Front axle replacement

White&NerdyWhite&Nerdy Senior Wagonist
in Engine & Drivetrain
OK, so I've got new front axles, left and right, for a 4wd Civic, a 32mm socket for the axle nut, 4 quarts of tranny fluid, a Haynes book, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. :lol:

Sorry, got carried away there. :) My CV joints have been clicking since I got the car last March. Figure I'd better get around to fixing that, especially now that I'm driving my wagon exclusively (I kept a lot of miles off last summer by riding my motorcycle every chance I got). The car's in the garage now, and in the morning I intend to try replacing both front axles myself. I've read the book and I think I'm set to go. Are there any undocumented "gotchas" I should be aware of?

Thanks!

Comments

  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    You forgot one thin in your rant... BAT COUNTRY!

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  • Eagle BeagleEagle Beagle familEE
    :mrgreen: i almost died laughing ...

    GL with the axles

    : )
  • HxCforeverHxCforever Wagonist
    axles replacment is simple & fun. make sure to have a friend around to pass you a beer & press the break
  • JakerJaker familEE
    If those axles nuts have been on there for any length of time, you'd do yourself a big favour by having them loosened by someone with a big jesus 600 ft/lb impact gun before you even start. Just drive the Wagon down to a decent garage and slip them a $20 to give both nuts a quick shot. It'll save you a lot of hassles.

    Barring that, loosen them off with a breaker bar and a piece of 4' pipe slipped on the end. Make sure the car is on the ground with the wheel/tire on. Take the center cap off the wheel if it means you have to take the wheel off to pop it out, and thne put it back on and drop the car, then do it! This and a buddy sitting in the car with his foot on the brake will make it so much easier. Even then, you might break the tools before you get the nut loose. I've killed 2 or 3 breaker bars over the years trying to get those things loose.

    Good luck.
  • White&NerdyWhite&Nerdy Senior Wagonist
    Hmm, sounds a bit like the crank pulley bolt - which I failed to remove myself. :(

    Fortunately, this time I *can* get someone to stand on the brake and have it be effective. With an automatic, that method didn't work on the crank pulley bolt.

    OK, I'm about to go downstairs and get started. A bit early for beer, but we store it in the garage next to where I'll be working. :lol:
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    its really easy, shouldnt take more the 30 minutes. nothing too crazy, its pretty straight forward. just follow the book and you'll be fine ;)
  • White&NerdyWhite&Nerdy Senior Wagonist
    Well, definitely more than 30 minutes. The axle nuts were NO problem for my impact wrench. :twisted: Couldn't bust either ball joint loose. :evil: Ended up using a trick I found on honda-tech - disconnect the upper ball joint, where the upright connects to the upper A-arm. It's smaller and under a cover so not as corroded. That plus removing the lower strut bolt gives enough freedom of motion to get the axle out of the hub.

    I really needed to replace the passenger side axle. The inner CV joint BROKE while I was removing the axle!!! :shock: Literally, I removed it in two separate pieces. But the replacement is in there just fine.

    Driver's side came apart much easier - especially since I'd figured out all the tricks and such on the passenger side. Then I found that the replacement axle they sold me is about 10" longer than the one I pulled out. :roll: It's like they got one for a FWD Civic, even though I was VERY clear that mine was the 4WD version, and they listed the part as such in their computer. (Not the first time I've found a parts store's computer to be wrong...) They're supposed to be getting me a replacement for tomorrow morning. If it's still not right, I should be able to just put my old axle back in until I can source the replacement. The boots are fine, and there's no wacky motion or binding in the CV joints. I think all the noise and vibration was coming from the passenger side, which was about to die a violent horrible death at any moment.
  • JakerJaker familEE
    I've also heard of people unbolting the lower control arm at the chassis to let the knuckle swing out far enough to take out the axle. Should be easy IF you're bushings are not seized/corroded to the bolt. You'll also need to unbolt the radius arm for this method to work.
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    a method i did (to prevent accidentally damaging the balljoints) was unbolt the suspension from the top and take the whole strut out haha :oops: worked great though then you have tons of room to slide the axles in and out.
  • White&NerdyWhite&Nerdy Senior Wagonist
    I see how that could work - then you don't have to maneuver the loose axle out from between the forks at the bottom of the strut.

    Not once, but twice, the parts store ordered me the wrong axle for the driver's side. :evil: The ones they got are probably about 10" too long, as though they're meant to go directly into the transmission rather than the intermediate shaft of the RT4WD tranny. Fortunately, the old axle on the driver's side is still good, so I reinstalled it and am back on the road again (finished just in time for over a foot of snow to fall, BARELY managed to stuff the Miata back into the garage before it got buried!) No noises at all since replacing the axle that broke during removal, so I'm confident that the old driver's side axle is still good, and the other one had been causing all my problems.

    Still, it would be nice to know exactly what part I need for the driver's side once the time comes. Has anyone successfully ordered and obtained the correct part? What's the proper part number? And where did you get it from?
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    yeah, the 2WD cars have the really long axles on the drivers side. no half axles on them :mrgreen:

    i dont have any advice on buying a correct axle though, other then try a different source?
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