CV HalfShaft Replacement-- Tips/Advice?

[The Critic]

Going to do my first CV Half Shaft replacement this weekend on a '92 Camry.

Any advice/tips will be appreciated. I'm somewhat concerned about getting the shaft out of the transmission. Advice?

Also, the intermediate bearing is a concern on this car. Has anyone worked on one before?

Thanks.

 

[aznboi24]

Watched.

 

[djb]

Which side?

The passenger side CV axle of a 1993 Camry was the worst axle I've ever had to replace.

The axle passes through an engine mounting bracket, where it's supported by an intermediate bearing. The bearing commonly rusts into place.

AutoZone has a special slide hammer attachment in their tool loaner program. But even after two weeks of daily applying PB Blaster and using the slide hammer, the bearing remained stuck in the mount. No amount of heat, prying or hammering would free it. I finally had to remove the engine mount bracket (not easy) and pound out the axle with a small sledge. Others have had to cut or burn the axle out, or even buy a new bracket.

The driver's side is easier, although some brands of replacement axles have no lip to pry against when prying the inner joint out of the transaxle. Removing the upper shroud (two screws) and working from the top allows easier access if you have problems. If you have a helper, pry symmetrically from two spots.

 

[robshelton]

If you are doing a 2.2 4cyl its easier. Drivers side has a spring clip "C" holding it in the transaxle, so after removing the axle nut, unbolting the ball joint, popping the hub off the ball joint, pushing the axle thru the hub and swinging the hub assembly out of the way just slide a medium sized screwdriver behind the inner joint and wiggle. If it doesn't pop out easily, rotate the axle a bit and try again. It will come out easily when it lines up right. Be careful to not damage the dust seal! You will need a large pry bar or similar to push the control arm down so you can get the hub out of the way.

Passenger side can be a bit harder as mentioned above. The inner joint does not have a clip holding it in but the bracket mentioned above holds it in. Ideally you just remove the large snap ring that holds the axle in the bearing in the bracket and pull it thru. The snap ring is large and a regular pair of pliers will usually work to get it off.

A good way to get the ball joints off the hub with out hurting the grease boots - after removing the castle nut, rotate the hub all the way out and using a good sized hammer, smack the hub where the ball joint stud passes thru. Hit it sharply a few times and the hub will pop loose. I know it's primitive, but I've done a bezillion this way.

The V6 is a pain in that IIRC the drivers side inside joint has to be disassembled/reassembled to the part of the inner joint that stays on the transaxle. There are about 8 recessed 10mm hex bolts holding the joint together. They can be a pain as they pass thru a gasket that seals the grease inside the inner joint.

Its also a good time to check or replace your differential fluid. It is mighty tight back there!

PM me if I can help. Good luck!

 

[The_Eric]

Sounds like a V6 Avalon I had to do. Major PITA. Intermediate bearing was seized in the carrier/motor mount, so the exhaust lead pipe had to come down to get to the mount. The heck of it is that the mount isn't just bolted to the engine, it's also dowel pinned in place so you have pry the mount away from the engine while battling the shaft which still in the transmission. Once away from the dowels, you can hammer the mount away and you're home free. Stick the whole assembly in a heavy vice, get the torch (oxy/acetylene) and heat that mount really good, then give the end of the shaft [censored] with a 3lb hammer.

Reassembly is way easier, just make sure to clean the rust out of the carrier and lube it really good. Obviously you don't have to reassemble as a unit. Bolt the mount back up and slide the shaft on in.

A neat trick I use to separate lower ball joints on fwd vehicles is to loosen the castle nut about 2/3 of the way, then take a 3/4" or 7/8" cold chisel and stick it in between the cv shaft and the castle nut. Use a small hammer (10-12oz) and usually after a half a dozen medium raps, the joint pops free. Sometimes they're really stuck and you may have to get more aggressive, not usually. Be wary of anything attached to the shaft for abs...

 

[mechtech2]

To remove the axle from the trans, use two large prybars or really big screwdrivers.
Orient them on opposite sides of the C/V joint/trans as best you can, and then give a sharp and hard POP [together] to get the C clip joint separated.
You may have to let some fluid out first, or it will leak out of the hole. So at least have a pan ready.

 

[robshelton]

The V6 is a pain in that IIRC the drivers side inside joint has to be disassembled/reassembled to the part of the inner joint that stays on the transaxle. There are about 8 recessed 10mm hex bolts holding the joint together.

Actually I think they are 8mm. Think I used a 5/16 impact bit.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: robshelton
If you are doing a 2.2 4cyl its easier. Drivers side has a spring clip "C" holding it in the transaxle, so after removing the axle nut, unbolting the ball joint, popping the hub off the ball joint, pushing the axle thru the hub and swinging the hub assembly out of the way just slide a medium sized screwdriver behind the inner joint and wiggle. If it doesn't pop out easily, rotate the axle a bit and try again. It will come out easily when it lines up right. Be careful to not damage the dust seal! You will need a large pry bar or similar to push the control arm down so you can get the hub out of the way.

Passenger side can be a bit harder as mentioned above. The inner joint does not have a clip holding it in but the bracket mentioned above holds it in. Ideally you just remove the large snap ring that holds the axle in the bearing in the bracket and pull it thru. The snap ring is large and a


Rob,

Thanks a lot for your advice! I was having great difficulty with the job until I remember this thread and read your instructions again. After following your instructions to rotate the driver's side axle, I was able to get the half shaft out easily in under a minute! The passenger side confused me for a while. For a few hours I experimented with pounding, a slide hammer, etc...until I noticed the snap ring. I had looked for the snap ring for a while but could not find it (as everything is covered with grease on this car, every component is leaking). But once I found the ring and removed it, the axle came right out.

Unfortunately I also found slightly leaking tie rod ends and ball joints on this car as well. Good thing they were leaking though, as using the pickle fork to separate the tie rod end resulted in puncturing the boot-- I guess there's a way to use a pickle fork without damaging the boot, but I am not experienced enough to do that. The car is still up on stands now, as I am having trouble getting the lower ball joints out, but I think renting a ball joint pickle fork should take them out? Any advice on removal of the lower ball joints?

Thanks again to you and to everyone else for all of the help. Definitely could not have done the job without the advice.

 

[robshelton]

Congratulations! This is a tough job the first time you do one. You are more than welcome to the advice, all of us here seem glad to help. On the ball joints IIRC there are two nuts and a bolt that hold it to the bottom of the control arm, but I'm sure you found those and removed them. I can't remember if the joint is pressed into the arm but I don't think it is. The dust boot may be keeping the joint from passing thru the control arm so it may need to be removed. It has a spring ring you probably will have to pry off. Then the joint should pass thru the control arm.

FWIW, there is not really a way to use a pickle fork or ball joint separator without risking damage to the dust boots. That's why we were giving our techniques on getting them apart without hurting them in the above posts. They can be a pain! Actually I purchased a KD press that takes them loose just last week. But for the past 20 years I've used a 2 lb. mason's hammer and "Shock" them loose. It works on tie rod ends too, but has more risk of damage on them. I know it seems primitive but it works for me!

So this car is leaking from several places, eh? Most of the leaks are pretty easy to fix, like distributor o ring, oil filter adapter o ring, valve cover gasket...but if the rear main seal is wet, you might want to try using high mileage oil (I do)to help swell the seals and slow the leaks.It also helps lower oil consumption by swelling the valve stem seals. One leak many are not aware of is the oil pump sealing "Ring." If you do the timing belt and water pump shoot me a pm and we can talk about it. It's easy!

I see on your profile you are retired military - Thank you for your service!

 

[robshelton]

I should also mention when I get to a spot where I cant tell exactly what to do, I look up the part on line so I can see a photo of what it is supposed to look like under all that gunk and junk! Frequently you can see little things that require a change in approach to the situation. Good Luck!