I'm in the middle of replacing the torn outer cv boot on one of the front axles. I'm at the point where I need to remove the outer spindle from the bearing by opening up the circlip and hitting the knuckle to free itself apart (in order to put the new boot on)
Any tips with this circlip thingy? I've been working on this step for a while now and can't get it to separate.
Yes I have circlip tool (universal opening with different tips)
No I don't have the pneumatic boot opening tool (would make life easier at this point)
Yes I have been following the DIY here on this site and the other P-sites

Thanks

PS- anyone in the Los Angeles area that has accomplished this step or has the pneumatic tool, want to come over and give a pal a hand? I'm sure we can work out a payment/ rental agreement.
Worth a try!!

 

I replaced an outer boot on mine recently (replaced the inner boot as well since I had it apart). I ended up using a a 3 jaw puller. Have you already removed the c-clip itself? I tapped it a few times but there was no way it was coming off that way. With the puller it came off nice and easy...I think I took some pics and will dig them up and post for you.

 

Found a couple pics...sorry for the quality. I ended up taking apart the inner joint to be able to slide the new boots on. You can rent one of these pullers at some autoparts stores. First pic shows the puller doing it's thing, second pic is inner joint taken apart while I started to clean it up, third pic is of everything back together with new oem boots.

 

Keep working it. Best I found is to tilt the stub end sideays and get something to push on the clip and then just keep hitting it w/ a dead blow and it will slide right out.

 

I did the same thing this summer, i wasnt able to pull the outer joint, instead i removed the inner joint and pulled the new outer boot from that end.
Not optimal as the very best thing is to have the joint stripped and cleaned.

 

If you put the shaft in a vice, use a BRASS punch on the collar and it WILL come off

 

All very good advice!! I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only one having problems. I wuss'd out (after hours of head scatching) and took the axle to a shop where it took 2 guys to finally get the knuckle separated from the spindle. Took them about 15 minutes, and a happy new year - get outta here.
What I know now is: that c-clip is not very tight fitting around the "groove" that it sits in. I had pretty much cleaned all the old grease out of the knuckle, so the clip would move around some. So by spreading it open, and hitting the knuckle with a mallet, the bottom of the clip would hang up or get caught up in the bottom of the groove it was supposed to slide out of.
Moral of the story is, keep the grease in the knuckle until you get the two separated. It should keep the clip from moving around and getting hung up.

 

How much are you guys taking apart to get the front axle out? I have a torn outer boot on my passenger side front and car is currently on my lift with calipers removed (getting them refinished) I'd like to pull the axle out too, but I don't see any easy way to do it without disconnecting a lot of the front suspension components.

 

Vogz, I did my boots when I was upgrading suspension to H&R coilovers. I found a really small slit in the outer passenger side boot. So since I had the suspension out it was no problem to pull the axle.

I'm pretty sure you will have to loosen the shock so you can get the wheel carrier to drop and swing out a bit and you should be able to get the axle out. Really shouldn't need to do much more than that.

BTW, I did not have to pop off the steering tie rod ball joint to do the suspension so it is not needed to pull the axle either.

 

Awesome, thanks!

 

No problem Let me just add..I suggest removing the 6 Allen bolts that hold the inner CV joint to the diff before swinging the wheel carrier out if not the input shaft will pop out when you pull on the axle. I know some guys rather just pop the input shaft out and then pop it back in when done but I prefer to just remove the 6 allens. You may already know this but just throwing it out there.

 

That was the plan! Thanks!

 

I had to use the ball joint separator to pop the lower control arm off and the tie rod bolt in order to swing the wheel carrier away enough to pull the axle out of the wheel hub. (Not much room with the transaxle and frame crossmember to pull the cv axle straight out)
Maybe there is an easier way, I also did not remove the plastic undercover, and I was still able to pull the 6- T40 bolts out.
We will see how easy or not it is to put them back in. I didn't have a chance to do it today.
I'm also looking for the torque values when reinstalling all these parts. I'm having a tough time finding the info in the digital work manual. I'm sure I'm overlooking the 1 page.

**UpDate**
Keeping in mind I did this R&R in my back driveway, using a jack and jack stands. I did not have to take the plastic undercover off to reinstall the 6 drive axle bolts. It did take some time to find the correct length 3/8 extension (minimizing ext. connections) to use with the torque wrench. You wouldn't think but it's a tight space to work around in the wheel well with the shock and wheel carrier in the way.
I took my time cleaning up the flung cv grease, and zip tie a few items I saw that were loose off their brackets.