Re: help! CV joint repair question

[Jeremy R King <kingjer@eng.auburn.edu>]

On Tue, 2 Jan 1996, Arun Rao wrote:

> 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?!)

That must be why I stripped three of the bolts on our parts car while Dad 
kept saying, "It's the right size, it just keeps pulling out of the 
head."  We finally used a pair of needle nose vice grips.  I think I'll 
head to NAPA.  Thanks for the info!

> 	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
>