ThosL Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I did one of these on a Subaru I had that was a late 80s model. My driver's side CV joint is getting bad; for an advanced beginner mechanic, parts changer how tough is this? A couple years ago I had my front wheel bearings done, so hopefully nothing is frozen in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp98 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 My first one took me about 2 hours. Now that I know what I am doing I could cut that in half easily. Quite easy and straight forward as long as nothing is frozen in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Same idea, just a smaller Axel nut, I beleive its a 32 milimeter. Ball joints a 19, circlip on trans side makes that part easier, just need a small pry bar to get it loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Wrong, it's not a circlip on the trans side. If it's an automatic the stub into the trans is a circlip, but you need that stub for the new axle, so you have to punch the roll pin either way. You need a 3/16" punch. The axle nut is indeed 32mm. You're in newengland so things are crusty, you're not gonna get the balljoint apart without ruining it, unless it's been replaced recently. I usually mark the alignment of the camber bolt and pull the two bolts holding the strut to the knuckle. This gives ample room to remove the inner spline, then slide the axle out of the hub. Tips: make sure to break the axle nut free with the tire on the ground, pop the center cap to do it. Make sure the axle is free in the hub splines before removing the strut bolts, it's a real pain to get the axle loose if it's frozen up when the knuckle is flopping around. Over the summer I had to do one in my Forester in an auto parts store parking lot on a road trip (was shaking the car so bad I thought it was gonna self-destruct...) took about 25 minutes, not a hard job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Hmm, I guess I was thinking of the rear CV Axel on the circlip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 99 should have a stub on the trans with a roll pin holding the axle on. Knock the roll pin put with a punch and the axle slides off. The hard part is the wheel end. Axle nuts get rusty/seize, ball joints are difficult to get loose. I usually just undo the lower strut bolts. Loose the lower and remove the upper. Clean and Mark the alignment of the strut base with the knuckle first so you can line them back up the same when done. Once the knuckle is pulled out the axle easily pops off of the inner stub then you slide it back out of the wheel hub. I've done them in less than 20 minutes on my own cars, but that's because everything has been apart before and is well coated with antiseize and grease to prevent rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 With a good 1/2" gun and a lift I can do one in about 15 minuets if everything isn't seized. I've yet to see a ball joint seized so bad that a BFH and a good 3 foot pry bar couldt bust loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 Thanks for the advice; I got an estimate of an hour plus from a local mechanic; I will try to pick up the parts and do it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vasy Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I just wanted to point out that in some cases, the splines of the axle on the wheel end get so tightly fused with the hub, you can't separate the axle from the hub no matter what you do with any tool. I've heard people breaking the hub into 2 pieces while using a hydraulic press to separate the axle from the hub. That happened to me on the right front (I didn't break anything, just couldn't separate with a gear puller from Advance Auto after soaking with PB Blaster for a few days). I just replaced the boots and grease. On the left side, the axle and hub came apart with a slight pull. And I don't get lot of snow where I live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 it's easy if it's not rusted. with the wheel off it requires removing one nut, one bolt, loosening a bolt, and knocking out a pin, that's it. remove wheel remove top strut mount bolt (or lower). loosen the other. knock out pin pull axle off trans first - push it up and back - then slide it out of the hub as you pull the knuckle outward. To retain alignment I mark the top strut mount bolt head - reinstall that in the same location. Same idea as marking the knuckle. Problems - this is the worst that happens - like once every 20 or 50 times. Not common - but they're really annoying if they do. You're unlikely to see one this bad, but just know that it does happen. Axle seized in the hub. If they're really bad - pullers will shatter the rotors - pullers themselves will break as well. Dont even think about touching the ball joint in rust prone areas. they can be rust welded into the knuckle and the only way to free them it to do whatever you want until the ball joint stud breaks out of the socket. then you have to start drilling the remaining ball left in the knuckle into pieces and chisel it out a piece at a time. again - only 1 in 50 or something are that bad, but there's no tool known to man that will remove those. something breaks first - like the tool or the ball joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 The ones that are real bad I tend to soak in ATF Acetone for a week or so before I do them. A cheap spray bottle and a quart of ATF and acetone is about $20 and will really break stuff loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 (edited) Also, never try to pull the joint from the hub when you replace these, pull the joint from the control arm. Much easier and I've never had this fail me, I live in a rust prone area, unless its really bad I've never had an issue doing it like this. This way you don't need to worry about messing up your alignment. Edited December 19, 2015 by mikaleda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 Thanks for the advice; I picked up the part following advice earlier on online purchases of Advance parts for $50 with discount. Also have some loaner tools but am low on tools otherwise. I will have to figure out how to jack it up unless I can get my floorjack out of storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 With a good 1/2" gun and a lift I can do one in about 15 minuets if everything isn't seized. I've yet to see a ball joint seized so bad that a BFH and a good 3 foot pry bar couldt bust loose. I have seen far too many that take serious abuse to get out. I used to work in a shop in Maine, so I saw lots of miserable rusted stuff. Either way, balljoints usually don't survive the abuse of being removed with a BFH. I've done that before only to have the balljoint fail a week later, they're not designed to take impact like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 (edited) I don't hit the ball joint, I use a pry bar to put pressure on the joint and smack the control arm with a hammer. Never had a failure cause by this and I have seen some really rusty front ends. Works good for tie rod ends too. And I used to work in a service center 37 miles down a highway that was constantly sprayed with mag cloride, so I've seen a lot of rusty subarus. Edited December 19, 2015 by mikaleda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 I started into the job but can't get the axle nut off, I don't have a breaker bar just a large wrench handle and the 32mm socket which I borrowed from Advance. Also there are warnings on the new axle directions, it looks like there are plenty of ways to go wrong on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Can you find a pipe to put over the wrench for more leverage? Start jumping up and down on it? You might have to get a breaker bar. What warnings worry you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I suggest you find a shop that will pull it off with their impact. It may cost $15, but its really easy to strip these nuts off and then its a real PITA. I had les scwab do this for me once before I bought my new 1/2" impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 I was able to get it off with the breaker bar at Auto Zone, so problem solved there. Still haven't really gotten into the job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I was able to get it off with the breaker bar at Auto Zone, so problem solved there. Still haven't really gotten into the job. That's a good sighn, I've had these not come off with a 3/4 breaker bar before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 A couple youtube videos on this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted December 26, 2015 Author Share Posted December 26, 2015 I got into this with a friend with more tools than myself; the lower bolt would not turn though we tried WD40, etc.. So he started loosening the strut bolts and saw the Abs that would also apparently have to be removed. I know when a mechanic did the other knuckle, ball joint etc. it was a bear, and actually the driver's side ball joint is bad too which can be a challenge getting it out of the knuckle if frozen so I may need to go the mechanic route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 I don't think the ABS wire is too short. If it is just unplug the harness, follow the wire up to the inner fender and there's a plug somewhere The ABS sensor DOES NOT have to come out, do not try, you'll almost certainly break it . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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