novice DIYer needs HELP! '95 camry cv shaft assembly

[SEmichiganCAMRY]

Hi all-

I am a relatively new DIYer but am trying to learn more! I have a '95 Camry XLE V6 with ~160k on it...

During a recent brake pad change I realized there was a ton of gary-green grease inside the right front wheel well.....some quick google searching revealed that I should check my CV boot, sure enough it has a large tear in it. From what I found online it makes sense to replace the entire CV half-shaft assembly instead of just fixing the boot, so that's what I am attempting to do.

My problem is that the 2 bolts and 1 nut holding the ball joint to the lower control arm are impossible to budge....have tried plenty of PB blaster and a 3 foot steel pipe as a breaker bar with no luck at all. My question: is it possible to remove the axle from the wheel hub without disconnecting anything at the ball joint?

I don't think there's anyway I can get the ball joint bolts loose....16 years of rust is defeating me. At this point considering taking it to a professional, thought I would try here first for any suggestions before I bite the bullet.

Thanks in advance--

[BMR]

It's easier to disconnect the steering tie rod end, and also unbolt the strut from the knuckle. That'll allow the knuckle to pivot out of the way far enough for the CV shaft to retract and get its splined end to disengage from the wheel bearing.

[SEmichiganCAMRY]

Thanks for the response BMR, I will try that tomorrow.

[SEmichiganCAMRY]

Ok, I was able to get the spindle out of the wheel bearing without undoing the ball joint. I first attempted to pull the intermediate shaft per my Haynes....I quickly gave up on this as the carrier bearing is completely seized in the rear motor mount (luckily I didn't bang on anything too hard, I think the carrier bearing is ok). I ended up detaching the inner CV joint from the intermediate shaft flange after removing the snap-ring adjacent to the carrier bearing and removing the lock bolt. Put a new half-shaft assembly on and just took it for a drive.....rode great all the way up to 80 mph.

My question: I had trouble getting the snap-ring back on and ended up just pulling it off the intermediate shaft altogether....just wanted to make sure that this is no longer necessary since the carrier bearing is completely seized in the motor mount and as far as I can tell the only purpose of the snap-ring is to keep it there. Will I be ok if I don't put the snap-ring back in place?

Also, if I did damage the carrier bearing in my brief attempts to remove it with the intermediate shaft, how would I know? I assume it would cause quite a shimmy when driving....and this was not the case, so am I in the clear?

Thanks in advance--

[71Corolla]

Originally Posted by SEmichiganCAMRY

Will I be ok if I don't put the snap-ring back in place?

Maybe, but it is there for a reason. It is possible at some point the bearing will drift out of the carrier, you absolutely need to put that snap ring back in.