Hi ,
havent posted in a while! But anyways I just did my cv joints on my manual maxima, and it wasnt a big deal. However I am soon doingmy automatic maxima, and only the left side is bad with a torn boot. In the book it says to knock it out with a screw driver from the right side!

So my question is Can I pop out the left cv shaft on a automatic, abs, non diferrential maxima without taking of the right one?

Thanks a whole bunch

 

I just did this two weeks ago. You have to remove the cotter pin and lock cap from the axle nut. If you can leave the wheel on at this point it is a help. If not, you may have to pull off the wheel, take off the cotter pin and cap and put the wheel back on so you have weight on the tire, or put the spare on if your wheel center hole is not large enough for the socket. I had to do the spare method.

Then loosen the big axle nut with a breaker bar (preferrably 3/4" drive and possibly a piece of pipe to go with it). An american 1-7/16" socket fits this or I think it is a 35 or 36mm metric. It helps to have someone sit in the car and hold the brake on when trying to break these free. Mine were really tight. I had to apply my 215 lbs to the bar and jump up and down on it to get them to beak loose. Once loose, they spun off easily.

Jack up the car and disconnect the two strut bolts. Pull the wheel carrier forward out of the strut. You have to wiggle the carrier around and if I recall, turn the wheel all the way to the right to get enough clearance to pop the spline free from the wheel carrier. Once the wheel end is free, go under the car with a pry bar or large screw driver and pry the trans end free from the trans. The left side only has a spring clip on the end of the axle. You have to pop this out of the groove for it to release from the trans. Once this pops free, just pull the axle out of the trans and out of the car.

When you put it back in, you will have to fight the strut a bit to get the axle lined up straight into the trans. You will have to smack the axle with a hammer to get the spring clip to seat. Make sure the axle nut is on that end just about flush so you dont' damage the threads.

It is really not tough. The only aggravation is finding the right combination to pop the wheel carrier end of the axle out of the carrier. It is just a few minutes of fiddling, no big deal.

Good luck.

jjam

 

did you do this on a manual or an auto?

 

I did this on an automatic. In fact I changed out the entire transmission for an I30 LSD.

jjam

 

well when i did mine, on my 5spd ABS LSD, it was actually quite simple, the hardest part was getting out the passenger side axle as it was rusted to the support bracket.

To answer your question yes you should be able to. Take off your wheel, remove the cotter pin, remove the 36mm nut (you will need an impact gun or a huge *** breaker bar)one this bolt is off, i believe there is a castle washer over it im not to sure. Remove the 2 bolts holding the steering knuckles onto the strut bracekt. Once you remove those 2 bolts. 17mm/19mm. Once those are off the steering knuckle should pull down. Watch out for your brake lines and ABS sensor line. You will need to take off the little retaining clip for the brake line. The ABS sensor can be removed but i coudlnt get mine off and ill assume that its common for them to be a PITA to get off. Once you pry the steering knuckle down, you should be able to use a pry bar against the base of the cv joint and pry it gently out of the transmission. You shoudlnt be able to pop it out by hand. One important thing is to make sure you visually check both axles before you put them in and make sure they are IDENTICAL. I had a huge problem with mine because the stupid place couldnt send the right axle. Make sure the splined section that goes into the tranny is the exact lenght of the old shaft.

Hope that helped.

www.motorvate.ca is also a good resource which includes pictures and detailed instructions.

 

ok thanks for the help!!

since I was having a bit of a hard time trying to understand why you need to use a screw driver to go throught right axle hole on the AUTOMATIC tranny and use that to hit the left cv shaft out! So I am guessing i can just jack half the car up and remove the left one only since that is the only bad one. And yes i have seen motovate.ca but again he only does it on a MANUAL which I have allready done.

 

The automatic does not require the right axle to be out to remove the left one. You just pry the left axle spring clip free at the trans body.

jjam

 

all i needed to know! thanks a lot

 

think about doing the bearings while you are at it.

 

I attempted to replace the driver's side cv joint today on my 97 auto max and came across some problems. I initially ended up not inserting the transmission end of the axle all the way in and when I started the car and shifted I heard a loud pitched grinding noise followed by mph guage climbing to 40 mph. I immediately shut off the car and noticed the cv wasn't all the way in.

I then pushed it all the way in, and tried again and heard some unusual sounds from trannmission side, but the wheels moves side to side. By making the mistake of not pushing the cv in all the way did I do some harm to the tranny?

I also moved one of the wheels (rotated) while the cv joint on the opposite side was not installed and have just read that the Haine's manual states not to move wheels unless both cv joints are in place. Can this be the cause of the noises I heard?

please advise.

 

Just do the one side, no need to take apart more than you need to. I'd burn the book that said to punch it our from the other side.