Axle Removal

[TurboTJ]

Im in the process of pulling my engine. I just got to the step to remove the axles. The axle nut is completely rusted along with everything in its area. The thing that i am having trouble with is the cotter pin that goes through the axle nut. I've been soaking the thing in PB Blaster and going at it with a wire brush. Using pliers I've broken off the cotter pin on one side of the nut and dont want to do that to the other. Is there any easy way of getting the cotter pin out? If i break off the other side can i drill it?

 

[4BangR-x]

Its just a cotter pin man, wreak havoc on it. Pull it, drill it, whatever.

 

[TurboTJ]

alright. the thing is not budging. So i guess i shoulg drill it?

 

[4BangR-x]

yep, go slow.

If you have a small enough tap, you may want to try that.

 

[cecil722]

If i have a cotter pin that won't come out, I use a pair of vise-grips and clamp one end at a 90 degree angle. I then hit down on the vice-grips with a hammer. I think this would be a little easier than drilling, in my opinion. Hope this helps.

 

[4BangR-x]

That would work, except I think he posted he broke the ends off.

 

[T is for TURBO]

wow, if the cotter pin is giving to that much trouble, I'd hate to see the trouble your going to go through to the castle nut off... that mother was the biggest PITA during my entire engine removal.
good luck man. and just like stated above, its just a cotter pin, take out your frustrations on it, b/c trust me, you will have many more frustrations! and if you want, Ill mail you a new cotter pin

 

[4BangR-x]

Yea every day I look at that nut and think..."GOD DAMN, I hope I never ever ever have to #### with that thing"

 

[sadsm]

wow, if the cotter pin is giving to that much trouble, I'd hate to see the trouble your going to go through to the castle nut off... that mother was the biggest PITA during my entire engine removal.
good luck man. and just like stated above, its just a cotter pin, take out your frustrations on it, b/c trust me, you will have many more frustrations! and if you want, Ill mail you a new cotter pin

+1

Yea every day I look at that nut and think..."GOD DAMN, I hope I never ever ever have to #### with that thing"

+1
I would hate to be in your shoes when you have to take off that castle nut. Start spraying that mother with some PB Blaster NOW!!!!!

GOOD LUCK

 

[96gsdsm]

If you give enough torque to the castle nut, ittl just shear the cotter pin off and no worries, the big plus is that it's rusty, so it should be brittle... then you can screw with drilling the hole once the axle is out ... all you have to do is PB it to hell, get yourself the strongest breaker bar you can find, a 5' or 6' pipe and a few hefty friends.

If all elce fails ... heat it up with a torch (not a butane one.... a welding torch) and then it should come off ... of corse If you do that you WILL need to replace your wheel bearings.

Good luck

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

I cheaped out. Called the local auto place and had them come over with the BIG air tools and pop it off for me. $20 and saved myself a lot of hassle.

 

[T is for TURBO]

^same here.^ My dad brought home an impact driver that probably puts out more torque that some people's cars on this board, popped on a 30mm socket, and zipped the biotch right off! Its amazing what 100 PSI of air can do!

 

[luv2rallye]

I had the same cotter pin problem. You said only 1 end was broken off. Take a diag cutters onto the other end and squeeze just enough so it won't slip off and pry it out using the diag cutters as a lever. If that doesn't work try cutting that end off and punching just 1 of the 2 pin halfs through the hole - then the other will be a breeze to punch out. Once your cotter pin is out the axel nut is just a matter of how many feet of pipe do you want to put over your breaker bar (mine came off easily with an air wrench though).

The axel nut is a breeze compared to pressing the axel out of the hub! I broke my hub puller in 2 pieces (this was after PB Blast for 3 days, hammers, and welding torch). Had to rent a hub puller for a large truck to get it out. For those interested see here: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235884#post50449790

Well I'm sure you love hearing all these horror stories and can't wait to see what yours is going to be . Of course you could save yourself all this pain by not removing the axel nut at all. Just unbolt the 2 lower arms at the chassis end and remove the damper fork bolt and the entire assembly will swing out far enough to pull the axels out of the tranny (but then we will miss hearing your horror story ). You don't need to undo any ball joints either. This worked for me to remove my tranny on my 99 FWD and I suspect it will work for engine removal on your AWD too.

 

[TurboTJ]

Well I'm sure you love hearing all these horror stories and can't wait to see what yours is going to be . Of course you could save yourself all this pain by not removing the axel nut at all. Just unbolt the 2 lower arms at the chassis end and remove the damper fork bolt and the entire assembly will swing out far enough to pull the axels out of the tranny (but then we will miss hearing your horror story ). You don't need to undo any ball joints either. This worked for me to remove my tranny on my 99 FWD and I suspect it will work for engine removal on your AWD too.

Removing the lower control arms worked great, I had a mechanic take off the nut but he said that we would have to take it to a press to remove the hub because it was completely seized. I removed the lower control arms and the axles slid right out!