DIY front driveline repair

[Downhillzze110]

so recently my front end has taken up the nasty habit of making thumping noises and screeching horribly... bad wheel bearings and CV joints was the diagnosis.
the parts
2 New GSP CV axels 69.99 a pop
2 Motor City (Federal Mogul) wheel bearings 25.98 a pop
2 Moog (Federal Mogul again) ball joints 49.99 a pop

the labor
remove axle hubs
press out old bearings
drain tranny and remove axles
replace axles
press new bearings in
replace ball joints
consider replacing tie rod end
reinstall axel hub


Day 1
took left side axle hub off
tools needed
1 GOOD impact wrench
Metric impact socket set from 12mm-21mm
30mm axle nut socket
needle nose pliars
hammer of some sort (you'll want it)

step 1.
take your wheel off (if you don't know how to do this then stop reading now because if you're undertaking this task then you HAVE to have a good knowledge of wrench turn-ery)
step 2
take the cotter pin out of the axle hub. if you've ever looked closely at the center of your wheels you know what i mean.
to do this i used the needle noses to straighten it out then the hammer to bang it out. once you've removed the cotter pin, remove the axle nut cover.
step 3 (you'll need the impact for this... trust me)
using the 30 mm socket remove the axle nut
step 4
remove the caliper NOT THE BRACKET
wire the caliper up out of the way.
step 5
if you look on the strut you will see a bracket the holds the brake hose to the strut body. remove that bracket. its a 14mm bolt if i recall. it may be a bit tough due to rust, keep at it.
step 6
remove the outer tie rod end from the steering knuckle (axle hub). theres a cotter pin that keeps the castle nut from moving, it must be removed first. then take the impact and take the castle nut off. using your hammer (its less damaging than a tie rod fork) hit the steering knuckle where the tie rod meets the knuckle. if you do it right then the vibrations should pop the tie rod end right out
step 6
remove the ball joint from the lower control arm
theres 2 nuts and 1 bolt holding it in, they're all 17 mm if i recall. use the impact.
step 7
remove the 2 bolts that hold the strut onto the steering knuckle
these will be VERY tough as they're load bearing bolts
use a 19 mm socket and a breaker bar on the nuts to break them loose (the strut is held on by a bolt that has a nut on the other side)
once you have the nuts off tap the bolts out
step 8
depending on whether you plan on keeping your axles or not
if you are then carefully pull the axle hub loose of the axle shaft, it may take a bit of doing. a second set of hands will help
if you plan on replacing the axles then less care is needed. the second set of hands will help regardless
congratulations you are now at where i am
more to follow
don't expect pics cuz i'm doing this in class but i will try if the fans demand it.
please let me know if this was informative or not
i apologize if it wasn't but i wrote this assuming you already know enough about your car to try this task.

by the way
replacing the wheel bearings is impossible unless you have a hydraulic press
however you can take the hub to a machine shop and have them do it for a fraction of the cost of having a mechanic do the whole job.
the rest of this CAN be done at home with out the impact wrench but i STONGLY recommend having an impact wrench as this will make your job SOOOO much easier.

[Milky]

Originally Posted by Downhillzze110

so recently my front end has taken up the nasty habit of making thumping noises and screeching horribly... bad wheel bearings and CV joints was the diagnosis.
the parts
2 New GSP CV axels 69.99 a pop
2 Motor City (Federal Mogul) wheel bearings 25.98 a pop
2 Moog (Federal Mogul again) ball joints 49.99 a pop

the labor
remove axle hubs
press out old bearings
drain tranny and remove axles
replace axles
press new bearings in
replace ball joints
consider replacing tie rod end
reinstall axel hub


Day 1
took left side axle hub off
tools needed
1 GOOD impact wrench
Metric impact socket set from 12mm-21mm
30mm axle nut socket
needle nose pliars
hammer of some sort (you'll want it)

step 1.
take your wheel off (if you don't know how to do this then stop reading now because if you're undertaking this task then you HAVE to have a good knowledge of wrench turn-ery)
step 2
take the cotter pin out of the axle hub. if you've ever looked closely at the center of your wheels you know what i mean.
to do this i used the needle noses to straighten it out then the hammer to bang it out. once you've removed the cotter pin, remove the axle nut cover.
step 3 (you'll need the impact for this... trust me)
using the 30 mm socket remove the axle nut
step 4
remove the caliper NOT THE BRACKET
wire the caliper up out of the way.
step 5
if you look on the strut you will see a bracket the holds the brake hose to the strut body. remove that bracket. its a 14mm bolt if i recall. it may be a bit tough due to rust, keep at it.
step 6
remove the outer tie rod end from the steering knuckle (axle hub). theres a cotter pin that keeps the castle nut from moving, it must be removed first. then take the impact and take the castle nut off. using your hammer (its less damaging than a tie rod fork) hit the steering knuckle where the tie rod meets the knuckle. if you do it right then the vibrations should pop the tie rod end right out
step 6
remove the ball joint from the lower control arm
theres 2 nuts and 1 bolt holding it in, they're all 17 mm if i recall. use the impact.
step 7
remove the 2 bolts that hold the strut onto the steering knuckle
these will be VERY tough as they're load bearing bolts
use a 19 mm socket and a breaker bar on the nuts to break them loose (the strut is held on by a bolt that has a nut on the other side)
once you have the nuts off tap the bolts out
step 8
depending on whether you plan on keeping your axles or not
if you are then carefully pull the axle hub loose of the axle shaft, it may take a bit of doing. a second set of hands will help
if you plan on replacing the axles then less care is needed. the second set of hands will help regardless
congratulations you are now at where i am
more to follow
don't expect pics cuz i'm doing this in class but i will try if the fans demand it.
please let me know if this was informative or not
i apologize if it wasn't but i wrote this assuming you already know enough about your car to try this task.

by the way
replacing the wheel bearings is impossible unless you have a hydraulic press
however you can take the hub to a machine shop and have them do it for a fraction of the cost of having a mechanic do the whole job.
the rest of this CAN be done at home with out the impact wrench but i STONGLY recommend having an impact wrench as this will make your job SOOOO much easier.

i have done my front wheel bearings before without a press. its just a pita. but a press does make it soo much easier.

but did you replace the seals with the bearings? because i would suggest doing so. i mean your there allready, and its just a couple more bucks for seals. so why not? other than that good write up. ive done this many times on many different cars.

[Downhillzze110]

Originally Posted by Milky

i have done my front wheel bearings before without a press. its just a pita. but a press does make it soo much easier.

but did you replace the seals with the bearings? because i would suggest doing so. i mean your there allready, and its just a couple more bucks for seals. so why not? other than that good write up. ive done this many times on many different cars.

this is a work in progress. i just got the hub off yesterday. i pressed the bearing in today. seal and axle tomorrow, right side if time

[Milky]

Originally Posted by Downhillzze110

this is a work in progress. i just got the hub off yesterday. i pressed the bearing in today. seal and axle tomorrow, right side if time

ah, understood.

[Downhillzze110]

day 3
the left side is awaiting final assembly and torquing down.
the right side needs the spindle pressed in then awaits final assembly.
sorry. never got the opportunity to take pics. as i was just trying to get this DONE.
will post results by the end of tomorrow

[Milky]

making good progress. keep it up. you can always get pics next time you do a write up.

[Downhillzze110]

day 4 got left side back together after taking it apart (some idiot went to town with an impact wrench because, and i'm not making this up "its not his car"... yeah... he ended up snapping 2 bolts and dang near destroying my brand new axle and ball joint). torqued down left side properly. tried to press right side hub in, found out it was too destroyed to use, so i had to buy a new one. ergo.
National Hub Repair Kit 67.99 (its supposed to be 139.99 but i got it discounted cuz the guy told me he had one for 67.99 in stock but when i got there, he didnt so he gave me the better brand for the same price)
the right side is no different from the left side

Results
steering feels MUCH crisper and responsive
no random THUNK if i accelerate on the highway
less body wiggle

lessons learned
Honda people hate my car... i don't say this to flame, i mean it. everyone in the class i worked on my car in, save a few, absolutely hated my car. and as the 'its not my car' guy said "you know this is a corolla right?" he drives a D15 non vtec civic... yeah... he's dogging a 1.8 non VVT-i corolla because its not a honda... don't get me wrong, i'd love to get a lil 5 speed honda or 'tegi, but for a daily driver as i work on making my car an autocross car.
oh and to be funny they drew penises and wrote i <3 c**k all over my car and muffler into the dirt and assorted soot on my car (my car carbons a lil). i caught one guy trying to write on my car with dry erase, at which i promptly threw a 17 mm wrench at him, missing, to drive the point home that if he even THINKS about it, bad things will happen. i had just washed and waxed my car previous to taking it in.
long story short, the steering and suspension class at gateway community college is full of some assholes.

[joecharp]

Hello - Good information but I have a basic question. I am replacing my front axles (99 Corolla). I have remove wheel, axle nut and the nuts and bolt that connect the control arm to the steering knuckle. I was able to get axle out of wheel hub without disconnecting the tie rod from the steering knuckle. So, it is all good except for one very important thing. I can't get the business end of the axle out of the transmission.

The Haynes manual shows a picture where you supposedly can use a pry bar to pry it out. The problem I have is there is NOT enough room to the a pry bar in there. I have tried from every direction I can see including from above in the engine compartment.

If anyone has done this job I would appreciate any tips on how you managed to get good enough purchase on the axle to actually pry it out.

Thanks in advance.

Joe
99 Corolla VE

[Downhillzze110]

it helps to have two people. one guy pulls the axle while the other one uses a screwdriver (a good one) or a pry bar. i hope i need not mention that this should ONLY be done on either a chassis lift or a set of high quality jack stands.

[EdW]

Did my passenger side CV shaft today, driver's side tomorrow. Couldn't get the shaft free from the transmission with a pry bar, and I put some very decent pressure on it. Really thought I had to open the transmission or something to get it free. So I got a 8" long block of wood and a small 5 lb sledge and hit the inner cup inside edge in the direction of the outer wheel, popped free right away. Thought that may help someone else wrestling with it...

As an aside, I too went with the new GSP axles from Advance. I know my inner drivers side CV is bad, but figured I'd replace both shafts as I'm doing the struts now anyway. I could feel play in all 4 current CV's, but was disapponted when I pulled the new one out of the box and could also feel a little play in both new joints when the axle was totally straight. So when you're checking the current joints, it would seem a small amount of play is OK... Just my .02

Edit: One year and 7k miles later and the new inner CV's are shot. Stay away from GSP if possible (unless they've made changes in the last year). Going to have a local shop rebuild my factory shafts as the aftermarket quality seems questionable.I