Ok. So. I'm removing the front axles on my 97 auto. The manual says you need to remove the passengers side one first, in order to stick a long screwdriver in and tap the drivers side axle out.

I've removed the 3 bracket to axle bolts on the passengers side, but it seems to have created a pretty tight seal and i cant pull/pry it out. Ofcourse the bastards in the chiltons manual are working on a brand new car, where as this one on the other hand has 154 thousand miles. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get the axle out it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Try some PB Blaster. Use it all the time on my rusty Jeep.

 

i changed my driver side axle on mine with out taking out the passenger axle,but if you insist......,grab that beotch with both hands right where it goes in,grab it by the wide part of it and wiggle/shake/thrash that thing while also pulling out towards the fender and it will come out.if worse comes to worse u can use a pry bar or screwdriver to aid yourself.good luck.

 

yeah i was doing that whole wiggle/shake/thrash thing and somehow managed to pop the inner cv joint out?

 

"grab that beotch with both hands right where it goes in,grab it by the wide part of it " once you get the axle out you should be able to pop it back in dont worry.dont pull anymore from the stick like thin part of it only by the thick part right where it goes in ...from the edge of the inner boot in

 

yea im not worried about destroying the shafts as i have 2 brand new ones..... i soaked it in pb blaster and will have another crack at it tomorrow when its not raining miserably

 

keep yanking it and get someone else to get at the bracket part with a pry bar.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, I was doing the same exact thing today! Luckily I just yanked on the end and it came out in a jiffy. I also removed those three bracket support bolts to get the right side off. that one came out easily also.
Also, if you swear a lot, and I mean a lot, it seems to work after a while. My whole project taking out my engine I have been creating new swear combinations and it seems to be working quite well. Beating things with hammers works good too.
Good luck to you brother.

One more thing, make sure that when you were taking the right side off, the bracket didn't get caught on anything. If you leave it in the original configuration it will not pass the engine, I had to swing it down towards the rear of the car.

 

Here's how I get a stubborn passenger axle out:

1) crawl under car, position yourself under axle bracket.

2) take slege hammer, tap the axle where the three bolt are, rotate that "collar" so the holes no longer line up--meaning you can't screw the bolts back in anymore.

3) tap on those bolt holes, you should be able to hit at least two of them and work the axle out of the engine bracket.

Alternatively, you can remove the engine bracket from the engine. But, I can't get to one of the bolts unless I have a bunch of extensions and swivels and an impact gun.

Good luck.

 

That last post pretty much sums it up, except in the cases where you need to pull the entire bracket, you need to use a 1/2" drive ratchet & 14mm DEEP socket, the ratchet can't be inserted all the way into the socket or else it won't clear the axle, but if you do that the 3 bracket-to-block bolts are cake. And you have to also push/pry/wedge/bend the heatsheild a tad bit out of the way to gete the ratchet on one.

But yeah, sledgehammer & large chisel, if it doesn't come out in 2 minutes I just go for the whole bracket now, and I've removed at least one passanger side axle a week for months now, it seams to be 50/50 which method you need to use.

 

Couldn't you just use a 1" extension? Or is there no room for that down there?

 

i just used a large pry bar and wedge it into the axle where it goes into the trany and pulled with all my weight( 255lb of pure sexyness lol). but my axle also came out in two peices. it broke inside the inner cv cup when i was driving. never even gave me a warning i was stuck in philly at the races for a few hours praying a cop wouldnt stop and ask me what i was doing.

 

I just did both mine, Driver side came out VERY EASY(you do not have to take out the passengers side first, just pry it where it goes into the tranny). Passenger side a lot more difficult, I had the same problem as you, could not get it out of the bracket. So what you gotta do is take the bracket off while attached to the axle, get a buddy to pry down on the steering arm and wiggle it out(axle with bracket still on). This worked for me really easy. Once i got it out it was pretty much smashing the old axle out of the bracket to put the axle in. Oh yeah, when you put the new axle into the bracket put some anti-seeize on it so you wont ever have to go through this again.

 

hmmm i got the drivers side out very easily didnt even need a pry bar (i just didnt bother trying yesterday as i figured i have to get the passenger out first). i wish i came back to check this earlier today i didnt even think of taking the whole bracket off the engine. I will do that tomorrow. Although once its off i still dont know how im going to seperate them i swear the metals have fused together

 

Nah once it's out it's SOOOO easy. You just bang on the bracket in the proper direction and it will cme off without to much difficulty.

yeah I've always just used the guns for the driverside, gain momentum and POP in one swift motion.

 

what he said.

 

On my 95, which was a mid Ohio car with rusty axles, I sprayed on some penitrating oil and then used a sharp chisel in several places between the collar and axle and it finally came out. Evidently someone had tried to get it out earlier as all three collar bolts were missing. The rust was the only thing holding it in place. I bought the car off ebay and after a little TLC, it has turned out to be a good running, good driving car.
Randy

 

I removed both axles today on my 95 Max (standard). The driver side was a no brainer. The passenger side was slightly more challenging. After removing the bracket screws the axle was not going anywhere. I hammered it for couple of mins, then remembered this thread. Took off 3 support bracket bolts. Used a funky combo of extensions and a swivel, but finally got all 3 off. After that the axle/support bracket came out easy. Hammering the support bracket of axle was a 30 sec job.

Can you guys suggest a way to remove both Inner seals? I can easily access the driver side one, but have not figured out a way to take it out. I cant even begin to imagine on how to get the passenger side seal out?!
thanks,
Max

 

I just yanked on mine a few times with all my weight (275) and they popped out.

On the seals, get a seal puller from NAPA. The driver side is easy, but the passenger side is blocked. Mine were not leaking so I left them in place.

 

Thanks, I got a seal removal tool from auto parts store and a set of new seals from the dealer. I don't want to take a chance and leave old seals in, because I got everything else out already.

Still looking for a suggestion on how to get the passenger side seal out. What about taking out that support bar, the one that goes down the middle of the car?

thanks,
Max

 

try to get something between the bracket and you need to breakit loose

 

Just FYI,
got the seals out using a seal puller tool. Driver side was easy, it is nice and accessable. Passenger side took some time, but I finally figured it out.
First, you need to take of the bracket that supports the axle. Then you get a nice access point. Lying under the car, manuever the right hand with the tool into the cavity where the axle was through the place where the axle bracket was. Then you gotta play around to get the tool in place gripping the seal. The pull on it couple of times, and the seal should come out. I got seals for about $8.30 at local dealer. To get the new seals in I bought a 2.5 feet piece of 2" PVC pipe at Home Depot. Cut it down to size so it clears the caliper and brake line. The rest was a two man job. I was holding the new seal in place and checking that it does not get twisted too much, while my dad was hammering on the PVC pipe.
Putting the car back together was a snap, the only other glitch I had was putting the driver side axle into the differential. The axle has a ring that compresses when you push it into the differential. I am not a big guy, so I could not push the axle in, it just refused to go. So instead I laid under the car, and gripped the axle shaft with both hands, and kind of got it in that way. Finally had to order RedLine MT90 of the internet, because I could not find any GL-4 gear oil locally. The replacement axles where bought locally from Advanced Auto Parts, they were brand new (not remanufactured) and the brand was GSP, and I got them on sale for $50 each.
So far, so good. The car drives and there are no leaks. If anybody needs pointers on axle replacements, please PM.
thanks for the help,
Max
p.s. the next job is struts and shocks. Got the set of KYB GR2 (front and back).