Hi,
I am trying to change out a CV Axle on my '95 Honda Civic. I have a Haynes Repair manual and it says you have to use a puller to separate the ball joint stud on the steering knuckle from the lower control arm.

What kind of puller can you use?

It says a 2 jaw puller. I went to the Auto Parts store and they had a dizzying selection of pullers! The guy tried to rent me a ball joint press but I can tell that won do the job as it did not look like the thing would fit! The puller in the pic is a "C" clamp looking thing with a forked end where it can slide around the stud on one end.

What kind of puller is that?

I would have just got one at the parts store but nothing they had matched the picture.

How do you press the parts back together once the job is done?

Also manual says drain transaxle fluid, does it come out the hole when axle is removed?

One more Q: What is a Pitman Arm puller and what is a Pitman Arm?

Thanks, Chris

Chris,

This job is actually a lot easier than you think. Forget all the tools that the manual tells you to use. I'm going to give you a little bit of shop advice.

Note: If you don't have an impact gun you're going to want to get that big "32mm" halfshaft bolt that holds it into the hub off while the car is on the ground.

1) Raise the car up.
2) Take the pass side wheel off.
3) I always remove the brake assembly (caliper and bracket). Just remove the whole thing as a unit by taking off the two bracket bolts and be done with it. Tie it away to the sides being careful not to stress the brake lines in any way. Don't forget the two little bolts that hold the brake line to the hub assembly.
4) Remove the cotter pin and castle nut off the lower ball joint.
5) (here's the trick) get a jack and put it right under the hub (the round piece that the lugs are attached to) raise that up just a little bit. You don't want to jack it up so much that it starts tilting the car. Now, take a hammer and smack the side of the lower control arm. Hit it HARD, but just make sure that it's all that you contact. You want to hit it right where the ball joint passes through it. You should see them separate after a few hits. It only took 2 hits on my '94 with 250K miles on it. There's two reasons for doing this... a) You prevent an mushrooming of the ball joint bolt which can happen if the separater isn't used correctly and b) you prevent any damange to the ball joint which can sometimes happen with pickle forks and such.
6) Swing the hub assembly out and remove the outer end of the half shaft from the hub. It should just fall out but you may have to use a punch and tap it out if rust has built up over the years. MAKE SURE ALL YOU'RE PUNCHING IS THAT HALFSHAFT AND NOT THE GROVES OF THE HUB!
7) Get a big screw driver and carefully stick it between the half shaft and the tranny and just pry it out. It should come out with ease. Have a drain pan ready because some fluid will leak out. You may have to remove the lower bolt of the strut assembly from the lower control arm to be able to maneuver the shaft out of the car but I don't think so.
8) It goes back together the same way in reverse order. The new half shaft should slide right into the transmission. If it doesn't you may need to use a RUBBER or PLASTIC hammer to help it along. You should feel it lock in when it does. Use some assembly lube on both ends of the half shaft for assembly. Also, a little fyi from my experience. Make sure before you begin putting the new shaft in that the end of the new half shaft that's supposed to go into the hub does so with ease. It should slide right in with no tools needed. If it doesn't, take the one you have back and get a new one. I wasted too much time with that petty bs. It should slide right in, no questions asked.

Also, as for torque specs... the half shaft bolt gets about 135lbs, lug nuts get 80lbs and the lower ball joint gets about 45. Don't forget the top off your tranny fluid!

Hope this helps,

Nick

Excellent! The trick for removing the ball joint from the lower control arm saved me a lot of grief! Thanks unistang!