I got rained out this morning, but finally getting around to pulling the driver side CV axle. I'm concerned this might not be the OEM unit, even though the car only shows 45K miles. The short end of the cotter pin through the axle nut was already broken off. Also, the axle nut was a bear, much tighter than the 300 ft/lb spindle nuts on my Ford F150. I use a 3-foot breaker bar with 3/4" drive for these, but I still had to add a 2-foot cheater to it. I can hardly believe the factory would have tightened it down that much. Anyway, a few questions:

1. The axle won't come out just by removing the axle nut and tie rod. What's the best option for gaining more movement of the knuckle? Some people say to unbolt the lower control arm from the chassis, but that's a pain. Can I unbolt the knuckle from the strut instead? What about disconnecting the lower ball joint?

2. Should the axle nut have had a nut retainer on it? Mine only had the nut and the cotter pin. The cotter pin doesn't go through the nut (there's no hole), so the nut could loosen quite a bit before the pin would stop it. This is how the FSM shows it (no retainer), but I know they simplify these diagrams sometimes. Haven't seen one before without a retainer.

3. Are the axle nuts supposed to be replaced with new ones after they've been removed? That's the Ford procedure, but maybe not Nissan.

4. Can I pry the axle out of the trans on an AT model? Or do I actually have to remove the passenger axle and drive it out from that side?

Will appreciate any help with this. Looks like rain again tomorrow, so I don't have much time left to do this before next weekend.

 

Well, I looked at the FSM again, and it basically says you only have to remove the axle nut in order to remove the axle from the knuckle. The step after that removes the lower ball joint from the knuckle, and that's only if you're removing the entire knuckle from the car. In fact, the ball joint can't be removed from the knuckle until the axle is out. The axle prevents getting a socket onto the ball joint nut.

Just to be clear, the axle is loose in the knuckle, but I can't tap it all the way out. The FSM does say to remove the caliper and rotor, but I'm pretty sure that's in preparation for removing the knuckle from the car. Nothing in that area hits the axle or keeps the knuckle from turning. What am I doing wrong?

 

I remove the strut bolts and pry down on the control arm with a big pry bar to get my axles out from the knuckle.

 

TAKE OFF THE GODDAMN TIE ROD! Push the CV in to compress it and rotate the knuckle as far as it will go. Magic. If you're a weakling, then it can be hard.

/thread

 

Yeah, I did that. The strut dropped about an inch, now the holes don't line up. Didn't have time to try prying the control arm down, my floor jack was under the bracket, now it's too dark to work. Did you unbolt the sway bar in order to pry the LCR down?

 

No you just need to use alot of muscle. But as stated above it is easier if you also remove the outer tie rod from the knuckle, that is if it comes out without banging it too much. When I'm lazy I just turn the steering wheel to give me the clearance.

 

Just did this job in the driveway today to remove some horrible Surtrack/Trakmotive aftermarket axles. To remove the axles, I unbolt the 2 strut to knuckle bolts and unbolt outer tie rod from the knuckle using a two jaw puller to ensure that no damage occurs. Once you do this, the knuckle will swivel allowing you to compress and remove axle. Swivel the knuckle gently as you don't want to damage or stress the ball joint which is still connected to the knuckle. Also push down on the control arm for more room, as this is possible without removing the end link because the sway bar will flex a little if pressure is applied. Please note that I do all of this after the axle nut, brakes, rotor, torque member, and caliper are removed! Remove brakes and zip tie the caliper to the strut coil. Hope this helps you out... BTW BECK and ARNLEY CONTROL ARMS SUCK, MY BALL JOINT BOOTS WERE CRACKED AFTER ONLY 2 MONTHS!

 

so...ebay ftw?

Those at least have a warranty?

 

The tie rod was the first thing I removed. Used a Harbor Freight remover tool to prevent damage to the parts. This model is cheap but reasonably heavy duty, I used it to rebuild the PS linkage under my last Vette.



After the tie rod, I removed the axle nut. Tried removing the axle with the knuckle cranked over full in both directions, but no go. It just wouldn't quite clear the back of the knuckle. Even tried prying the axle out with a pry bar between the knuckle and tone ring. It needs about another 1/2" to clear the knuckle.

I pulled the two strut bolts last, but didn't have time to do anything else.

I realized after pulling the strut bolts that I should have removed the caliper and rotor first. Just makes it easier to handle. I'll do that tomorrow. What's the "torque member"?

Thanks for your help with this! Glad to know I did the right thing pulling the strut bolts!


Could someone look at post #1 above and answer questions 3 & 4? Especially #4 - If I have to pull the other axle in order to remove this one, I need to reassemble the vehicle at this point and jack it differently (basically start over).

 

The torque member is the bracket that holds the brake pads, and you have to remove it to remove the rotor.

You do not need to pull the other axle in order to remve this one. The passenger side is held in by 3 bolts on the bearing holder. The drivers side has to be "popped" out using a screw driver or pry bar due to the circlip on the drivers side axle.

 

Manual CVs should pull out with little effort, though.

 

Thanks, didn't recognize it by that name. I've always called it the caliper bracket.

Any idea why the FSM says to pry it out if it's manual, but to push it out from the other side if the vehicle is an automatic? Is yours manual or auto?

OK, I solved the problem of the strut holes not lining up by just jacking the other side of the car. With both sides of the suspension hanging, it's no problem. I didn't do that to begin with because I thought maybe jacking on one side only would reduce fluid loss when I pulled the axle.

Our weather forecast says three days of 70% thunderstorms starting now, but I caught a break this morning. It was bright and sunny when I got up, with a big line of storms about an hour away to the west. I decided to put everything back together finger tight rather pulling the axle and leaving the transmission open all week. I know the procedure now, although I'm still concerned about the FSM statement. Hopefully it will go quick next weekend.

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

OK I pulled the axle yesterday, hammered off the outer CV joint and replaced the boot. It's a really messy job, spent several hours cleaning out all the old grease. The joint itself doesn't come apart, so the old grease hides in all the areas you can't get to. I understand now why mechanics would rather replace the entire axle when a boot splits. The $10 Lisle tool worked great on the cheap "Band-It" bands, actually had to be careful not to overtighten them. Was a little worried because I forgot to mark the joint and axle before disassembly. There's no vibration though, feels completely smooth and the axle is quiet.

Thanks for everyone's help with this!