Different steering knuckles?

[exitreality1]

So here's the story. While dropping my tranny to change my rear main seal, I discovered my axle was stuck inside the driver's side hub. I pounded that sucker with a sledgehammer, drenched it in PB Blaster, rented a hub puller, took it to a machine shop where a guy heated it up with a torch and tried to drive it out with an impact wrench, nothing. Unfortunately, in the process of doing all this I completely destroyed my axle tip. Of course, since I couldn't seperate the hub and axle from the steering knuckle and lower control arms, I sourced a new knuckle and control arms from a '98 GS and bought a new axle.

Last night I put everything on and noticed it was badly out of alignment and the camber was pretty off on the driver's side. I was expecting this, however, and took it to get aligned. I just got a call from the shop saying it was the wrong steering knuckle and they couldn't align it. This doesn't really make sense because in a few OEM parts catalogs I looked the 98-99 2wd models had the same knuckle. I'm thinking either (a) the knuckle is somehow bent or (b) maybe ABS/non-ABS knuckles are different, which I don't think they are.

Anyone have any insight on this?

 

[luv2rallye]

They may be different (not 100% sure) since one has to account for the abs teeth and pickup but I thought they were the same also. Compare both in that area. Yours is probably bent - ask them.

As for the stuck axel I had the same problem and only this extra heavy duty puller got it out: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/235884-need-help.html. So maybe using it you could reuse the old one. It rents only in a tool rental shop that supports truck tools.

 

[exitreality1]

Ended up paying the shop $50 to pull the axle and hub off the original steering knuckle for me. I honestly didn't think they would get it off, but they did. Now I just have to stick the original back on with the new hub and axle.

It does make me wonder if the knuckle was bent. My camber was off by about 3 degrees. I'll ask the shop and then see if I can get some money back from the junkyard for the knuckle I "didn't need."