Today I tried to install my new Raxles driver's side axle and I knew something wouldn't cooperate. We put used a 36mm impact socket with a 3' breaker bar and attempted to break the axle to hub nut loose. In one minute we had broken the nut loose with my friend using the bar and me on the brakes. As we start turning the nut a 1/4 turn it stops so we continue to use force on nut. As the nut is every so slowly turning, the breaker bar gives up and breaks. We then spray some lubricant on the axle threads and let it sit. This time using a Craftman's 18" 1/2" breaker bar with a 4' pipe and the nut starts to slowly turn making those nice loud screeching sounds as the nut very so slowly turns. A minute later that breaker bar gives up. We use my exact same breaker bar and it gives up a couple seconds later. It's clear to me we can't do this with my tools At best, we might have gotten a solid 1 to 1.5 turns with the nut. It's just before the cotter pin hole. What's so frustrating is that the axle shows signs that it would easy come out of the hub if we could only get that damn axle nut off. As it sits, the axle has a quite bit less than 1/4" play in it. Before any work the axle had about 1/8" play if that. So fully defeated and for the first time ever since owning my Maxima (5.5 years), it's off to Nissan on Tuesday to get the damn axle put in ($150). The service guy laughed and said yes the axle nuts are a ***** sometimes. I just can't understand how after breaking the nut loose did it not easy come off off. The nut and axle threads have very little surface rust. The only way I see Nissan getting the thing off is by heating the nut and then using an impact. So close, yet so far away.

I took the car around the block for a spin and everything seems completely fine (no funny sounds, tranny seal isn't leaking) so the car is driveable to the shop (slow speeds that is). And anyways that axle nut isn't coming off during normal driving. Till then, the car stays parked.

Defeated for the first time ever with my car.


Dave

 

Something isn't right. After the axel nut breaks loose it can be turned by hand usually.

 

That's my thinking too. That's what's so frustrating.


Dave

 

me and Tony did his in under 20mins... i guess having air tools helps in certain situations

good luck with Nissan.. hopefully they wont rape you for anything else "they found wrong" with the car while working on it. Ive seen delaers do that a millions times so watch out.

lata,

Ant

 

damn reading this I'm scared to do mine now. I'm getting ready to order the raxles. Optimus310 said he's gonna help and has done them before so htat's a relief

 

Seems kinda odd Dave. I had no problems revoming mine once it was broken free. Has it been removed before??

 

I got mine for $90 installed with lifetime warranty. Only took the shop 40 minutes.

 

ive replaced both side twice and never had a problem with the axle nut...weird u had that problem dave, but than again i have a impact and all the goodies at my house

 

perhaps you guys can help me out. I was able to break the axel nut lose, and was even able to take both axels out to replace the CV boots. however, i am now having trouble putting the driver side back it. Am i just suppose to push it in? I tried pushing and it wouldn't go it all the way, there still around 3/4"-1" between the seal and the inner CV. Please advise.

 

also, how tight does the 3 bolt for the passenger side have to be? i am not able to fit a torque wrench in there. i had to use regular 12mm wrench to take those out and i can't get much torque on a 4-5" wrench.

 

man all the work is worth less than $50 to you?

 

Yeah, there was no way I was getting that nut off:



It took a Nissan tech 1.5 hours with an impact at over 400 ft/lbs and a torch to get this nut off. According to the tech he's only seen this kind of problem on one other CV axle.


Dave

 

Can you say... I'm lucky I didnt buy that axle at a local auto parts store because they wouldnt give me back my core deposit for stripping the threads.

Wow man thats crazy, its making me think twice about swapping axles on my co workers 2000 Caravan this weekend....

 

After the first 30 minutes, I would have said "F-it" and cut the end of the axle off with a hack-saw or cutting blade......

 

Just did mine on Friday. No nut problem. 24" Great Neck Bar from AutoZone worked a charm.

Yes, you are supposed to push it in. There's a little, ok not so little, circlip on the inboard shaft that will "click" into place when you give the axel a good shove or whack with a 5ib mallet. Just be sure you have the axel installed in the hub, and use your old axel nut to protect the threads before you commence wHacKinG!

 

If the nut is tough (insert bad pun). It probably has rust deposit in the threads. Turn it some with lots of lube and then tighten it back a turn or two and wash any debris away with even more lube. The other possibility is that some of the threads are seized and you are just gonna pry the b***h off.

 

i wouldnt even worry about torquing these nuts. just tighten them good and snug.

 

looks like it got cross-treaded. maybe when the axle was installed it was overtorqued and crushed some treads? i would have tried cutting the nut off with a grinder/cutting wheel or saws-all if there was enough room.

 

The room is very limited because the nut is halfway recessed into hub. There is no way to cut the nut width wise. The only option would have been to cut the nut in half length wise and prayed that the I could have gotten the two halves off. I can't imagine how long it would take a saws-all to cut through the axle itself. That's a very high grade hardened steel plus it's about 1" thick. My saws-all probably could have done it (cut the nut only), but my worry was if I could get the axle out and the nut was fubared, I then would have had to:

1) Have the car towed to the dealership ($100) plus the labor to install the shaft

2) Remove the hub with the axle still attached and go to a junkyard and get a used hub ($?).

For the $150 I paid Nissan, I got a new tranny seal, Redline fluid, and peace of mind they did it right (ie didn't pry on the tranny case to get the axle out).



Dave

 

heh 400lbs to get it off huh? thats nuts! hah!

But if it were me...it woulda been craftsman breaker-bar time (I only have the cheap autozone one tho), with my usual cheater bar...which is basically an old weight lifting bar...about 1.5 meters long. Now, that'll get u some torque...well it helps with atleast me (235 lbs) and my friend (260 lbs). The one thing I hate about breaking bolts...is breaking ur knuckles...so I prefer gentle and controlled motions.

He ll I've used thinner steel tubes longer than 1.5 meters.

 

I just changed Max4speeds drivers axle two nights ago. Took me 20mins. If the tech had to torch the crap out of that axle it had serious issues. Now good luck with your right passenger side. Why? if it rusts in the frame piece that has the three nuts it wont come off either if you driven thru snow. Salt just welds the crap on there. The easiest way to get it off is to drop the tranny and hit it with a sledge hammer from inside out.

 

It sounds like it was cross threaded. Reminds me of the horrors of just removing my winter wheels and putting on the summer ones. All bolts were tightened to 120+lb/ft and there was one that was cross threaded on to ~155lb/ft.

LEMAR

 

yup..salt/snow really make life a bizitch when working on the car. I've gone through hell over the past 6 months replacing stuff since I got mine....what with rusted spindle bolts, rusted rear suspension bolts, starter, tranny, etc. Well they've all been r&r-ed at least once so that has eased 10years of nut/bolt lock down.

 

FYI, I broke TWO 1/2" Craftman's breakbars and one 3-foot 1/2" breakerbar We were using about a 4' pipe on the Craftman's breaker bars. The first one went after we the bolt turned out 3/4 and the second one went instantly. I was using constant force too instead on bouncing the bar because that's when they typically break. There was no way we were going to get it with a breaker bar.


Dave

 

Amazingly my passenger side boot tore just a few days ago I'm not going to bother with it until it starts clicking. I may even pack it with grease on a regular basis too since summer is coming and the roads are clean of debris. When it comes time to replace it, I'll probably get another Raxle then take it back to Nissan and spend the cash and reduce my headache. I hate to pay the money, but without airtools I don't want to mess with this 7-year old Midwest rusted CV. The threads look just as bad.


Dave

 

do u guys know of any write ups for replacing axels. shop wants $210 to do it. it didn't look too hard on two guys garage or whatever that show was called...

 

Yeah, I don't like the idea of prying against the case, either. But that is the method outlined in the FSM, so no guarantee they didn't do that at the dealer.

 

Yeah, it's definitely possible they pryed using the tranny, but I'd like to think they would use a little more common sense like using a tranny bolt or piece of wood on the case as the pivot point and not the bare case itself. I'd rather have a guy that's replaced 100s of CVs on Maximas than some guy that's only done a few. $150 is lot of money for such simple work, but oddly the Nissan dealer was pretty competitive.


Dave

 

i read this thread days ago...but i'm just now in shock that dave b doesn't have air tools...dayum. hehe. for such a DIY'er, that surprises me.

and oh yeah, i did my axles in like 20 minutes, both sides took longer to jack the car up and take off my wheels

 

Axle nuts are the biggest ***** in the world. Did you try using some heat on it? Maybe wd-40. I removed axles nuts **** load of times, it's easy with air tools. Another thing you can do since you are replacing the axle is take a chizzle and try to snap the nut in half.

 

And if they do break the case, its their fault... no worries about getting a new one