I tried your pry bar method on my Jeep Commander, All went well until time to pop out the axle. It would not come out. I pried and pried, I actually bent the Axle drive shaft seal and the oil started leaking out. Unfortunately none of the local parts stores had the seal. Have to visit dealer in the morning. You should mention that there is a tool similar to the tie rod end remover (aka pickle fork) that can be rented from parts store. Once I got this tool and hit with a BFH the axle popped right out. Took all of 1 minute. Never do this repair on a Sunday.
Instead of removing the knuckle/strut bolts to provide clearance to remove the axle, isn't it possible to avoid a alignment issues by removing the lower ball joint from the knuckle instead?
Excellent! I watched the video a couple of times and decided I could replace the half shaft on a 2003 Buick Rendezvous. Bought the part and took the old one out. Everything you said would happen did happen. Watched the video in spots to verify what I was doing. No problems! I don't understand how a dealership can justify their charges for this job.
I replaced the cv axle on my 2001 Pontiac grand am but for some reason it didn't pop out of the transmission very easily. I had to pry from a few different angles and it took quite a while to get it out and finally it came out. My question for you is do you know why I had such a difficult time getting it out? I'm obviously not a mechanic but I've done a heck of alot of stuff. I did get the job done so no harm, no foul, just a bit curious.
I can respect that I mean in our automotive class we have cars that are in the same condition as that one that go no where that we repair parts on as a learning experience. These vids will help me out in my career as well. From a technician in training over here I want to say keep up the good vids Ben. -Chris
Great vid!! I am trying to remove 2008 Jetta front drivers Axle - 1K0407271BP. for CV boot repair. How do I pull it from the transmission side? Ben, I see that you forced a pry bar behind it. Maybe, that's what I need to do. I saw your half-axle was similar to mine on the transmission side. Anyboddy know?? I got the axle freed from the wheel side, easily. But, wasn't sure how to pop it from transmission side. Didn't want o force anything until I was certain of method. I saw several videos that show certain VW-family years and models where 6 -each 10mm spline bolts are removed from an inboard bracket.. then, axle pops out (of course, having already freed up the wheel side). But, my axle doesn't have this. Thoughts (I know... go to VW service... HAH!)
Call me a nerd, but I love watching these videos. Informative yet entertaining and straight forward. The internet is full of amazing free material, and this is one perfect example. Even if I never actually do this repair, at least now I know what it being done to my car and what to look out for. Thanks!
Be sure to look up the specific torque for the axle nut on your vehicle. It's important that it's not under/over-tightened,as this can cause the bearing to fail. Use a torque wrench.
Many times,if you're replacing the hub/bearing,the included instructions for the new part will have the torque listed. It may vary from the OEM torque. It's probably best to follow the hub/bearing manufacturer's specs,in that case. Just an FYI,hope it helps someone.
PhattyMo Thanks again! You seem to know a lot about cars, i am just learning, a student. I jacked up my cars L front wheel, wiggled the drive axle shaft(the rod between the 2 boots?) and it can wiggle up n down, is that normal?
I'm just a backyard mechanic,and have a lot to learn myself. In my experience,the axle shafts should be fairly 'stiff',but may have a little play. If it feels 'loose',it's probably in need of repair/replacement. It may depend on the vehicle. I don't have a whole lot of experience with the shafts. Maybe somebody else will have a better answer. Or look for some videos about it here on RU-vid. Good luck!
PhattyMo Thanks for the reply! i will either take it to a mechanic or take another look into it, it just sucks when its raining and you have no garage and its night time, Cheers ^AB
Great video and commentary. All the little verbal tricks you tell us are a great help. Thanks so much. It wasn't half as complicated as I thought it would be!
Your video was very good. It was way more clear and to the point than any others ive seen on this subject. Thank you so much for posting this one. I am changing the half shafts on a 1999 Chevy Malibu 2.4L. So pretty much the same as the car you did as far as how it's constructed. Thanks again.
ok so there is a way to do this without the need to get an alignment ... you can open up the screws on the bottom part of the hub and you lift and pull up the hub with the suspension, little harder but saves you money :) have done it several times and there was no alignment needed :)
I saw the video. I am working on a 1993 Buick Century with a 3300 V6 and a 125C transmission. Basically the same setup as the car he's working on. The axle shaft will NOT come out. I will have to send it in. I tried the pry bar, slide hammer, pickle fork.......nothing worked. Passenger side axle came out easy, drivers side won't budge.
Try having the axel connected to the breaks and caliper system unscrew all bolts bull towered you and down make sure car is jacked up or raised. That's how I do it everytime. Gravity does the work
DO NOT TORQUE AXLE NUTS ON THE GROUND! Axle nuts can serve as the preload for the wheel bearing. That preload is very important and doing it without weight on it is the only way.
if I watched all your video- can I be a certified tech? just send the diploma to my email lol.... I liked how you explained all the steps and how things may be diff for other cars too
Sir why does my car shift but wont move at all even in reverse. When im not stepping on the clutch there are some weird rolling noise which is I think from the CV axle or from the boot part. My speedo reads some speed when im not pressing the clutch and coming back to as I press the clutch and the weird noises gone as I press in the clutch. What possible problem of my car sir? It is a Mitsubishi Lancer with a Manual Transmission on it. Hope you answer sir. Thanks a lot!
hey ben iam and aprentice mechanic i find your videos very , very usefull please donnot stop making them ! and one thing , can you make the videos more longer , thank you and keep it up
Seriously Ben. You do all of that work to replace the drive axle, talking about being careful to clean this, clean that, and lube the transmission end of the splined axle shaft, YET YOU DON'T REPLACE THE FRIGGING OUTPUT SHAFT SEAL?!?!?!?! WTF? Get it together man! Good video in spite of that.
that's the same thing that i want to know i thought you was supposed to replace the - circlip - the seal if the car uses a CV axel that gets connected to a intermediate stub shaft that goes into the trans from what i understand, the outer side of the intermediate stub shaft needs a new circlip and a seal i got a Haynes manual for my car though, and it doesn't say that i have to replace the clip or the seal and my mechanic didn't say anything about replacing that either but i still think that i,m supposed to do it
Great video bro thank you so much i got a shitbox ive had to change bearings on, shocks, brakes, tie rods, ball joints, tires you name it and this is the most consice video ive seen so far, thanks bro hope youre doing good
you do know not ever car has the same set up? this car only has a lower control arm. some cars have uper and lower. some cars have the strut on the uper and some have the lower. then we are talking about front wheel drive and rear wheel drive cars. so don't compare A GM set up to a Honda set up smart guys.
friend worked on driver front wheel replaceing hub but now my steering wheel is not straight car feels weird in front end and most of all there is now a leak not sure what fluid it is but its not far from the area he was working bottom of engine 98 cavalier manaul trans.
Did the replacement part come with the ABS wheel or did you reuse the existing one...I got to replace my half shaft and I didn't think about that when ordering the part. :/
THANK YOU for this! I did it once on my 2003 Mitsubish Outlander. Now I need to replace the drivers side AGAIN only after 3 years. The original lasted 10. Just needed to refresh my memory. Not sure why there are no posts for Mitsubishi Outlanders. Am I the only one who has one of these? Great cars.
That car doesn't need to be aligned after doing this. Only if you have those oval shaped holes going through the strut for camber/caster adjustment. And in that case, if the ball joint is serviceable separate from the control arm, just disconnect there instead. You can also disconnect the tie rod end from the knuckle and it still wouldn't need to be aligned.
Toe should be checked. There is always a bit of play in the strut mounting bolt holes, and it's impossible to avoid a bit of change when reassembling.A very small movement at that point is magnified into a larger change at the tie rod end, I have always found, and I've done dozens of these. Toe can be checked in 2 minutes on the garage floor, and who knows, it might still be in spec, but if your steering wheel ends up centered in a different position then toe is off for sure. Just saying, might as well be on the safe side.
did this repair and tried to go for a test drive made it 6' and the tran fluid started pouring out and the transmission was not moving the vehicle please help
you do know not ever car has the same set up? this car only has a lower control arm. some cars have uper and lower. some cars have the strut on the uper and some have the lower. then we are talking about front wheel drive and rear wheel drive cars. so don't compare A GM set up to a Honda set up smart guys.
Ugh I have a piece of crap 99 Infiniti g20. Wondering if I should try this. I also need new calipers, new muffler and fix a water leak by door. I might just junk it.
+melonbarmonster I've got an '00 G20 which has been very good. I do have some of the same problems as your car though. Had the axle changed by a mechanic. And I need a caliper for the 3rd time. Muffler is original on mine and luckily no water leak. How many miles do you have?
all front drive cars is basically the same just different sizes and bolts. im replacing both of mine on a 01 dodge intrepid 3.2 not a fun job but not that hard. If the axel want come out of trans lock a log chain on the end where it goes in trans and and tug the other end of the chain. hope this helps.
I would not put that car back together with the brake rotors worn out and two of the studs broken off! Who would do that. I would not go down the road with only three lug nuts on the wheel.
I have a 1999 Honda Accord automatic V6 it recently started shaking only when I accelerate. the shaking gets worse uphill and gets worse the longer I drive... it doesn't matter what gear I go into it shakes. when step on it it still shakes. would this just be an axle/cv joint problem. the car has 190,000 miles and never had the struts replaced. could that be the culprit?
You did not change seals in transmission end??? Why?? That is a must to prevent oil-leak, in older cars, it is so cheap, and easy to do before you put axle back in!!! Otherwise, OK video =)
I’m getting a vibration and it honestly looks like the transmission end of the shaft isn’t seated all the way down. Is there a way to make sure? My boots are fine no tears. My front suspension was lowered a while back to change the oil pan. And the end came out as did some fluid. I refilled the fluid and thought the end was back in place and I’m not so sure but it’s all bolted down.
hello sir, I have a 2000 KIA sephia I'm trying to replace the passenger side CV axle. For some reason I cannot get the axle pushed all the way into the transmission shaft. Also my lower ball joint keeps falling out pulling my CV axle out if the transmission shaft every time I try to take it for a test drive. Do you have any answers?
How do I check to see if I need to replace the CV joints. Have a 97 Chrysler LHS and it acts much like a rear wheel drive does when the U-joint is shot! Have never done this so need all the help I can get.
Clicking noise while turning is usually a good indicator. Then you have to isolate it to which side it's happening on. If you can get under the car, inspect the boots on the half shafts, if they're cracked the packing grease has probably leaked completely out and you're just grinding metal. They should be grease free if they're operating properly (because the grease will still be completely contained inside of them).
No need, only the damaged side need repair. No power, some shafts might dislodge from it's inner seat and induce that "no power" very rare but might happen usually after an intervention where the shaft was not properly seated in the first place. ;-)
I am amazed! How was it, your new T-shirt didn't turn into a grease rag? Well, I'm gonna TRY to replace the right half-shaft on my 1994 Ford Escort...but I won't expect it to go as smoothly. Maybe I should wear a new T-shirt?
Hey, Question? I had a Pontiac Like Your’s ,I didn’t have a bad CV Axle but I had really WEAK Front Shocks - Struts.So I went through the hassle (Saved $75) of changing them myself. I bought them online from a Big Retailer and I questioned them about Front end Alignment after the swap. They e-mailed me that it wasn’t needed but if I didn’t have it done for say 50k or more it wouldn’t hurt. So I took it to a place that specializes in Alignments.They hooked it all up and guess what? It was right on didn’t need any adjustment.The guy told me if there are elongated holes with special washers under the nuts ,like the holes are also wider than a round hole or the bolts that slide through the strut have on side between the head of the bolt and the threads a flattened side for Alignment , Then that would be a good indication that this is one of the alignment points,But since my holes for the struts were Perfectly Round without the adjustment washer it was not a caster or camber ,Toe in or out Point ??So were they Wrong or What?
Good video. No alignment; no adjustments can be made. The strut bolts probably have a torque close to 85 and the axle nut is probably 159 or more. Invest in a manual :)
I don’t here any noise on my but when I make a left turn my steering wheel doesn’t comeback itself, I’m thinking about replacing this axel but if someone has had an experience in the past or knows what it is please help!!!
Ah, I think an alignment does need done. I did both my axles and within weeks my good tires were completely warn on the insides. I think he's correct. My GM car uses the same exact set-up. Tires should last the life of the tire rating.
Do you have a video on how to replace the Bearing behing the cv oil seal on a grand prix. 2008 When i removed my cv axle there was little bearings all over. Thanks for any help. Had to wrap a chain around the back of the axle then around a pry bar then swing like a bat just to get the axle out.
I have a 2005 Chevy Cavalier with a ripped boot on the front/passenger side. I pulled the axel and replaced it with a remanufactured one. Week later started making noise again, I thought it might be because it's is a remanufactured one. Bought a brand new one and it does the same thing still. And the stub shaft seems to be stuck too.
eric the car guy did the same job and he didn't mess up the alignment at all he took bottom bolt and pin off and then replaced the axle it was much easier and less time you did it way weird and didn't really save us any money if we have to get an alignment afterwards. thanks
You can use a screw driver in the vane of the rotor and let screw driver rest against the brake rotor bracket to tighten the nut also. Not a fan of letting wheel on the ground.. to do this if you have a hoist. Just makes more work and after you still should take the wheel back off and make sure everything is right.
Would it be just as simple to change the axle on a Mazda 6 2003? And also, how would you know that your actually turning enough to a certain amount of torque?
Use a torque wrench. You set the torque wrench to whatever foot lbs that you looked up and it clicks when your tight enough. You also have to see that your bolt is on all the way. I've had a torque wrench say "tight enough" when the bolt wasn't on all the way.
why you just did just take off the lower control ball joint nut tap it out with the tie rod end and move the whole assembly as one I seen my father do it that way and you don't need a wheel alignment
