Re: help! CV joint repair question

["Arun Rao" <rao@frisbee>]

On Jan 2,  4:59pm, Jeremy R King wrote:
> Subject: Re: help! CV joint repair question
> Finally a question I can answer with authority - yeah!
>
> The best thing to do is drop the ball joint out of the strut assembly.
> This will allow the strut to freely travel away from the car.  Take the
> axle nut off (loosen it before you lift the car up - you'll probably
> need a cheater bar) (you should get a new one to put on - they're lock nuts)
> use a three jaw puller to push the half shaft out of the hub.  It should
> move pretty freely after it's about halfway out.  Use a torx bit
> w/extension to loosen the inner cv (you should loosen these six bolts
> before you lift the car to keep the half shaft from spinning).  You
> should be able to pull the whole cv out and do whatever work you need to
> on it without much problem at all.  The only problem you might have is
> getting the ball joint to drop out of the strut.  You may need to take
> the sway bar loose from the a-arm.  Let me know if you need any other
> information.
>


	Minor additions:

	1. You'll not only need a cheater, you'll have to jump up and
	down on the end of it (!).

	2. You may not need a puller at all -- on my car ('85 5KT),
	the strut assembly just swings clear with a good yank.

	3. It's not a Torx bit -- it's a (12 mm?) triple-square (aka
	multi-point) bit which you can get at the local NAPA store for
	about $6.00.  There's a Torx bit that almost works -- but if it
	slips *once*, you're in deep trouble. (How do I know, you ask?!)

	4. As Jeremy mentions, the toughest part was to get the ball-joint
	to drop out. I used the same cheater as in (1) and -- you guessed it!
	-- stood on the end of it.


	Enjoy!


	-Arun

--
Arun Rao
Scientist
Pixar
1001 W. Cutting Blvd.
Pt. Richmond, CA 94804
(510)215-3526