CV joint or axle replacement?

[bnpimpn]

hey guys i think i know what was causing a squeek under my car when ever i turned or hit a bump...i looked under it and seen a tear in my "boot"...(i think thats what there called)...anyways...how hard is it to replace the cv join or axle...or what ever its called (i think i've waited to long to replace just the boot)...because i know some one that can do it for free, if its not to complicated.. lemme know is it just a weekend job an evening job or what...and how much would a new one run me?

 

[Josh90tsi]

A replacement axle cost me $60 with a $60 core charge. Replacement can be a pain, but its not that hard.

Remove the wheel, remove the brake caliper and the torque plate for the caliper. Remove the brake rotor(can be a pain, a rubber mallet helps) and you will see a big nut. You will need a 32mm(or 1 1/4 inch) socket and a ratchet. Remove the nut. Now in order to get the axle out of the steering knuckle, you need to remove the nut on the balljoint and use a pickle fork to seperate the knuckle from the control arm. Once you have them sperated, you can swing the knuckle out far enough to get the axle out of the knuckle. You might need to hit the end of the axle with a hammer. The one I replaced on my car was really stuck, we had to use a 3 arm puller to seperate them, but the one on my friends car that we tore apart the other day slid right out of the knuckle. Once you have the outer end of the axle free, you need to drain the gear oil out of the tranny or you will have a big mess when you pull the axle out of the tranny. You might need to pry it away from the tranny with a screwdriver, or a wooden wedge would work well and wouldn't scar anything.

Any more questions just ask.

 

[bnpimpn]

thanks man i'll let ya know how it goes!

 

[Josh90tsi]

No prob man, good luck.