for those who have taken this off...what was ur technique of getting the top bolt out??? that shiet took me 2 hours for the top bolt...

 

any pointers?

 

I used a universal joint and a short extension to break it free and then took it the rest of the way out by hand. This was after I sprayed it pretty liberaly with PB Blaster (the BEST penetrating lube) and let it soak for a few minutes. I removed the top one first because I wanted the other two bolts to hold the bearing carrier tightly in place while I was removing it.

When you reinstall the bolts after getting the new axle in place tighten the lower two bolts almost all the way to line the top hole up and thread the top bolt all the way in by hand. Finish tightening the two lower ones to pull the carrier all the way into place and then tighten the top one.

Hope this helps...

 

I just used a crescent wrench. I had the car up on stands, so reached up from directly below. ONly took about 2 minutes to get those 3 bolts off.

 

I didnt have a problem getting to the top bolt with just a 12 mm. Then I backed the bolts a tiny bit out and then hammered on them to get the entire axle unstuck. 10 minutes tops.

 

man!!! for me...i bearly had enuff room to put my hand under there w/ the 12mm wrench...when i finally got that wrench up in there...i had no room to unbolt it...did u guys take out any additional items to gain access to this??? i have my car jacked up...took off all the underbody plastic...damn y-pipe and o2 sensor was in the way...