How to Replace the CV Joint / Driveaxle on a Lexus ES300 

Interesting. Never heard that one and thankfully haven't needed to do that yet.

Thanks Spencer. I appreciate the feedback.

Thank you. I have since purchased jack stands and I have a little floor jack now but I am looking to get a bigger one. Thanks for caring about my safety.

Absolutely. This process is similar across most front wheel drive cars.

You should go buy a lottery ticket. CV joints are rarely easy to remove.

I actually did have one. You probably saw it at one point, a big green bowl underneath. Realistically however, I have changed both CV joints and never had more than just a few drops leak out either time.

Automatic transmission fluid fluid?

That's kind of the purpose of my channel. Not trying to show experienced mechanics how to do this stuff but rather the home mechanic with limited tools.

Thanks for the tip. Great idea.

If you have the time, I say spray it with some penetrant and let it soak overnight.

Thanks for the kind comments. You are one lucky man and I hope you picked up a lottery ticket as well. I have never had one come out easily per se. And there are plenty of videos on here of people cutting theirs out with cutting torches out and such so you definitely were living right.

Clint Holland Well, it looks like I spoke too soon. I’d thought the problem was the axle (which was looking pretty bad) but it was the tranny itself. Anyone want an almost-new axle?? 😜😰😩

I used a torch, three small sledge hammers, air hammer (w /18" chisel), four different cold chisels, a giant prybar, slide hammer with axle attachment, a bearing breaking bolt (that broke and was a total failure), Liquid wrench, PB blaster, knuckle skin and at least four hours of total frustration under a car with only two feet of clearance. I was making microns of progress with each attempt. Eventually air hammer with a chisel wedging up vertically behind the slide hammer axle fork was most successful, final push was with the 18" chisel on the air hammer. The harder the center bearing is to come out the more important it is to really clean the bearing mount to make reassembly smooth. Get it to clear shiny metal. (Learned that the hard way too!). I would recommend the slide hammer w/ axle attachment as the first line tool (borrowed at an autoparts store).

It is nearly identical from the manual I compared to.

I have to admit they can sometimes make you question your sanity.

They should already come with grease on them. Mine did. If not, then absolutely put some on it before inserting it.

You may end up needing some heat applied or even a bigger slide hammer. I have removed ones that have made me question my own sanity multiple times. Just remember that what you need is a sharp, quick motion.

RockAuto.com. I do feel more stopping power but I can't say it's because of the slotting. The ones I replaced were in really bad shape so anything would have been better.

Thanks for the kind words and for watching.

You very well could lose some and I lost a little bit that you didn't really see. My recommendation is to simply check your transmission fluid afterwards and refill it if it is low.

@@ClintHolland yeah same here my 1999 Lexus ES300 transmission fluid spilled all out.. bought a new rubber seal that goes in that little hole & put it back together & it still leaked like crazy any suggestions?

@@dtownwarrior Can you tell exactly where it is leaking from?

@@ClintHolland from the new seal

@@dtownwarrior That would make me think either the new seal is the wrong one or it is defective itself.

Sounds good. Thanks Abad.

I understand and definitely should have used a jack stand. That is why I leave the tire under the car. Not ideal I get but better than nothing.

Ouch. Hate that you had go that route.

HondaSolutions Im thinking the same.

I have never had that happen but I would have to agree that if the inner joint broke off, this would be increasingly more difficult. Maybe try rigging up some way to hook the slide hammer on to what is left.

@@ClintHolland I mean the inner joint housing is still there and able to pull but won't come off. I ended up towing it to a shop. No amount of heat and slide hammer force would get it free

@@AwesomenessIskey Wow, sorry you had so much trouble. Wonder what their method of attack will be.

@@ClintHolland probably cutting it or removing the mounts. I already got the car back. New reman axle has some vibration but it's a beater anyways

@@AwesomenessIskey Glad you got it going. If you don't mind me asking, how much did they charge you?

Soak, yank and repeat. That or get the blow torch to it.

I did it because the boot had ruptured and had started leaking grease. That is probably the number one reason that most replace it. They also make boot repair kits but I just chose to replace the whole thing since the card was 20 years old.

@@ClintHolland Thanks for the response

Awesome. Glad to hear and glad it helped.

Agreed. That's why if you look I have a rhino ramp rated at 6k lbs under the car as well as the tire. Putting the tire under the car is an old school safety measure mechanics have been using for years as an emergency backup.

Not unless you broke the old one removing it, which is extremely rare.

Clint Holland - Thanks for replying on a this! I have never done anything to this caliber...your video encouraged me to take a shot...both CV’s and mine as well replace the seals. Thanks again!

@@tylerstawski6396 Remember, it was everyone's first time at some point. This isn't a super hard procedure. Probably the hardest thing you might run up against is getting it out in the first place. They can be quite stuck sometimes. You will probably want to have a slide hammer available or be able to get one easily.

@@ClintHolland I will make sure to rent it! Do you remember the size of that impact socket you used on the breaker bar to remove the axle nut?

@@tylerstawski6396 Yes sir. It is a 30mm.

If not exact, it should be very similar. Let me know if you run into any problems.

Clint Holland will do thanks for the help and prolly do it this weekend

Did you manage to solve the problem? my 2002 lexus es shakes when i step on the gas at 50+ mph

@@newua1252 I have a 04 es330, I'm not the original commenter, but came back to check some videos in case I forgot something (think I forgot to double check the passenger CV Axle popped in, weeping atf slowly) anyways- I had two bad cv axles, control arms and ball joints with some shifted belts in tires (not me, previous owner and did not notice while test driving at 25mph). I got that from a shop diagnosing a shake from 35mph-60mph and *ONLY* under acceleration I would recommend checking for the bushings on the control arms, then checking the boots for the cv axles, if you can get the whole front end off then slowly turn the tires by hand and feel for a grinding - grinding points to CV Axle, if bushings are cracked- replace whole control arm, it will be easier unless its the passenger side one, you nearly need to remove a motor mount for that one. If vibration is felt at all times while above that speed, even while coasting, it could be a shifted belt in a tire or bad alignment - possibly tie rods.

@@AzureDdraig Thanks for the advice, I will check what it is, unfortunately, when I bought it, I did not drive on the highway and did not notice this problem, the seller refused to fix it

@@AzureDdraig thanks for the advice, I will check what it is, unfortunately, when I bought it, I did not drive on the highway and did not notice this problem, the seller refused to fix it

Only if the axle nut is easy to get off. In this case it was but when I had replaced the drivers side, it was a nightmare to get off. That is when I learned it is so much easier to break it loose with the wheel on the ground than with it removed. Even with the car in park and brakes on, the movement you get from the car when trying to break a seized axle nut is enough to prevent you from breaking it loose. Of course using an impact wrench would solve that but I didn't have one.

Maybe not identical but it will be very similar. You could use this video to replace the CV joint on most cars actually.

Hey Abad, did you pickup a new snap ring? If so, what size/where? Thanks!

Glad I could help.

Sorry about that. Most of the bolts are either a 12, 14 or 17mm.

My 1999 Toyota Avalon was a 30mm axle nut. I borrowed a 30mm socket using O'Reily's tool lending program. I slipped the pipe from my jack to extend my very short breaker bar, of course my tire was still on with the car on the ground so the tire didn't spin. It took surprisingly little effort.

Actually this car was housed in Charleston SC for the 18 years before I had it. so it had plenty of corrosion.

Which bolt are you referring to? Can you tell me where in the video you see the bolt you are referring to?

the bolt at the bottom of the bearing carrior..like a set bolt, 14mm head..@@ClintHolland

@@sw35071 Gotta be hones and say I have no idea why it has a rubber plug. Sorry man.

sparky mcfly - easy... it is a mating surface to lock the outer bearing ring from spinning within the bearing mount. Tightening the bolt keeps the outer bearing ring locked and the rubber piece is just so you don't have a metal bolt pushing against a metal outer ring. It has a dampening effect for noise and vibration. I suspect you tighten the bolt so the flange on the bolt head seats on the bearing mount surface which would have compressed the rubber end sufficiently against the outer bearing ring. Without the rubber piece I suspect you might not get that contact between the two even by bottoming out the bolt.

Replaced new seal but still leaks

Can you easily pull it out?

Rich M no its fucking hard I started mine and i couldn't removed it even im strong guy so I never changed it .everything looks easy by watching videos but the practice lol

It's a 30mm. Picked mine up at Autozone.

Clint Holland My axel is stuck. Have the slide hammer axel seems jammed. Any advice ?

My best advice is to soak it with some PB Penetrant and let it set. I was about ready to give up on mine and came back the next day and it broke loose on like try number 4. If that doesn't work you can also try heat with a torch but I would consider that a last resort.

Clint Holland Im using a cable attach to the inner of axel and to the silde hammer. The cv joint fork does not fit around the axel

That may be the problem. What type of cable? I am just guessing that a cable is absorbing some of the impact. The fork that came with mine fit perfectly and you may just need a better one that fits.

Try soaking it with PB Penetrant and let it sit as long as you can. Keep repeat soaking it every few hours. You may even need some heat applied to it but be careful. It took me waiting overnight to get it to release.

Ouch. You can do it more much less but be prepared if your car has some age, it can be pretty difficult. But almost certainly worth the trouble to save $1200.

Yeah same here. I was like nope. Just got both sides for 350 delivered to my door. Absolutely laughing. I was only going to mechanics to keep my logbook up to date for my car for resale value... but got to the point where they're charging an arm, a leg, and want ur soul too.