Front CV axle stuck in wheel hub

I need to replace my left front CV axle on my 97 LGT sedan, but the axle is very stuck in the hub. I soaked it in pb blaster for a couple days and used a variety of hammers on it to no avail (mangling several wheel lug studs). Meanwhile, the axle on the other side popped out with one whack!

 

Has anyone else had this happen? I've heard of using a sledge, some type of puller, or an air hammer to get them off. Also, is all this whacking with hammers going to mess up my wheel bearing? I would hope not.

 

Any suggestions?

A wheel hub puller generally have center piece that will push the axle out. The hub puller bolts where the wheel would go and a slide hammer threads in. But there is another piece in the both usually that will thread in and push the CV axle out. I've never tried it but if it's going to come out at all that should work. And it shouldn't mess up the bearing.

A wheel hub puller might not be the best bet as it has a good chance of messing up the threads of your wheel studs if you don't have bolts that fasten well. IIRC, the lug nuts are too shallow to slide all the down the lug stud.

 

What I have used in the past is a 3-Jaw Gear Puller. You clamp it to the spindle, tighten it against the axle, and either use a ratchet or an impact and buzz it out. Here is what they look like:

 

Freeze-off and an air hammer. PB is good for rust but your axle is seized so PB will not be much help. Whacking with a hammer can mess up the bearing and given its current state, it might be a good idea to replace it and the hub anyways. You may end up using a majority of the can of Freeze-off but I've not had better luck with another product when dealing with frozen shafts.

 

Spray the hell out of the splines where they go into the hub

Start hitting the shaft with an air hammer

Repeat

 

If an hour or more has gone by, and it's still not coming out, cut the axle in half, take the knuckle out and see if a local shop can try pressing it out. Have a new bearing and hub with you so they can take care of it all at the same time.

So I loaned a puller from Autozone and attached it to the hub. I was an idiot and attached the claws onto the ABS ring, which buckled and cracked almost immediately after tightening it. I moved the claws to the actual wheel hub because it has much more meat on it, and tightened it up. It looks like the axle might have moved a little bit, but I couldn't get far because tightening the puller now just turns the axle. What strategy would you guys recommend for counter-torque? Also, now that I need a new wheel hub, what's the situation with that? Is that a difficult repair compared to axle replacement?

You will need to replace the bearing. The races always pull off with the hub, ruining the bearing. The bearing needs to be pressed out and a new one pressed in. Your best bet at this point is to cut the axle in half and remove the whole knuckle. Take the knuckle with the cut axle to a local shop and ask if they can press the axle out, press the hub out, press the bearing out, press in the new bearing, install a new abs ring on the hub and then press the hub into the knuckle. At that point, you will be ready to go back together. Do not forget to replace any cotter pins that get removed.

 

The hub should be salvageable but you can take a new one with you so they have it if need be. It shouldn't cost more than a couple hours labor depending on how much the axle fights them.

I agree, it sounds like the axles is going to take more than a puller to get it out. Remove the knuckle and have a shop press it out. It's going to take some force to remove it and will most assuredly destroy the bearings when they do it, so have new ones on hand. When you reassemble, make sure you coat the splines with anti-seize and grease up inside of that hub where the axle mates to the hub so that it doesn't get stuck again.

Thanks guys. This is turning out to be a lot more involved than I thought. Removing the knuckle is just a matter of removing the camber bolts, the tie rod, and I'm assuming something to do with the ABS sensor? I've already disconnected the ball joint and the sway bar linkage.

 

Also, this is only the driver side. the passenger side axle came out very easily, so I don't think the bearing was at all damaged. Is it recommended to replace that bearing as well?

Thanks guys. This is turning out to be a lot more involved than I thought. Removing the knuckle is just a matter of removing the camber bolts, the tie rod, and I'm assuming something to do with the ABS sensor? I've already disconnected the ball joint and the sway bar linkage.

 

Also, this is only the driver side. the passenger side axle came out very easily, so I don't think the bearing was at all damaged. Is it recommended to replace that bearing as well?

 

Passenger side should be fine. I had the same issue with my SVX replacing rear bearings. The inner race on the driver side wouldn't come out of the hub with a puller so I went to remove the hub and I snapped the control arm bolt at the head and it was seized in the hub. I had to cut the control arms off and drill and hammer the leftover of the bolt in the hub. Smashed my wrist in the process. $600 in parts and an urgent care medical bill later and it was fixed.

So I've sawed the axle in half, popped the tie rod off, and undone the camber bolt. Im holding off on the last camber bolt until ive dealt with the abs sensor. How are you supposed to remove it, and is it easily damaged?

 

Edit: nevermind, I got it off, but I broke the retaining nut. The shop I took it to reccomended I just get a new knuckle assembly from a recycler, and I think that's what im gonna do. If the bearing isn't great, ill just replace it later because I need this car driveable.

 

OK so I got a great deal on a used steering knuckle in good condition. The bearing has some play and makes noise when turned so I wanna replace it. I have a friend who will lend me their press. What do I need to buy in addition to the bearing? I understand there's some seals and retaining rings ?

OK so I got a great deal on a used steering knuckle in good condition. The bearing has some play and makes noise when turned so I wanna replace it. I have a friend who will lend me their press. What do I need to buy in addition to the bearing? I understand there's some seals and retaining rings ?

 

Inner and outer seals are all you need. The retaining clip is removed before you press the bearing out and can be reused provided you don't damage it.

 

The inner seal is WJB WS710464 and the outer seal is WJB WS710463. It'll cost you about $3.50 plus shipping from Rock Auto for them.

Alright, ill be ordering those soon. What are the chances that the junkard wheel hub needs to be replaced as well? it looks alright besides being a little rusty.

Replace it. Peace of mind and reduces potential for having to take it all back apart.

While I wait for the hub to come, I decided to get the passenger side squared away. Went smoothly, got the new axle in easily. However, I noticed that I marked the camber bolt's position on this side, but forgot to on the driver's side. How should I go about making sure that goes where it needs to? Also what's the torque spec for the camber bolts?

You can get it close enough to drive to the alignment shop. Assuming you are on a level floor you can use a level to check how much the good one is off from vertical. Then get close to that on the other side. That's all with the wheels on and the car on the ground. There is also a way with string and a few odds and ends to set toe. All of these are mostly to get it close enough to drive to the alignment shop where they will get it right.

Finally got everything back together today. Drove it to the alignment shop, I'm actually currently there waiting for a ride home. I noticed that there's a humming type of noise, not sure if thats just because it's not aligned yet though. However I also noticed that it made some pop noises. Is that because it's not aligned? If not is it possible that something's wrong? The axle, bearing, and hub are all new, and I properly torqued the axlenut.

Humming noise is a sign of a bad wheel bearing. The popping noise could be a loose bolt/nut somewhere such as the ball joint or strut mount related.

I just replaced the bearing though, and I got help from a mechanic friend of mine so it was definitely done right. Also I torqued all the bolts to spec, and it's still making both noises even after alignment. It could be brakes but they have more than half of their life left.

It could be one of the other 3 bearings. Both noises are coming from the same wheel?

It's hard to tell but it seems like its just coming from the front of the car, ill see if I can pinpoint it tomorrow. Also, I definitely noticed more popping noises, it sounds almost like my axles did when they were bad, before I replaced them.

It's not impossible to get a junk part right from the parts store. If that is it, it will definitely suck, but the parts store should stand behind you.