Awd front driver's axle removal?

[craracer05]

Okay so i've read almost every write up on removing and replacing this axel and i just don't understand why you have to remove the intermediate shaft. No one seems to give a good explanantion on this.Not even the repair manual tells you why you have to do this it just says you do.I wouldn't care but i'm going to have to drop the exhaust and everything on this car is original form 1990 and theres no way that exhaust will go back on in peice and not leak if i remove the down pipe. I trying to avoid extra expenses at the moment .I'm mainly curious why you can't just pop the axle off the IM shaft.
Any help would be appreciated thanks!

 

[91 Turbo Mitsu]

Im not really familiar with the awd but from reading the link you posted the reason they tell you to pull the intermediate shaft is because it sounds like a bear to separate it. I would try to get up in there with a large pry bar and carefully try to separate it that way. I have done this dozens of times on cars and it worked for me. Just make sure you get a good bite on it before prying. Hope this helps some. Travis

 

[DiamondStarAwd]

Ok take the wheel off. Take axle nut ( 32mm). Unbolt brake caliper ( 17 i believe ) . Then slid rotor off. Take the front sway bar bolt off. ( 14 or 12 ) Take the two 17mm bolts that hold the strut to the knuckle. Swing the knuckle down and you can pull the end of the axle out of the knuckle. Then unbolt the two 14 mm bolts that hold the axle to the back of the block. Then if your lucky, it should slide right out. Mine did, but you may need to pry it out. Usually drivers side pops out and passenger doesnt b/c of the little clip it has.

oh yea exhaust will have to come off unless you like working in really really really tight spaces

 

[craracer05]

I already removed everything except for the axel itself, i'm jus asking if i cann stick a prybar up there and pop the axel off the IM shaft becuase i don't want to removal the exhaust.

 

[JayRolla]

Are you talking about taking the two piece shaft apart?? If so dont do that, you are going to have to remove exhaust most likely.

 

[brute]

There is a carrier bearing where the intermediate shaft and axle join. There is a bracket on the bearing, which is what bolts to the block.

Here's what that bracket/bearing looks like:

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Take it out as one piece, it will save major headaches down the road, trust me. Taking off the exhaust takes all of what, 30 seconds? Just spend the extra tiny amount of time now. If you were to separate the two, you would be spending much more time putting them back together than if you had just dropped the exhaust and took them out as one piece.

 

[1GawdJunkie]

Dont separate the axle. All I did was remove the wheel, remove the two bolts at the bottom of the shock to free the hub assy. Remove the two bolts on the bracket circled in pink in the photo above and the axle should slide out.

Good luck

 

[sherwinz28]

Once you remove the drivers side axle, you might have some problems seperating the 2 pieces that circled above. I had to take mine to a machine shop and they used a press to seperate the 2 pieces once I had the axle unclipped from the intermediate shaft. They made a whole in the cup and pressed it out.

 

[craracer05]

Well i got the CV axle out last night I just got under the car with a screwdriver and tapped the axel off the Im shaft it slid right off after a few good hits. I didn't have to drop my exhaust or anything.

 

[BISHILVR]

Yeah, I dont pull that shaft out either. Just pop the axle from it.

 

[BISHILVR]

Craracer? what class?

 

[craracer05]

Yeah i just popped it off. Way easier! O ya i run open quad class in harescrambles i placed 5th overall in 04 and 05 season.

 

[BISHILVR]

Nice. Where do you usually run?

 

[craracer05]

Almost every track except amherst,lightning and mansfeild.

 

[BISHILVR]

Big valley?

 

[motomattxxx]

Wow, a few riders here.