Hey, just wanted to say Thanks. Your method of popping the front axle half shaft out worked JUST like it did in your video for me. After years and years of wrenching and owning several GMT360's, I really appreciate this video!
When doing this job on this family of vehicles, always a good idea to inspect the shaft seals, and replace if cracked or leaking. Passenger side (outer disconnect) seal part number: 12479055, and driver side part number 19257296. Both part numbers have various supersession numbers, but these part numbers will get you there. A standard seal hook puller and a cheater tube will get the old seals out, and a seal driver pair, 40mm for inner size, and a 76mm outer, on a driver bar, will assure smooth insertion with the mini sledge hammer light love taps to seat. Have a paper towel stuffed into the old seal hole before brushing the case face clean of grease/dirt/debris before seal removal. Clean the seal bore before new seal insertion. No RTV in seal bore is necessary, as the seal outer diameter is nicely designed both in size and form, to fit tightly, with three or so ridges. Lubricate seal lips with axle grease prior to installation of the new CV axle shaft. If the CV shaft insertion stop dead without seating, then withdraw the axle, then re-insert with jiggling and rotation motion to try again. When the axle is fully seated, there is not even a finger-width gap between the case outer face and the CV tri-lobe cup inner face.
Thank u bro for giving me the knowledge to do this I have a trailblazer ls 4.2 model and I have to change both cv axle to this is very impressive tank u bro I have learned a lot Brooklyn is in the house
Jason, Thank you so very much. 04 Envoy/Trailblazer here in Rust Central Vermont. I used your technique a few weeks ago for both sides. After pounding on both sides for hours I ordered the axel shaft removal kit from Amazon. There are a few there. The kit has two pickle fork like rods. None of the manufacturer’s offer a compatibility list. All of these are approximately the same size; therefore they work better on certain vehicles. On mine they wouldn’t fit between the transfer case the ear area on the shaft. After soaking with PB Blaster for two days the tools helped get the shafts off. The passenger side was much more difficult. The tool force is distributed on two ears at the same time. That’s the benefit. It still requires lots of patience, turning, spraying and ponding. Now I’m back at it again. I had replaced the power steering lines (Rock Auto) and used their included button like duck seals which went in too loosely. They leaked like a faucet. No way to get them in without removing the axel shaft. I finally found GM seals for around $16 each on Rock Auto which I didn’t see the first time. The dealerships want $25 for each. There is a noticeable difference with the aftermarket ones. My second than you very much is for showing me how to remove the axel while leaving the knuckle on. I can’t dislodge the new aftermarket lower ball joint from the knuckle. I don’t want to pry in there because I’ll probably tear the rubber boot on the lower ball joint. So I’ll check back in by the weekend with a update. Eddie
Thanks for watching Eddie and glad you managed to get it all fixed up. Sometimes you really do just have to buy the special/specific tool to do the job.
I do not envy you!LOL Live in the NW and no salt used. Axle literally popped out with a few taps from underneath. Guessing working on cars in general in the rust belt must be much harder on older cars as they age due to rust from the salt. Ultimately proves, buy West Coast cars used!LOL
Very good! Thank you a ton. This saved all kinds of time. Did one side and plan to do the other another day. Had a couple hicups but reducing a ton of the process was key. Less torque specs needed, no need to remove caliper, MUCH less assembly and dis assembly, on and on. Literally IMHO cut a 4 hour job in half to two. Thank you very much! Appreciated it.
Thanks for the video, tried on a 2009 Saab 97x 4.2 which needed a little more clearance to clear the seal. I dropped the lower ball joint leaving the nut in place to hold the suspension. This gave just enough to remove as you show. Would be helpful to those doing this job to make sure you have a deep 36mm socket, a 24mm, 22mm, 18mm,15mm, sockets and 15mm, 10mm wrenches, will also need an Allen wrench for retorquing the lower bj forgot the size.
Passenger side front axle came apart at Ujoint hours from home. Limping it to auto parts store 5 minutes away luckily. Left the 20% in the front diff as to not leak everything out and removed axle nut, and shaft from wheel bearing and was good to go. No more clucking and risk of damage to diff or oil pan rest of way home. All I needed to know was axel nut size but found myself watching the entire video. Nice how to🤙🤙👍
AFTER ALL THESE BUSTED KNUCKLES I FIND OUT HOW EASY IT REALLY IS. Thanks to you I can now go to the blood bank and get some blood added to my system cuz I lost a lot, it's all over the shop.
Very well explained ! short how I like it and right to the point of things ! One of the best videos I have seen on RU-vid for these axles. I watched it and won’t have to watch another ! Very good video !
Iv just subscribed to your channel. I pretty much binged watched almost all your videos in the last 2 days. I'm surprised you don't have a bigger following. Anyway i like your videos and think if you keep going eventually you'll get a bigger following. Videos are pretty well edited and good content. Keep up the good work. I'm impressed . You know your shit..
Thank you! I appreciate the subscription! Thanks for the compliment also, doing my best to consistently improve my edits and recording and provide good content with useful information!
I wasn't bad when I did mine, the CV axle ring hads to face down , I use a rubber mallet to get it in, passager side you have to take whole 4x4 adcutor off and re grease the gears and same thing, Great video man
I've done that too. I like using something steel, I feel like it transfers the impact of the hammer better to help knock the retaining ring out of the groove.
I remember i had some real problems getting out CV axle on I think was my Ford Ranger. My dad ending up tying a rope to it and other end on his trucks tow assembly and floored it 😮. It was definitely a cross your fingers moment but worked. Wouldnt do it now. Was a last ditch thing.
Nice job on the video man. That's too bad tho u showed the upper ball joint just easily fall out of the upper control arm knuckle so easily after he removed the bolt. It is never going to happen that way. It'll take a few hammer hits from underneath the arm to knock it up off the ball joint.
I had replaced the ball joints a month or so before and used a chisel in the gap of the pinch to make it easier. Next time you're working on some upper ball joints, drive a chisel or flat blade screwdriver into the gap to open up the bore where the upper ball joint stud goes in, will make it very easy to get the stud out.
🤙🏻🍕 great videos man. Very informative for sure. Definitely hit your channel up first from know on if I need to learn anything about my TBSS. Much love big dog. Stay GOLD bro. 🤙🏻🍕
How do you tell when it's bad, I replaced both front bearings and it seemed fine for a while but now I have kind of a rumble grinding noise when turning to the right and also when braking, I also had one of the caliper bolts come out on that side and replaced it. It was the upper one for keeping the pins in. Thanks
I noticed when I replaced the axles in a 08 trailblazer the new ones were an inch shorter but haven't had any problems. I just assumed because the older ones were worn out and stretched?
Here's the trick. Remove the pinch bolt, drive a chisel or screwdriver into the slot just enough to barely spread the bore. Then insert ball joint stud, remove screwdriver or punch, and tighten pinch bolt.
@@MohawkMotors Thank you for the advice. After fighting with it for a bit we realized jacking the car up higher gave us a better approach angle. Was a breeze after that, but getting to that point took a lot of trial and error lol
I just bought a 06 envoy 5.3 Denali , it has a low oil pressure issue, I’m going to get the oil pan off and change the pickup tube O ring , I hope that’s it, that’s what it was on my 07 Tahoe.
@@MohawkMotors I just got the oil pan off, took the oil pickup tube off and the O ring was split and hard as a rock,it looked like a C clip, going to get it back together in the next couple days , I’ll keep you posted, I’ll probably put something on my low budget U tube channel, lol.
@@MohawkMotors just got done changing the 3 seals in the front differential, falls right out without an oil pan on the motor, I should have the pan on today and fire it up and check for leaks before I put the whole thing back together, fingers crossed
As long as it's not an awd Denali envoy you'll be fine to drive it short term until you can get replacement shafts. It can damage the front wheel bearings and front differential (the front differential will be open to the elements) if you drive it for more than a couple hundred miles without the front axle shafts in
The outer part of the cv axle actually holds everything together like a sandwich with the axle nut keeping it all tight. To convert to 2wd you have to make a sort of stub assembly of the outer cv axle that will hold your rotor, hub assembly and rim all sandwiched together tight. You would also have to seal off the opening left by the axle in the differential housing so dirt doesn't get in there.
I had a leaking CV axle shaft and a mechanic chewed up the housing trying to get shaft out. Went to another mechanic and he tried twice to replace seal. It still leaks! Any idea how I can get seal leak to stop. He did try RTV on it.
The axle shafts use a lip seal. If the shaft itself is damaged where the seal rides, on the housing is damaged where the seal presses in it won't seal. Sometimes using rtv around the outside of the seal to make up for imperfections in the housing bore will work. If the second mechanic used rtv on the ouside of the seal to make up for the damaged housing, either the housing is too badly damaged to seal and will nee to be repaired or replaced, or there's something else going on. Could be as simple as the seal installed incorrectly. Without seeing it it's hard to diagnose.
When putting the axel back into the differential do u need it to be lined up a certain way like when it came out or will it snap in easier then getting it out
They're much easier to get back in. you don't need to line it up any specific way, just poke the end in, get the splines lined up, then give it a quick firm push in and it should snap into place.
🤙🏻🍕 lil extra for you... I'm in the middle of pulling my LS2 out of my 06 AWD TBSS. All I've herd is what a bitch it is to pull the axles and dif so I was trying the, leave the pan behind, method and yeah, there's one bult on the pan that I have 0 clue how anyone has gotten to it so idk how these ppl have done it this was more that once. I call straight BS on it. But yeah, now I see that it's not that bad at all and I'm already doing a full front end rebuild on it. Or was going to at some point and have everything so I'm just doing it now that I'm pulling the CVs anyway. Thank you for making it look not nearly has hard as EVERYONE has told me. I'm totally laughing at them now. They'll all be getting "you're a pu$$y for thinking that was hard" texts from me here very soon. After I do it so I don't make an idiot out of myself. Lmao Much love from AZ big dog. 🤙🏻🍕
Thanks for watching!!! Hope your CV's pop out easily, the real key is a solid hit like I said, don't use wood or anything like that, it's gotta be steel so the chock from the hammer is transferred to the axle, and don't be afraid to HIT it!!! Good luck and have fun!!!
I did like your video. I did exactly the same thing on my 2004 Toyota tundra limited. Now I have a request from a co-worker to help him with his 2002 trailblazer. He brought it by today, and the part of the axle that sits inside the differential is completely disconnected and flopping around. He is wanting me to simply disconnect it and leave it apart. I figure if I disconnect the portion of the axle that goes into the wheel hub, and attached that axle nut, it should be good to go. He is well aware that he will essentially have an opening and possibly lose more oil out of the diff. To be on the safe side, I may remove the front drive shaft. In your estimation, is this going to work okay?
So you can do what you're thinking, and you are correct, he's going to have a big hole that allows whatever oil is left in the front differential to leak out, BUT with the other side axle shaft still connected there will still be parts moving in the front differential assembly (really just the stub shaft on the passenger side. If you decide to continue with this plan, I would suggest removing the axle shaft on both sides, leave the portion that goes throught the hub on both sides with the nut on the keep the wheels bearings from separating, AND remove the front driveshaft. That way you won't have anything in the front differential spiing when the vehicle is in motion. You'll still have the potential oil leak and the front differential likely get filled with whatever flies in through the stub shaft openings, but at least there wont't be any potential for parts to be moving/spinning without lubrication and potential catastrphic failure or lockup while driving.
@@MohawkMotors after some thinking, I was thinking of doing exactly what you had just described. But, somehow I will have to figure out a way to plug up the open hole.
you could just remove the center section of the axle shafts that connects the ends. The wheel end would still keep the wheel bearing from separating. The differential end is retained by a snap ring, if it's not connected to the wheel it wont spin and it's very unlikely that it would bounce out or pop loose. Then both sides of the differential would be sealed up, but it wouldn't be spinning when the vehicle is moving.
Yeah, I would definitely make sure it's full when you put it back together. Oil leaks leading to low oil level, leading to catastrophic failure, are a very common problem in the gmt360 platform, and very expensive to get repaired.
very possible the 4x4 has never been used but you are right, even in 2wd all the front end parts including the axles shafts and side gears in the differential are still spinning so the seals still get wear and lude is still necessary.
Bigger Hammer and hit it like it owes you A LOT of money. Also make sure you're using a driver that is meant for hitting so you have solid metal, no plastic or composite to absorb the energy from your hammer blow.
I am having the same difficulty..No luck with a slidehammer, no luck prying, and no luck hitting the end of a prybar with a sledge to disengage the shaft from the tranaxle...... any other thoughts?? thank you in advance
I actually pulled another on apart yesterday and the driver side did not want to come out. I just kept spinning it and giving it a few smacks with the prybar and mini sledge, then spin a little and hit it a few more times, spin it, hit it, spin it, hit it. Took me about 15 minutes and some foul language and then it finally popped out. Sometimes they're really stubborn, if you start getting frustrated and impatient take a break from it and work on something else for a bit, 9 times out of 10 it'll pop right out when you come back to it with later.
