Ok....I know this may be a silly question but here goes. I was pulling the front drivetrain apart this evening to get new wheel bearing in it. Well, I was messing with the CV joints to try and get the driver's side out to replace the tranny seal there while I was at it. When I gave the CV a bit of a tug, the thing came out towards me about 4-6 inches. Pardon my ignorance here because this is my first front wheel drive car that I really did any work on but that seems like a ton. I thought those things were suppose to be fairly rigid in and out motion and the only real movement was desgined to be the flex for the suspension. I'm just wondering....Thanks,

Mike.

 

The CV joints must also move in and out, as you turn your wheel, it pushes and pulls on the CV joints, as well as rotates the coupling. They MUST move in and out. The best way to remove them from the tranny is to insert a screwdriver between the tranny, and the fat end of the joint, and pry it out. If you pull them out, you can (it is difficult though) pull the joint apart, and then good luck to you in taking the boot off, washing everything perfectly, wiping all the ball bearings and units with lint-free paper towels, putting the danr things back together, then packing them with grease, putting the boot on, and then getting back to the project you originally started. Or instead of a rebuild, buying a new axle. Point is USE A SCREWDRIVER, and pry the axle out.

 

Well, I took the screwdriver and popped it out. The thing was like an accordian. No way that is still good. I'm going to get a new one tomorrow. This will be the third one in 8 months and I don't drive the thing hard at all. Sure, I get on it occasionally to beat up on all of the ricers in my neighborhood but come on now. Now more rebuilds for me. I'm going to try and get a new one from Nissan. While I was under there, I also found the source of my exhaust leak. The Y-Pipe was rusting out and had blown out the flex pipe.......hummm. YSP here I come....lol. Hummmm....Maybe it's time for a 240 SX with the sr20det conversion. I never broke a rear axle... Seriously though, this is getting annoying. The first one was a broken retaining clip that caused the axle to pop out which my friend replaced since I was at his place. The second one....last 4 months and then the this one 3 months.

 

maybe time to go get a axle from a different rebuilder?
just a side note..the 240 have the ind suspension..so you'll also have two axle shafts with boots to deal with.

 

I know when I removed my axles, they still flexed like an accordian. They are supposed to. As long as inside the actual boot you don't feel any "loose" parts you should be ok. The joints WILL flex quite a bit, that is their job, even flexing in and out. I would imagine that if the assembly is relatively new, it is ok. I would just take it to a reputable Nissan mechanic, and ask him if it is ok or not, just to be sure.