor and put the car in reverse. started pitting holes in the concrete and the nut still didn't move till i took my dremel and a chisel to that bitch.

[smufguy]

damn jim, ur car sure as hell is a bitch. LOL. hehehe

[carotman]

if the bolt is seised inside the bushing... it will neer come out... sucks but you have to take the joint apart.