Frozen Hub/removing axle

[Mytrn2brn]

Hey guys, my hub/bearing is frozen to the axle and won't come off. I tried everything that everyone else on here has tried/ Map gas heat, PB blaster, heavy duty puller, impact gun, and sledge hammer, all to no avail. I haven't ruined the axle yet so this is my last ditch effort. I want to remove the axle and take it to a shop and see if they can press the hub off. So my question is will the CV joint pass threw the spindle or does the entire spindle have to come off also. I don't want to separate the ball joints and tie rod if i don't have to. My car is a 95 GSX

Thanks

 

[420a_turbo]

What "unbolted"? I'm really curious. Please discribe this unbolting process, because there are many people on here who have this problem. Any tips and tricks to get our rust-belt cars apart will be much appreciated.

My axle didn't fit through the knuckle with the axle attached. Not sure if it was an aftermarket one, or if that's just how they are stock. There was the CV Joint cup on one side and the hub on the other. There were no bolts to magically undo and fix it.

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Two shops told me that I either had to grind the cup down, or torch it apart.
The one was the shop that quoted me $400 in labor to swap the wheel bearing in the first place. They said their press wouldn't have got it out, and as rusted as that whole front suspension assembly was, they figured it would be an 8+ hour job. <- That shop never does any of my work. I just have them tell me what's wrong for state inspections and I fix it.

Sick drawing first of all.

But to answer the ? here is yes you can unbolt the problem. Its intimidating when you are just staring at it, but it does work. I have a frozen axle/wheel hub laying on the ground in my garage right now. Once the lower control arms are disconnected, and you disconnect the tie rod end and the upper control arm there is nothing else holding the whole assembly together. I might be forgetting something minor, but if you generally speaking disconnect everything that bolts up to the control arms(upper/lower) you can pull the whole assembly out. It is pretty easy to pull the entire assembly. I was hoping someone had some kickass backyard mechanical way of removing hub from the axle but seems everyone trys the same shit.

So, If I was you I would replace the axle/hub and call it a day.

 

[knochgoon24]

Sick drawing first of all.

But to answer the ? here is yes you can unbolt the problem. Its intimidating when you are just staring at it, but it does work. I have a frozen axle/wheel hub laying on the ground in my garage right now. Once the lower control arms are disconnected, and you disconnect the tie rod end and the upper control arm there is nothing else holding the whole assembly together. I might be forgetting something minor, but if you generally speaking disconnect everything that bolts up to the control arms(upper/lower) you can pull the whole assembly out. It is pretty easy to pull the entire assembly. I was hoping someone had some kickass backyard mechanical way of removing hub from the axle but seems everyone trys the same shit.

So, If I was you I would replace the axle/hub and call it a day.

But that's the thing, even once it's unbolted from the car, you still have a hub and axle stuck through the knuckle.

 

[420a_turbo]

But that's the thing, even once it's unbolted from the car, you still have a hub and axle stuck through the knuckle.

The part you have labled "no bolts to anything" comes out of the car with the assembly. Once its out you should be able figure it out. Its possible that different years have different knuckles and such. I know the front/rear lower control arms are different from 1995 to 1998, so maybe thats why its this way for me and that way for you. Not really sure, Im not trying to sound like a smart ass, but its really easy to do. Its really obvious how to get it done once you are in there. My car is a 1995, so maybe thats why we are looking at the same thing but coming with a different outcome.

So I guess im just going to speculate that your situation is different then most. For sure, no two ways about it there is a way to get 'er done. If I could work on your car I could figure it out, no offense just saying. Im sure some other Guru will chime in and help you out as well.

Good luck either way!!
-J

 

[TurboSportAWD]

But that's the thing, even once it's unbolted from the car, you still have a hub and axle stuck through the knuckle.

First off, the axle cups aren't supposed to come out through the knuckle. All I did was unbolt the tie rod end and the front lower control arm which allowed me enough movement to get the axle out.
Alot of times when smacking the threaded end of the axle you don't help to push it out the back. You just end up oblonging the end of the axle. What I do is I take a ball peen hammer and a small sledge. Take the ball end of the ball peen and put it in the dimple on the end of the axle. Then hit the peen end of the hammer with your sledge. This usually breaks the axle loose 90% of the time. Once you've oblonged the end you'll be forced to grind the end off though
To take the whole knuckle out, you'll have to seperate all of the ball joints on the knuckle which is a big pain in the ass. Once you have it out of the car you can get the axle out with a press.

 

[420a_turbo]

So what he is describing is what I was talking about doing after the assembly is pulled. I pulled the arm with the knuckle, hub, and axle and took that to the workstation.

 

[knochgoon24]

I understand that you unbolt the knuckle off the car so that you just have the knuckle, hub, and axle in your hands, but what do you do after that?

unbolt the hub off of the knukle and throw the damn axle/hub in the garbage.

But the axle cup won't fit through the knuckle and neither will the hub. Now what?

I took a grinder to the axle cup. Others take a torch and cut it. Some are lucky enough that a big f*(kin' press is able to break it loose. Some have luck with a sledge. What's your method when all those fail?

I tried:

1. PB Blaster
2. Jaw Puller
3. Heat
4. Heat + PB Blaster
5. Sledge Hammers (2lb hand one and a 10lb full size one)
6. 15 Ton hydraulic press
7. 15 Ton hydraulic press + heat + PB Blaster

I'd say it was stuck in there pretty good.

 

[turbosax2]

I had the same experience as Wes with both my fronts. A 15 ton press with heat just wouldn't budge the axle. I ended up buying new knuckles and axles. The dealer sells a kit that comes with a front knuckle and both control arms for about $150 per side.

 

[TurboSportAWD]

The axle cup comes out with the axle. I have no idea what you're talking about when you say it won't fit through the knuckle. Are you trying to press this thing out from the wrong side or what? The cup should have nothing to do with the axle coming out.

 

[TurboSportAWD]

I had the same experience as Wes with both my fronts. A 15 ton press with heat just wouldn't budge the axle. I ended up buying new knuckles and axles. The dealer sells a kit that comes with a front knuckle and both control arms for about $150 per side.

Not a bad price. Does this come assembled with ball joints as well?

 

[turbosax2]

Yes, since 2g ball joints are not serviceable. The part numbers for the kits are MR325009 (left) and MR325010 (right). I just checked and they're actually $125.57 each from JNZ. I have these on my car now and they work fine and are abs compatible.

See here if you're interested:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/handling-tech/323990-resolved-oem-knuckle-control-arm-question.html

 

[knochgoon24]

The axle cup comes out with the axle. I have no idea what you're talking about when you say it won't fit through the knuckle. Are you trying to press this thing out from the wrong side or what? The cup should have nothing to do with the axle coming out.

No. After giving up on the press, I tried to just pull the whole axle/hub "assembly" out as one piece through the whole in the knuckle where the wheel bearing sits. On the rears, there wasn't any problem, but on the front either outer CV Joint "cup" is bigger or the wheel bearing hole is smaller.

 

[dsmcurse]

well props to you that your out there tryin it. you gotta just unbolt the whole damn thing. the axel is stuck in the hub give up on tryin to get it through. you said you beat on it till it mushroomed out any how. even if the splines on the axel did finally break loose it will never pull through because the end is all swelled out fat. (heres a tip for next time, you take the big axel nut, the one thats a 1 1/8" socket to remove you thread it on backwards till its almost flush. thats the proper way to hit a axel with a sledge) on bolt your ball joint peices theres two of em down low and one on top. get the tie rod out like i said. remove the brake caliper. dont mess with the fluid line just on bolt it and let it hang there. on one of the lower control arms theres a (straight through bolt) remove that. once the axel is pulled free outa the tranny it will slip straight down to the ground. tie rod stays on car. both lower control arms stay on car. upper arm stays on car. once you have this unbolted your gonna have the whole damn assembally in your hand. like 40 - 50 pounds of metal. the hub doesnt slip through shit man it un bolts off of the solid metal peice nick named the knuckle spindle what ever. trust us. once you get the knuckle/hub/axel off of the car. your gonna walk over to the work bench throw the thing on the bench and see that the hub unbolts off of this with a 14mm socket. 4 bolts! thats it! maybe go buy this stuff right now. once you have the new hub physically in your hand lookin at the brand new shiny no dirt on it peice you will see how OBVIOUS this is. you dont need a tourch. your likeley to do more harm than good. like accidently burn your brake line or have a grease fire. the guys on here that said you have to grind it. uhh????? never. you dont need a big freakin 6" elecrtric grinder to do any work on your car. a grinder like that shouldnt even be in your arsanal of tools right now.earlyier today another dude told you to unbolt it to. nice drawing by the way. seriously. but man, im tellin you. this problem will unbolt off of the car. all you need is the sledge to hit the tie rod and lower control arms in the (sweet spot) THATS THE ONLY HAMMERING YOU SHOULD DO! from here its all unbolting. end wrenches and sockets. THATS IT. go back to my original post on this. I litteraley explainded it to you step by step and any real mechanic will voutcher for this post all day. what i explained to you is the correct way of doin it. just go get the new parts if itll help you to look at 'em first to under stand how the hub bolts on with 4 bolts. read my first post and do it excactly how i explained. best a luck man. and props to you that you are at least tryin! youll get it

 

[knochgoon24]

I understand what you're saying, but when the axle won't come out of the hub, what do you do? The hub was unbolted those 4 - 14mm bolts you're talking about were out.

Your next step, if I understand correctly, is to then just pull the axle and the hub out as one piece, correct?

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Well, my axle didn't fit though that hole.


I give up trying to explain the situation I was in. Looking back, I really wish I had taken photos.

 

[dsmcurse]

okay, maybe a lil differant than my 95. but at this point than just cut the axel in half. f#^k it. cut the axel in half its toasted any how. the hub, its also toast. u have the knukle in your hand. i guesse yours is a bit differant. two thumbs up that you got it off this far man your doin good. okay. now your axel wont come through even tho hub is unbolted. well cut the axel in half and itll all come apart. your hub and axel are both ruined any how. u have a good knuckle tho still. your doin fine. good job and the NEW parts will go back together WAY easier! rember what i said about tightening those lowwer arms back on tho. if the ball joint spins with the nut( which they will) put a socket and a floor jack under it and youll be able to tighten agin. good job man, seriously

 

[TurboSportAWD]

Take the hub & knuckle assembly to a machine shop with a big press and see if they can get it pressed out. Grind the end off the axle off that has mushroomed out first. Personally I would just buy the knuckle assembly that turbosax2 mentioned above.

 

[99gst_racer]

okay, maybe a lil differant than my 95. but at this point than just cut the axel in half. f#^k it. cut the axel in half its toasted any how. the hub, its also toast. u have the knukle in your hand. i guesse yours is a bit differant. two thumbs up that you got it off this far man your doin good. okay. now your axel wont come through even tho hub is unbolted. well cut the axel in half and itll all come apart. your hub and axel are both ruined any how. u have a good knuckle tho still. your doin fine. good job and the NEW parts will go back together WAY easier! rember what i said about tightening those lowwer arms back on tho. if the ball joint spins with the nut( which they will) put a socket and a floor jack under it and youll be able to tighten agin. good job man, seriously

In half? Where do you recommend making the cut? If you've done this before, you'll know that there's not a good place to "cut it in half". With the splined shaft seized in the hub, and both pieces needing to be removed, you basically need to take a torch to it and cut everything away from the hub one chunk at a time. It's a lengthy and messy process. Once the axle and hub are free from the spindle, you'll need to replace both pieces, naturally.

I just did this a couple months ago for my roommate's 2G. Our goal was to avoid paying for shipping on a spindle. So, with some handy torch work, and $100 for a new half shaft and hub, we were back in business.

dsmcurse - Please use capitalization when posting in the tech forums. It will help us greatly when reading your lengthy posts. Also, please proof read your posts or use a spell checker before submitting them.

 

[Calan]

Just happened to come across this article the other day. Maybe it will help.

 

[6boltcrank]

I actually worked at Advance Auto parts. you're better off getting the new GSP for like 70 bucks. Those remans are sometimes POS out of the box. So good luck!

 

[Mytrn2brn]

Ok guys I popped the lower ball joints and the tie rod end but the shaft on the upper control arm broke when I was trying to get the nut off does that mean I need a new upper control arm or can that joint be replaced... However Im ready to pull the the axle and spindle. Now do I just yank the entire assembly out or does something else has to be undone???

 

[jericho777]

Ok guys I popped the lower ball joints and the tie rod end but the shaft on the upper control arm broke when I was trying to get the nut off does that mean I need a new upper control arm or can that joint be replaced... However Im ready to pull the the axle and spindle. Now do I just yank the entire assembly out or does something else has to be undone???

The upper ball joints are servicable by themselves. They are a little tricky to remove from the upper a arm but can be done. There is a flat "c" clip holding it in. When you reinstall make sure the dots on the ball joint and a arm line up before you reinstall the "c" clip. They are $39.99 at Advance Auto. To get the axle out of the tranny you put a pry bar between the axle and tranny and give it a "pop". to get it out.

 

[Mytrn2brn]

Thanks for the info on the control arm. I'll get to that after i get the axle out. I kinda figured that also when i crawled under the car. Thing was I had to go buy a shorter prybar.
Thanks again