front driveshafts

[sinezter]

ok im in the middle of an engine swap on my 89 civic dx hatch and i run into a problem.. im at the final step of takeing the front driveshafts out, and i have NO clue how to get them out, it would be great if somebody could help me out..

thx

 

[jbeck]

after taking the spindle nut off, pull the hub off the lower control arm and swing the hub assembly to the side. Then pull the axles out, if they are stuck pry them out with a big flat head screwdriver or something alike

 

[sinezter]

ok now i cant get the spindle nut off!? its driveing me crazy.. can someone plz help me on how to get it off? thx

 

[danse]

The hub nut is supposed to be torqued to 135 lbs so you will need an impact or a breaker bar. You need a 32mm socket, a pickle fork for the lower ball joint, a punch to drive the hub out of the wheel bearing and always use a large screw driver or pry bar to remove the axle from the trans. Otherwise you will pull the CV's apart and have to take the boots off to put them back together.

 

[TheManRSW]

Don't use a pickle fork on the ball joints unless you want to replace them...that's just going on experience and teachings of others. Breaker bar and a 32 should do the trick on the axle nut...make sure you remove the cotter pin. And yes, just as Danse said, use a pry bar or flat screw driver to get the axles loose from the transaxle because they will pull apart.

 

[sinezter]

ok this is probably gana sound stupid, but im not sure but i do believe the spndle nut is staked, but i cant figure out how to unlock it... im not sure, but is there some kind of locking mechinizum holding the spindle nut on, or is it just tourqued on tight? if it is locked on how do i unlock it? thx, u guys are hella helpful

 

[jlicrx]

the nut will un-stake itself once you turn it - have someone hold the brakes, use a breaker bar and put a piece of pipe or something onto it to extend its length and stand on it - it should come loose

 

[TheManRSW]

The nut has a thinner area on the outer edge that is probably bent down into a groove on the axle...done with a screwdriver and a hammer...as sort of a locking type thing. If you have access to air tools, hit it with an impact and it should "unlock" itself and spin right off. If not, use the brakes and a breaker bar as stated above. Impact would be the easiest way, though.

 

[jlicrx]

to remove the axle: take the nut off the end of the axle at the hub - remove the bolt holding the strut fork to the lower control arm (yellow arrow in the picture) - remove the nut on the lower ball joint - take a heavy 3-5lb hammer and hit the side of the control arm where the bolt goes thru (red arrow in the picture) 5-6 times as hard as you can and the ball joint will pop right out of the arm - using a punch or similar, tap the end of the axle through the hub, pull the control arm down and swing the knuckle/hub assembly back out of the way - you can now get the axle free from everything but the transmission - place a pry bar between the transmission and the cup on the inner CV joint and pop the axle out - not too easy to just pry it out - you need to get the pry bar up between and kind of pop it