Axle Shaft Replacement

[ratorrey]

Doing lower control arms today my 1990 L Pluss Auto the drivers side Axle Shaft fell apart in my hand. I know normally after removing the nuckle you just tug on the shaft and it pulls straight out. Any thought on how I am going to get the leftover 1/2 of the joint out of the transmission?

[cway1319]

Muscle it out! Hey rattory im like 45 min from you if you evet want to meet up!

[ratorrey]

Muscle it out! Hey rattory im like 45 min from you if you evet want to meet up!

Muscle it out , hmmmm.. I am hoping that just a small pry bar will pop it out, when I muscle things out I tend to break them. Really do not want to be doing a tranny job also.. New shafts willl not be here till tomorrow so I am done for the day.. Hopefully I get some sunshine tomorrow and Monday so I don't have to walk to work next week..

We should meet up sometime..

[cway1319]

Deffinitly should got a 91,L parts car tranny blew engines good though

[Bert]

Holy cow! You must be glad to have decided to have a look at the driveaxles. I don't know what to suggest here about getting hold of what's left but damaging it obviously isn't a concern. Putting a new seal in the tranny case is probably a good idea once you get the busted axle out. Similar and inexpensive item to a bearing seal.
Thanks for sharing your 'concerns' via pictures. And good Luck!

[cway1319]

You on facebook?

[ratorrey]

One other question.. Will the other end of the shaft just pull out of the hub assembly when I remove the nut or do I need to use a puller?

Richard

[ratorrey]

You on facebook?

I have an account but never really do anything on it....

[cway1319]

Remove nut and assembly

[georgeb]

The piece should be easier to get out than an entire axle because you can pull it straighter. Be sure to save it as a trans plug unless you have to turn it is as a core.

[WmWatt]

After you remove the axle nut the shaft can be tapped out of the hub.

As for removing the other end of the shaft from the transmission a combination of pry bar pressure and tapping on the shaft housing with a hammer is a popular method of extraction. There is a circular clip on the end of the shaft inside the transmission which has to be jogged into position to come out.

Don't forget to put a basin underneath to catch the transmissiojn fluid when the shaft comes out.

[bravekozak]

I would consider draining the trasmission oil first, before tapping and popping the shaft out.

[ratorrey]

I would consider draining the trasmission oil first, before tapping and popping the shaft out.

*laughing* Great suggestion for next time... I had a pan sitting beside me to catch the tranny fluid when I pulled the axle shaft out (which poped right out easy). The pan only works when you remember to put it in place before popping out the shaft... 2 quarts of fluid on the hot top added 1/2 hour of pressure washing to the job..

[scitzz]

I know normally after removing the nuckle you just tug on the shaft and it pulls straight out.

For starters, NEVER tug on the shaft to remove it! You can end up with this same circumstance hitting you!

To remove the shaft, there are almost as many theories on how to do it as there are members here. M3NTAL was the one I think who watched me this weekend remove the axles on a car I did the clutch on at Madness this way. No problems ever with this method, for me at least, and I have done hundreds of axles this way.

I use two long slotted screw drivers, and put one on each side of the axle where it slides into the trans. You are looking to pry away from the trans against the axle as close to 180 degrees apart as you can. It will generally pop right out. Going from just one side, it sometimes happens that the circlip gets jammed into the spider gears, and extreme measures are then needed to extract it. Hopefully, you can do the same for the stub in there.

AdvancedDynamix has also posted that he has used a method that is similar to rowing as he pulls, but I don't recall exactly how he described it, or the thread we were on, but he is someone to trust for advice.

[TominMO]

Here is my thread on CV axle removal. It was a giant PITA for me until I got around to using a slide hammer; then it was simple and quick. If you need to use a slide hammer, here is a pic and description of the little "tool" I made to fit onto the slide hammer (post #94):

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37901&highlight=slide+hammer+axle&page=10