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Question About CV Joint Replacement

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Yes. It's a bitch to do though, lots of time and labor.

I disagree. A few lugnuts, a couple of bolts to the brake caliper, a few bolts at the hub, and perhaps an axle nut and it's out.
 
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: mwmorph
Yes. It's a bitch to do though, lots of time and labor.

I disagree. A few lugnuts, a couple of bolts to the brake caliper, a few bolts at the hub, and perhaps an axle nut and it's out.

Anyone wanna give me a step-by-step instruction?
 
Originally posted by: AVAFREAK182
Really? lol. i have no idea how to do this, or work on cars, but im gonna give it a run. any advice?

I did it on a 1991 Acura Integra a couple of months ago and all I can say is get a service manual, and get ready to get very, very dirty. On the Acura, the transmission needed to be drained and then on the older cars theres the black oil-like buildup everywhere. Then it was a hassle getting the driver side to come out and to get the passenger side to go back in. Technically there are special service tools to make it easier but I wasnt about to drop $80 on a tool I'd never use again.

Step by step, it seems easy, but until you actually do it... there's always a snag somewhere, like a damn bolt that refuses to come loose or why the damn axle wont actually come out or why the new one wont go in all the way...

Remember, get a quality factory service manual, not the tiny worthless haynes thing.

I've found working on cars is highly dependant on experience. The first time is always a bitch but once you've done it a few times and know the pitfalls, its not that bad.
 
Originally posted by: AVAFREAK182
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: mwmorph
Yes. It's a bitch to do though, lots of time and labor.

I disagree. A few lugnuts, a couple of bolts to the brake caliper, a few bolts at the hub, and perhaps an axle nut and it's out.

Anyone wanna give me a step-by-step instruction?

I just did 😛

I have never worked on a Villager, but I have done a number of axles/hubs. The hardest part is getting the rusted bolts free.

Get a torque wrench, you don't want to under-torque bolts holding your axle assembly, unless chasing your axle down the street is exciting to you. 😉
 
I replaced both my front axles recently.

Get a service manual (Chilton's or Haynes) and prepare to get reeaaaaaally dirty. Both of my outer boots were torn, so there was nasty grease everywhere under my car.

The work is definintely not mentally hard, but it's quite tiring getting all the bolts loose. The bolts for my strut assembly were especially ridiculous.
 
Originally posted by: AVAFREAK182
Originally posted by: AVAFREAK182
If I buy the part....how much do you think it'll cost to get installed?

Tires aside, I don't know of any shop that lets you buy the part and have them install it. If it helps, I had both front & back CV boots/joints replaced for $450 on my sedan a few months back.
 
You may need a slide hammer with a FWD CV joint fork. Most CV joints are secured into the transmission with a snap ring. Depending on what side your one. If it's the longest one you have a bearing mounted to the car somewhere in the middle. If it's the shortest one you may be in luck....
 
Are you doing the whole axle or just the joint? And do you mean CV joint or CV boot? Replacing and repacking grease in boots is cheaper than a whole axle, but labor involved is the same.

What you linked says axle assembly which means spline to spline so yeah that includes joints, boots, everything. Double check with a live person just to be sure.

If you are looking at a complete CV axle and don't know what a CV joint is or if what you linked has joints included (the pics show both inner and outer joints and boots BTW), you might want to have a professional auto shop do it for you.

Some real world tips that might not be obvious if you've never done it before and want to do it yourself:

-most wheel hub and suspension nuts are castle nuts and have bent back cotter pins or lock washers with bending tabs that need to come out before you can take the nut off. These may be hidden under old caked on grease, mud, or rust and may not be visible at first glance. Also look for dust caps and such that might obscure necessary nuts, such as the big axle nut at the center of the wheel.

-when you pull the inner joint out of the transmission, even slightly, it will leak gear oil all over the place; it will make quite a nasty mess if you aren't ready for it, and depending on how much is lost, you will need to top it off once you replace the axle. This is a big issue on a lift where the car is in the air level, but if you use a jack stand or drive on ramp to just lift that corner of the car, it shouldn't be bad, if any.

-if you are removing joints from the axle (even to replace a boot), you may need a press, or otherwise watch out for carbide snap rings riding in grooves inside the shaft under the joint hub. Sometimes you have to push or beat the joint ONTO the axle to expose the snap ring, remove then ring, then pull the joint off. Sometimes there are two snap rings and you have to go back and forth so you can expose one, then the other. I remember doing something like that on my Camry, I don't recall exactly how it was set up, suffice to say if you can't beat/tap the joint off the axle splines, you probably missed a snap ring. You'll have to do this even if just replacing boots. This is the most painful part IMO, if you are just replacing the entire axle assembly as one part, you can skip all this entirely.

-suspension work is mostly rugged and dirty work that often involves hammers and pry bars to break caked together muddy and rusty parts loose or pull mated splined surfaces apart after removing fasteners. you won't break or bend anything other than yourself under your own human power so don't be afraid to strong arm stuff if need be.

-depending on mileage, if it's manual you may consider doing the clutch at the same time since the cost of a clutch is low relative to the labor and cost of CV axles, and the short axle has to come out anyway, or at least drop out of the wheel hub, in order to be able to pull the transmission back far enough to get to the clutch. Again, gear oil spillage is in inevitable unless you free up both axles at the wheel hubs and ensure that the inner shafts don't slide out of the transmission/differential.

-if you have ABS, note the ABS indicator ring (the toothed sprocket on the outer joint next to the wheel hub) and the sensor location in the wheel hub. If you replace the whole axle, be sure you get the appropriate axle with or without the ABS ring. The second item down in your link is 'without ABS'

-doing suspension work will eat your knuckles and elbows so be cautious of what you are pulling on and where you knuckles and elbows will end up when it finally breaks free on that last forceful tug... and if you are doing it on a lift where you are standing up with the car above you, don't slip and fall on your ass when you give that axle/whatever a final tug and slip on gear oil 😉

 
Might want to drive it to a car wash and spray de-greaser on the axles before you start.
chances are the grease leaking from the boots has made a real mess and this will help
clean it up a bit before you begin the job. Buy a Hayne's or Chiltons before the job and
it will give you an idea how tough it will be and will be necessary if you decide to do it.
Lastly, there are a few shops around here that specialize in CV axle replacement so
check your area, these have competitive prices and may be a better option for you if
it looks too intimidating. Good luck...
 
Originally posted by: Funyuns101
Originally posted by: AVAFREAK182
Originally posted by: AVAFREAK182
If I buy the part....how much do you think it'll cost to get installed?

Tires aside, I don't know of any shop that lets you buy the part and have them install it. If it helps, I had both front & back CV boots/joints replaced for $450 on my sedan a few months back.

Mine does, but I live in a small down and it's a small shop, so YMMV.
 
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