Passenger side CV axle removal (MTX Turbo)

[deadmeat]

This project is actually rather simple, and may take about 1-2 hours, or a whole afternoon. The suspension and driveshafts are always going to have a few surprises for you, and things more than likely will not be textbook easy.

things you will more than likely need are:

1. 1 1/4 inch socket for axle nut.
2. 17mm socket and ratchet
3. 17mm box wrench
4. hammer
5. 10 and 12 mm sockets


something you might wanna consider also, is the oil seals on the tranny. they go bad over time, and you need to be careful not to damage them. if you think your gonna damage them, get two just in case. Mazda part # f003-27-238A you'd only need these if you plan on removing the intermediate shaft.

[deadmeat]

First step is to remove the passenger side tire.
Loosen the lug nuts, then jack up the car, and finish removing the tire. Remember to support the car properly, and to use a jackstand in addition to the jack, shoud the car fall (god forbid!).

The second thing you need to do, is remove the axle nut. If you look at it, it is peened. in other words, on the axle there is a divit. The edge of the nut is a bit oversized, so you can dent it in with a hammer into the divit on the axle, to prevent the nut from loosening, and coming off, which would be a very, very bad thing.

to remove that, you just have to do the opposite. At sears, or any other place you can buy tools, or auto stores, they sell a punch. this is a tool, that is designed to be used for peening these kinds of things. you want to use that, and punch out the bent metal thats in the divit on the axle, so that you can loosen and remove it.

should the nut not want to be removed after you undo the peen, you can use a breaker bar, or a rather large wrench to undo it. A word to the wise, make sure you use craftsman tools for this. I broke two 1/2 ratchets doing this. to keep the rotor from moving, I used a screwdriver, which i put inside one of the slots on the rotor, to keep it from rotating. the screwdriver would sit against the brake caliper, and keep the rotor from moving while you applied pressure to it. another method, is to have a friend sit in the car, and depress the brake pedal for you.

[deadmeat]

Next step is to remove the axle from the wheel hub.

First you need to detach the hub from the strut, which is done by taking off the two bolts that hold it on there. these nuts and bolts are 17mm in size.
*Note: if you have ABS brakes, you will have a third bolt you need to remove from the strut, which i believe is 14mm.

from here, you can move the wheel hub foreward, pivoting it on the ball joint on the control arm, and on the tie rod end. You might also want to remove the brake line from the strut, which is held on by a little clip, which will give you a little bit more movement room. You should be able to push the end of the axle out of the wheel hub. It may take a little work, but it'll pop out.

[deadmeat]

Now, from here you reach a crossroad. there are two ways to remove the cv axle from the intermediate shaft. The hard way, or the shortcut way

the first way, which is outlined in the ford probe shop manual, is to remove the intermediate shaft from the transmission before knocking off the cv axle.
the intermediate shaft is removed by undoing three or four bolts that hold it onto the engine block, where the cv axle connects to the intermediate shaft. i believe they are either 10mm or 12 mm bolts. after you undo those bolts, you can then remove the intermediate shaft from the tranny. It just slides right out, and it doesnt use a circlip.

after you remove the intermediate shaft with the axle still attached, you just have to remove the axle

this can be done the way I did it, which is easily done by taking a hammer (if your not reuseing the axle) or with a rubber mallet. Hold the intermediate shaft in one hand, or place it in a vice. Then, hammer on the cv axle, where it meets the intermediate shaft away from the side that came out of the tranny.

Huh-huh, i'm holding my shaft... :P

[deadmeat]

ok, the shortcut is, to just not to remove the intermediate shaft from the tranny...

Instead, just hit on the axle while it is still attached to the tranny. this will probly save you about 20 mins.

Access to where you need to hit on the axle is between the frame and the catalytic converter. remember to turn the axle while tapping on it to work it off the intermediate shaft

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After you remove the half shaft from the intermediate shaft, your pretty much home free now

Next, you just have to push the new axle onto the the intermediate shaft. Line up the splines on the shaft with the one's on the new axle. you should be able to do this by "feel" though the axle. remember to kind of work it on there, using a bit of a rocking motion.

once you get the axle onto the intermediate shaft, you then need to put the other end into the wheel hub. same as before, make sure to line up the splines so it'll slide right into place in the hole. It may take a little working about to get it into the hole where it belongs. Then you just have to reattach the wheel hub to the strut, and if you have ABS brakes, to attach that bolt back to the strut also.

[deadmeat]

Once you get the axle in the wheel hub, and the hub reconnected to the strut tower, you need to replace the axle nut. again, put a screw driver in the rotor to keep it from rotating, or have a friend step on the brake pedal to keep it from revolving while you try to tighten the nut.

after you tighten the nut as much as you can, you need to peen the new nut. Use a hammer, along with a punch tool to bend the ridge on the nut into the little divit on the axle.


Replace your tire, and hand tighten the lug nuts in a star pattern.


then, slowly lower your car, until the tire will not turn while you tighten the lug nuts. Use a tire iron, or socket and ratchet to hand tighten the lug nuts, and then finish lowering the car to the ground.

You should be done with replacing your passenger side cv axle at this point, and should get an alignment, unless your planning on doing the drivers side cv axle

-meaty

[zackman815]

Thanks meaty! Great info, but can someone add some info about servicing the intermediate shaft? I was replacing my CV halfshaft and realized that I badly need to replace the bearing on the intermediate shaft as well.

Michael A. posted the part number for the bearing (SKF 6206 2RS JEM). But I haven't yet been able to figure out how to get the bearing out without damaging the housing, any ideas?