Having some 1g problems

[coryf1233]

I am currently over for my inspection and i dont know what to do. I need my car for school so I have to get it passed, but I dont have money to fix some of the stuff.

For one, my cv axles need replaced, I have the axles already, however the axle nuts will not come off, we tried many many things and cannot budge them.

2) Drivers side tie rod end needs replaced, I have never done one of these, is it easy enough to do?

3) Car has no catalytic converter.

I dont know what to do. I would do the axles if i could just get the damn axle nuts off, any ideas??

Anyone that can help please leave some feedback..

thanks, cory

 

[kneipperk]

hey i sold my 2g to my brother and the wheels were missing that center cap and the axle nuts got rusted on like a SOB i couldnt get em off, felt bad for selling the car like that but my brother took care of it and got the new axles in... PM kkneipper and he will probobly give you some pointers. think he had to get new hubs but he got it taken care of.... PM him and good luck i know those axle nuts are a pain! oh yeah i know this guy who claims a good breaker bar and 8ft extension pole will get any axle nut off, never tried it tho

oh and check craigslist i bet you can find a cat converter on there if dsm is as popular there as it is here. i have posted a add everytime i need something like "i need a red 1g talon door" and everytime some1 will call me with my parts for cheap!

 

[DSM_PWR]

Go to a low budget shop (you know ) with an impact and pay them $5 to break the nut loose...

Tie rods are easy, just depends if you have the common sense/mechanical know-how to follow directions

As for the Cat, unless you wanna pay the guy off... get one...

 

[Oldsid]

Soak the nuts with WD40 and use an impact wrench; they will come out. You may be able to rent an electric impact wrench, or better find someone that has o good air one and I am sure yo will be able to remove those nuts.

OOPS.., I am such a slow typer; DSM PWR has already given you the answer!

 

[coryf1233]

My friends dad is a master mechanic and has a really great set of tools and a large air compressor, we used that to try and break free the nuts and we applied heat to the nut and then tried, we soaked them and still nothing

 

[DSM_PWR]

Ive yet to come across an axle nut that wouldnt budge with PB Blaster and good breaker bar/impact....

What you can do is cut the nut on (2) side, while being carefull not to hit the threads, and just replace the nut.

If its got rust, you can try some of those rust remover applications they sell, but most likely it will need to be cutt off

 

[->PrOjEcTGS<-]

Well... What have you tried?

1)
-Spray the axle nut down with PB blaster or another type of penetrating lubricant
-Get a good quality 1/2" drive Breaker Bar, a 32mm axle nut socket, and a 4 ft peice of metal pipe from Home Depot to slide over the breaker bar.
-Take off the center cap to your wheel and stick the socket on the axle nut with the breaker bar attached.
-Leave the wheel on and the vehicle on the ground and placed in gear.
-Put the metal pipe over the breaker bar and try to break the nut loose first by just pulling up on it, Then if you need even more umph (depending on how much you weigh)... Step down on it. If just stepping on it doesn't break loose then sort of hop up and down to give it more force. If even that doesn't work get a buddy to help stand on it. You'll probably break the breaker bar at that point.
-Once it breaks loose pound the hell out of the shaft to get it free of the hub.
-Drink Celebratory Beer


2)
-Easy to do.
-Take off your wheel
-Remove the pin that goes through the castle nut
-Remove castle nut
-Pound the tie rod out of the hub
-Loosen the jamb nut that secures the tie rod to the steering linkage.
-Before you loosen the tie rod from the linkage, mark the threads with either some white out or wrap up to the tie rod with blue painter's tape.
-Loosen the tie rod till it falls off.
-Screw on new tie rod up to your white out or tape
-Tighten jamb nut against new tie rod
-Place the tapered end of tie rod into hub
-Screw on new castle nut
-Put new cotter pin through castle nut
-Get an alignment
-Drink Celebratory Beer

3)
-If your state does anything more than just a visual emissions exam. Buy a new cat and have it installed.
-If your state only does a visual exam. Get on ebay and look for a "Non Cat". This sophisticated peice of equipment looks exactly like a cat but is pretty much just a peice of pipe with a cat housing around it. (Intended for off road use only!)
-Drink Celebratory Beer

Hope this helps you with your 1g Problems.

 

[KKneipper]

BE PREPARED: since your axle nuts are that rusted, doing the cv axles may turn into an all day project even with the right tools.

funny thing... you're in pennsylvania, in 2007 my 96 tsi awd was registered in PA.

1. i just replaced my cv axles and the axle nuts were rusted too. it turned out to be a pain in the ass, 2 of us worked on it for 5 1/2 hrs straight. here's how it went...

i couldn't break my axle nuts loose with any of the impacts we have there. even the big one for the semi wheels couldn't do it.

i sprayed a shit load of rust penetrator on everything (brake assembly, axle, axle nut, hubs...). then i drove around on it for a couple days. then sprayed it down more and drove on it for a few more days.

finally got the damn nuts broken off with the mid-range impact, but quickly realized that my hubs had rusted to the cv axles.

took the torch to them and had to melt the hubs down to nothing before the axles would come out.
and to top it all off, my abs sensor on my driver side melted just from the torch being somewhat close to it.

so again i warn you BE PREPARED. and if you don't have the tools, taking it to a shop could cost you around 1000 bucks. maybe more.

2. tie rods arent very difficult, mainly because there are no lines running to them, and all of the work can be done by simply jacking the car up and getting a creeper or a piece of cardboard to lay on. it will most likely be easier than your cv axles, and you will probably want to do them all at the same time, since you're going to be working on the front end anyway. just make sure that you get a tie rod with servicable bushings (it helps down the road when you need more grease). just pay attention when you take the old tie rod out, and take pictures as you go. so that way you can just refer to the camera when you're putting the new one on.

3. hit up craigslist or junkyards for the cat converter... i've never messed with one, so i can't give you any advice on that one..

and lastly, GOOD LUCK. you can do it.

 

[coryf1233]

yeah it just sucks right now, im a college student living on my own, and its Very hard to come up with extra cash..im sure some of you guys have experienced this. Just a PITA

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

For the axle bolt, forget about an impact wrench. Your going to need rust pennatrator and and lots of leverage. Use a quality breaker bar, not a ratchet, you don't want this thing to snap on you. Get a pipe or something to go over the breaker bar and put your body into it.

Tie rod, just like everyone else is saying, its not hard but your will need an alignment afterwards. For a while I was replacing my tie rods every year for inspection, it all depends on how you drive.

As far as the Converter, most junkyards don't sell them. I used to work at a junkyard and the converters are worth big money as scrap. Plus there may be some law against selling them used, I don't recall. However you can get a brand new hi-flow cat for less than $80 Here. Shop around, when I got mine several years ago it was $60 for a 2.5" magnaflow. It seams like prices have gone up though.

 

[KKneipper]

i was talking to the guy that helped do my cv axles and he said to plan on buying new hubs. if your axle nuts are rusted as bad as mine were, then the hubs are most likely seized to the axle... not fun, i know. i got my hubs for 100 bucks each, but since i work at a shop i get parts at cost. but don't get discouraged, keep trying and you will eventually get it... then you can sit back and drink a beer.

 

[GooeyGus]

When I did my clutch a year ago, my axle nuts were also stuck. Impact wouldn't loosen them. That's when I made what I call the "Dsm axle blaster". It's a 5ft piece of straight iron pipe. We fit this over the end of a nice breaker bar and it works like a champ. It has never met an axle nut that it couldn't remove with sheer brute force and extreme mechanical advantage.

 

[KKneipper]

that blaster sounds great... like i said, it took the medium powered impact pushing about 350 ft. lbs. of torque to get mine to budge... so that 5ft. blaster would probably do it. but if the rust is real bad, the axle nut may snap, but hey, they have to come off anyway, so i went ahead and got new ones and they cost me 6 bucks each.

 

[ckrummy]

3. hit up craigslist or junkyards for the cat converter... i've never messed with one, so i can't give you any advice on that one..

Junk yards can't sell cats

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Did you ever pass your inspection?

 

[purptalon97]

Heat the cv axle nut with a torch till it's cherry red and then try to bust it loose with a breaker bar. Put universal cat on and have someone do the tie rod becasue it can mess up your allignment.

 

[taz_oconnor2007]

well BE HAPPY some dumba$$ WELDED the axle nut to the hub on my car and the strut bolt is froze in the bushing so yay to me i have to tear the whole right side down to even think about getting my axle which i wont so just get you a plasma cutter and find a guy who knows EXACTLY what they are doing and buy em a case of beer AFTER they are done