Driver axle removal, so much fail
 

Well if you've been in shout for the past, oh idk 2 weeks i've been bitchin n moanin about how the fuck to get this drivers axle off. I even tried going to mazda and buying their sst. Pics below show my current fail. Enjoy.

Is there something I'm doing wrong?(other than moar power/longer prybar).

A prybar is nice but you need to impact it to get the snap ring off. I have used several methods in the past:

1. Popped out the other axle and gone through the centre of the differential with a punch and a hammer. Not sure if there is enough clearance in the MS3 LSD to do this.

2. Attach a chain around the CV where it goes into the tranny and yanked on it. Don't pull the car off the jack stands.

3. Hammered a really solid pry bar. You need a big pry bar that doesn't deflect much and a BFH.

4. Used a wedge you can hammer between the tranny and the CV. You can even try a large ball joint remover.

5. If you are going to pry some more, maybe get a buddy to also pry at 180 degrees from where you're prying so you're not wedging the little snapring between the splines in there. Also spin the axle to try a different spot to pry on just in case the snapring is wedged.

Replace the seals on the tranny if you mangle them doing this and remember impacting it somehow is the most effective.

what makes this axle difficult to take off versus other cars? When I worked at a dealer techs could swap out axles in no time at all. In fact, most customers saved money long term going with an aftermarket axle replacement versus paying the time for a boot kit replacement on a high mileage axle.

@Lex , I appreciate the advice very much. For the 1st idea, I put pics on post 6. That's what you meant, right? I thought about sticking something inside, but I wasn't too sure of what's in there/i'd break anything. I've just about had it with this thing by just trying to pry it. Lol, now I'm stuck reading everything you say with your voice and when I look over, I see a cat doing pushups. It gets me everytime

Though @mOBSCENE did offer his assistance, maybe i'll let him mangle with it before trying your way. Lol, just kidding, I wouldn't torture him like that.


The passenger side is pretty easy to slide out, just kinda long. But the drivers side has this c-clip I guess that rests inbetween something and all the "little" hits won't count if you haven't gone over the "hill" for it. Or atleast that's what I'm imagining

I see. So it isnt like youre trying to do the job without a specific tool, its just the design?

The SST in the shop manual can not be bought (according to my mazda dealership). One of the mechs, a really cool dude, showed me what he used and offered if i wanted to borrow it. It's basically just a pry bar but his was too long for me since im on jackstands.



Alright so I took a few pics(damn cellphone with night flash) to show you guys what's through the passenger's axle. It seems like i'd need something with a point to it, I'm guessing the black bar separates the two or something? I honestly have no idea what's going on in there.

Yeah the tools that Hyundai would send us were sometimes not reorderable.

Pull the trans with the axle. Had to do that on my 3, rather than risk destroying an axle. Those things really suck to get out.

So does this mean I'm finished messing with it or do I have to remove the hub/other pieces? Grizzly bear with me, i'm slow in da head

By snapring I meant c-clip - DOH!

phate might have a point since you're pulling the entire thing out - pull it out with the axle. If it doesn't fit nicely you can take inner CV joint apart. Just mark both sides so that you can put them together the same way and this will cost you replacing the boot.

If you look through the passenger side and can see and get to the other side axle you can see about using a punch. Otherwise, don't ruin the diff :)

You can either get the axle out of the knuckle, or leave the knuckle and pull everything lol. The axles usually aren't too terrible to get out of the hub (easier than out of the trans).

There's not enough room to get a bar or punch through from the other side.

Awe, alright, I'll see if i can pull it how it is first...lol less work

..

I actually just bought some tools for this. I have had plenty of cars that I lost a lot of religion/blood removing axles. The tools I just got are really like oversized ball joint forks like @Lex said. It's a wide fork with nice thick/wide flanges so you can get a solid bite. They have worked great for me. Got em from Matco for like 45$. I'd figure that's what the Mazda sst is, or at least that's what they had when I worked for em.

I'll just use a big crowbar or something, gonna drop the motor from underneath and deal with the axle later. Gonna start ordering parts and get this bitch put back together. The real fun is about to start

ive never had a problem removing an axle like this on any car.and i also have a 5ft prybar when things are tough

get the biggest pry bar you can get, try jerking the pry bar instead of apply steady pressure.

a neat little trick ive found works a lot also is pry on the axle with a good effort. take a good size hammer and tap the metal housing of the inner cv while applying pressure. this should jar the axle enough to get it to pop past the c clip on the inside

Driver side fucked my couch. I tried a BFH with a crow bar. Ended up pulling the trans out with the driver side axle in place. Popped right out with the same damn tools. Had to pull the trans anyways for a clutch and flywheel replacement.

Any news - is it out?

damn i didn't have such an issue on a friends speed when we pulled his.

i had him on the outside tugging on the axle while i was underneath with a pray bar trying to pop the axle it. Just prying on it didn't work me so I would have him tug while i pryed with a hammering motion (i.e. kept putting pressure and releasing fast) and the axle popped right out.

Just luck? lol his car has been fine after the install as well

When I replaced mine I had to hit it repeatedly with a sledge.

I am guessing your main issue is that you're not pulling with the axle striaght. With the arm disconnected and the knuckle and arm just hanging on it the axle is going to be fighting an angle and the splines will bind slightly. not only that but the c-clip needs to line up evenly on all sides or it wont want to compress into its groove.

@SPEED6 KILLAH

Lol, jesus this thread has progressed. Alright, so today I managed to pull the motor from the car, underneath. After much thought, I may not need to remove the axle if i'm going to install it from the bottom.

But progress has been made, starting the tear down. Just a very, very slow process

so wait, you were able to get the axle outta the hub? that's my big problem. DS axle won't budge outta the hub.

yea, just unscrew the nut(you need a new one anyways) a few threads so it sticks out. Then just hit that shit with a mallet.....oyea and a "fuck you" attitude

That, or use a pulley puller, or something similar. I'm going to try a new method tomorrow that might save some headache.

yeah, I hit with 3 different mallets. I only succeeded in flattening the end of the axle. So much so that I had to angle grind it down to get the axle nut back over it when I gave up, lol.

It is always a good idea to put on the nut prior to going to town with BFH, just sayin' :)

I recently had to remove the ds axle on a members car at my shop. used a hub puller and a big hammer and an air hammer. only thing that worked was the air hammer and alot of force from the mallet. had to replace the axle because the tip was so mushroomed. as for the trans side, big hammer and a long prybar did the trick. never had this much trouble with any axle.

So i was reading this as i was about to pull mine off for replacement. I have changed many freightliner and international axles but this was my first fwd axle.. So small hihi. I also noticed the inner retainer clip fairly strong compaired to what i was told. Here is what i did.


What i did is
1. Make sure your wheels are chocked !!!
2. Remove all skid plastic to allow room to swing.
3. "If replacement" remove axle from cup, leaving only the cup.
4. Remove boot to expose the lip around the 3 edges of cup
5. Place "Vise-grip" on the lip then rotate until you can swing on the visegrips
6. I used a 3 lbs hammer. On my back and head under axle cut feet away from car.
7. Place a rag in the opening between the jaws at equal lenth. VERY VERY important. Make sure to have a straight pull on the cup dont pull down or up in the center only.
8. Once your in position and your sure all the slack is taken from you pulling like a madman hulk like figure, SWING THAT BADBOY HARD !!!!! On the tip of the vise grip and off it comes first shot.


I like to specify when i explain something. I really hope this helps someone ! After all i'm canadian hey !!!!

I just removed my drivers side axle today and here is a tip on getting it out. Head to sears or wherever and buy a ball joint pickel fork. I stuck this up there and struck it one time with a hammer and it popped it right off. Much better then a pry bar which flexes, this is solid steel and very thick and wont flex. This made my life easy and did zero damage to the seal or the axle when removing it. Just my 2 cents for anyone else trying to pull their driver side axle.

K Tool International BALL JOINT SEPARATOR PICKLE FORK - Tools - Mechanics & Auto Tools - Automotive Specialty Tools

I also couldn't get the driver's side CV axle out recently. I've gotten it out before 2 or 3 times before, but this time it wasn't moving. We used a sledge and a pry bar and it wouldn't budge. So we got creative and found this at Autozone. It would have been perfect if it fit, but the opening was just a smidge too small so we used a dremel to open it up a bit. At first we just started grinding, but then we decided cutting about 1/8" off each side would work faster. I attached a pic of this attached to the slide hammer. A few (dozen) good whacks and it was out.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but this (second issue, hub end) is what I am having trouble with.
Disconnected the ball joint, tie rod, strut (I'm changing struts right now anyway), caliper and rotor. no problem. 32mm nut from the end of the axle, no problem. but cannot get the axle off of the hub. small hammer, big hammer, gear puller, gear puller plus WD40 plus big hammer-No luck.
What about this ? OEM/Front wheel drive hub puller (27037) | Axle Flange Puller | AutoZone.com

On the transmission side, I put a socket on the drain plug so that my pry bar had something to push against and that trick worked.

@Andjo; car did this, we just removed the inner axle from transmission and took the hub off entirely. After all, even if you get it out, can you get it back in? I guess it wouldn't work for you if you were trying to replace the axle. If so, try to get it rebuilt...

But Yea, if you're just changing your clutch and need it out, just pull the hub off entirely. Future reference, take some high trip grease with a high drop off degree over 500 and lube the splines up before you slap in in there.


Out of curiosity, where the threaded end of the cv joint sticks out, is the area around that on the hub have a purple tint to it?


Also an easy way to get the transmission side off is to have someone pry the bottom side and take a couple of half inch extensions and tap it from the top side, kind of straightens it out and pips off pretty easy.

I'd screw the nut from the hub(make sure you've ordered a new one) so it's on the axle but not fully on, pull the axle from the trans, and then just BFH that out. A metal hammer is fine, even a mallet is okay.

If you can't get it that way for whatever reason. Take the whole assembly to an axle shop and have them pull it, they'll get it for sure. Not sure how you wouldn't be able to get it out from hitting it with a mallet though. Put some man strength when you hit it too, you won't break anything.

Mine was stuck so bad I broke the hub puller. Then mushroomed the end of the axle beating on it. Finally took the hub and axle to a shop and had them press it out with a shop press.

Had the same super mega whore slut issue with a 2011. Beat on it with the sledge / axle nut, tried a 3 jaw puller, a slide hammer. The only thing we didn't try was applying some heat. Ended up just blasting it out with an 8lb sledge once the replacement axle arrived, took the knuckle to a shop to press in the bearing.

Not much fun :worried:

the problem i've seen with removing the axle from the hub is that once you get everything disconnected, you don't have enough holding the knuckle in place. so if you're hammering against the axle trying to push it out, make sure there is something pushing back on the knuckle.

that puller you linked would accomplish that, but i don't know if you'd get enough force on it. maybe if you used an air impact?


also, you can "rent" them from oreilly for free. fuck autozone.
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/Re...word=loan+tool

Another way to try, if you have an acutal hammer drill use a hammer drill bit and hammer in the dimple of the cv joint. It ruins the 30$ bit but hey, gotta do what you gotta do. That's how I used to get the fan blades off of the motors for dust collectors. Lifted it by the blades with the fork lift and let the motor dangle about an inch or two and get to hammering. The vibrations is what gets it going. Although, that shit is wound so tight in these hubs from all the heat, it may be futile. Just a idear...

Air hammer gets axles out of hubs. http://www.freeautomechanic.com/imag...axle-shaft.jpg

That's a good idea.

Thanks everybody for the input. Last night I tried the puller I mentioned with an electric impact wrench, then more hammer. Still nothing. * I left the puller in place, applying force. Maybe sitting in a hot car today will help? Not getting my hopes up though. This afternoon, I'll try an axle shop. Thanks for the advice!


* At least Autozone gives me more time to return the tool on their loaner program. 90 days. O'reillys told me 48 Hours or it was mine!

Wish I had one of those. Alas :(

I had the pleasure (displeasure??) of swapping out the wheel bearings on my passenger side. Funny thing is I expected it to not budge like when I did the driver's side, but it took minimal effort with the 3-jaw puller.

OP, there was a post here that suggested zip tying a nylon glove around the axle, cut on of the "fingers" off, fill with PB blaster/whatever, and letting it soak. Here's my thread about the same ordeal.

If it makes you guys feel any better, when I did mine I was able to push them out with my index finger


#cocksucker

Lulz, you sure you have everything off? All that stuff atleast knocked the rotor off, right?

Thanks ArmanRus. I think that was the thread I started with. Missed the Glove trick in there.

Yeah Scribbles, the rotor fell off once the caliper was out ofthe way. no significant rust on anything else.

Spec, :tool: JK. Glad it went well for Somebody.

What was the glove trick because I can't seem to find what you're talking aboit

@ArmanRus
Other than post 44 above, I did not find it either. Sounds cool though. Pics?

@Spec; @redneck4Christ; I found the thread.

http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/foru...le-pix-163485/

I haven't tried this personally but it is worth a try.

Note that pinsol will also work really well rather than stuff that eats thru glove...not kidding.
Actually I dont know that it works great on rust, but it does work great as parts cleaner. But I would not be suprized if it worked with the glove method and no stink...

The other thing I did to remove a stuck ball joint was have tool have pressure on it like you did then hit end of tool with hammer and popped out. Think was the vibrations along with impact caused by hitting it while under pressure that caused it to finally pop.

There are a few other good chemicals to try if you can get your mitts on them. Kryoil, comes in an orange can and has a rather surprisingly pine like scent. Also, knock'r loose, which has a not so surprising scent. Smells like shit.

I FINALLY got it loose a couple of days ago. I had already pulled the hub out of the car anyway, so I put the knuckle in a vice with the lug studs pointiong straight up. That allowed me to pool the WD40 around the end of the axle, inside of the 'hub centric' ring without using the glove trick. let it sit that way for several days. Used the electric impact wrench a couple times in between. still nothing. Tuesday I decided to just hammer on it with the impact wrench for a while and see if I got Any movement. The main screw on the puller was turning real slow, but it was making some headway, so I just kept my finger on the trigger. eventually it started to spin a little faster and eventually came out.
I used picks, wire brush, brake cleaner, etc to clean up the splines afterwards. Nasty. But the hub does slide onto the new axle just fine. I should get the car back together and on the ground on Saturday, Finally!
I'm tired of driving momma's minivan. :( I did get the test pipe installed while it is in the air.

What was it that you linked? It just goes to a generic page about tool rental.


I'm currently stuck with the driver axle.
Tried a number of things to no avail. I've got a couple more ideas. I'm curious what this was. I have a ball joint separator but it's not wide enough to straddle the axle.i think if i modify it to fit , it'll lose too much strength.

I'm nearing the realm of cutting off the axle and leaving just the cup. I'm replacing the axle, any way.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...0fe11ef7b7.jpg

This is what ultimately did the trick. And quickly, too. Maybe five hits?

Also, Fuck that Japanese mother fucker who came up with this.

Also, Also, i don't think removing the passenger side to pop out the driver side will work. I tried it and there just isn't sufficient access in the 3.

Now i need more trans fluid. I wonder where to get the good stuff an Saturday afternoon

Mine won't come out either. First motor swap it stayed in the trans, clutch removal and replacement stayed in the trans.... Motor is out again, still in the fucking trans. Mine will not come out without destroying the axles

I just used a slide hammer and standard CV axle puller attachment, but I had to modify it by cutting it out to make it wider.

Buy one of these (you may have to grind the opening a little to fit our axle) rent a slide hammer from an auto parts store. Pops right out...

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...bc0089f2cc.jpg

Fucking assholes! !...where was this two days ago? Lol....

I was going to post that i talked to a mechanic this evening who did he attached cable to a slide hammer and uses that. The cable keeps you com damaging anything and the slide hammer provides the impact needed to free the clip.

Put a layer of high temp synthetic grease on the splines going into the hub and you'll be able to push it out with one finger next time!

Driver axle removal, so much fail
 

A punch will work if you have a long enough one to put through the passengers side. I've done this method twice. I have also placed a thick piece of steel between the trans and axle then wedge in a breaker bar in to give more leverage

It will pop right out. Done numerous times with zero issues.

Ok so what's the trick to getting the Bitch back in the transmission

Just slam it back in.

Just more proof that women are like axles.

But not all axles are women....ask me how I know

Got it, thanks. Didn't even need to be slammed. I got the splines aligned first. Then slid it back slightly. And then finally just firmly pushed it back in. Easy peasy

@Zdraveca Hopefully yours comes out more easily, but fyi just in case.

Our local old car club newsletter had a tidbit of information that could be helpful for some.
This is 3rd or 4th hand information that I have not verified. Reportedly, the April/May 2007 edition of Machinist's Workshop (Vol 20, #2 ) published a test of penetrating oils where they compared the force required to loosen rusty test devices. I am not sure of the details of the test. I have not found and read the article yet. Here are the reported results:

Penetrating oil: Average Load*: $ per fluid oz:
None 516 lbs
WD-40 238 lbs $0.25
PB Blaster 214 lbs $0.35
Liquid Wrench 127 lbs $0.12
Kano Kroil 106 lbs $0.75
ATF-Acetone mix 53 lbs $0.10

ATF-Acetone mix was a 50/50 mix, but has a short shelf life so only mix in the small quantities needed.

For something off the shelf, Liquid Wrench looks to be the best bang for the buck.

*I think these units should be lb-ft, not lbs



@Zdraveca Hopefully yours comes out more easily, but fyi just in case.

I hope i get it replaced by warranty :)

yeah this side is a bitch...done it 4x. never fun. whatever you do, if you got it out, and the C clip is deformed at all, DO NOT PUT IT BACK IN. i.e. the ends are bent inwward or outward. Get a new clip or repair the existing one. if you get a bent clip back in there...well you just thought it was a bitch to remove this time :)


ask me how I know? @Tomas;

on my 3rd removal and replace..well apparently I put a bent clip back in...lol This last time, (4th) about 1 month ago...was a P I T A. I went a few rounds with my heavy bag between attempts but the axle eventually came out.

My methodology double tap and out she came.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...82210768a2.jpg

nice...can't remember if there is a CV boot clamp on that dust boot but did you have to cut one off and get another?

Cut the metal basnd off that was on the boot.

got cha, I guess it safe to assume that you have to get a replacement and have a tool to install? can one pick those up anywhere? I hope to never do this again, lol, but it good to be prepared.

nvrmnd...google told me what I needed to know...time for another tool purchase...

Post link Dan :)

Amazon.com: Lisle 30800 CV Boot Clamp Pliers: Automotive

Thasnks Dan!

I got boot clamps at napa And I think the pliers at O'Reilly

The clamps at O'Reilly didn't fit

I'd just like to add some comments to this thread on front axle removal based on my experience, since this is the first thread that seems to pop up when searching. Hope this saves some folks time when they're searching these forums.

I recommend having a slide hammer kit ready to assist in removal; it's the most reliable method to generate the sudden force needed to pop the axle C-Clip past it's retaining position. Rent or buy one before starting this job. They're handy to have for many other tasks (pulling hubs, bearings, etc), and if you rent, worst case is returning it for your refund if you don't end up needing it.

If you don't intend to re-use the CV, you can save a buck or two by using the vice grip method some folks posted above. Just remove the boot from the inner CV joint, pull the guts and axle shaft out, firmly affix the vice grips to the CV housing, and use the standard slide-hammer-to-vice-grip adapter to pull the axle. Most slide hammer kits will have one of these - I know my OTC 4579 9-Way Slide Hammer Puller Set does, and that kit is the basis of many other similar knock-off kits as well.

If your intent is to re-use the CV, then I would recommend using OEM Tools 27058 axle puller attachment for a standard slide hammer. It will work with any 5/8 in x 18 thread shaft slide hammer, which is the "standard" thread you'll typically see. You'll have to grind out the opening to fit the Mazdaspeed 3 CV's, but once you do, a single slide hammer hit should remove them. I tried every other method, including opposed pry bars from behind, hitting pry bars with a hammer, etc. and none would work. The slide hammer method was simple. The OEM 27058 is only about $20 and took about 15 minutes to modify.

Before you re-insert the CV, validate that the little metal cup on the CV axle seal surface that mates with the transmission seal lip has not become cocked from the OEM Tool 27058. I had to straight mine by tapping it with a hammer. The OEM tools wedges in between this metal cup and the CV housing, so it's easy to displace it.

Also be sure not to hit your transmission seal when removing the CV. They're delicate - mine leaked when I accidently knicked it.

Good luck.

Interesting thread with a lot of understandable frustrations. The first time I ever dealt with an impossible-to-remove CV axle was on my 1996 Protege. I was getting into that thing with a crowbar, slamming it in frustration, hoping the car wouldn't fall off the jack stands. I felt victorious when it finally popped out of the transmission.

Later, when mentioning the utter hell I endured trying to remove it, a tech told me the clip is the major impediment to removing the axle. He said the secret is to rotate the axle while prying with the pry bar or using the slide hammer. The combination of the rotation and vibrations will cause the clip to move flush inits groove, thereby allowing the axle to slide out of the transmission.

I did this when working on my 3 about a year ago, and it worked like a champ.