Frozen right axle shaft

aahmes57 · Post by **aahmes57** » 13 May 2021, 15:21

I have a 98 s70 glt and the right cv boot ripped. I watched a video From a-1 auto on the disassembly. My question is do I have to separate the ball joint or the control arm ends for the axle To come out of the hub? I removed the brake assy, bracket, strut, rotor and disconnected that small link an the top end. The axle won’t come out of the hub. Is it frozen in there or do i need To separate the ball joint ???? Or something else. I have it Sitting overnight with bp blaster on it. Hopefully it will make a difference. Thanks in advance for your help.

Post by **misha** » 13 May 2021, 15:55

You just needed to undo the center axle nut and to disconnect ball joint.
No need to remove anything else.

Post by **scot850** » 13 May 2021, 17:30

I have never been able to get the axle out without removing the control arm. If the axle has never been off before, Volvo used a glue product to prevent 'clicking' between the splines of the bearing and the axle. That stuff is like concrete. I have had to us a 3 legged puller on the axle bearing flange to separate them. Once I get the splines loose, I remove the inner control arm bolts and leave the ball joint in place.

Before reassembly, use a fine pick and remove any remaining crusty glue. You don't need to re-use that stuff as it was a minor issue of at all.

Good Luck!

Neil.

Post by **abscate** » 13 May 2021, 19:10

I just pushed two axles out of aBMW e83

Left side with my thumb

Right side with a 20 ton press

Post by **erikv11** » 13 May 2021, 19:41

Put an old axle nut just a few threads on the end of the axle and whack the nut with a 3 lb hammer.

I use anti-seize on the splines on reassembly.

Post by **kallekula** » 13 May 2021, 22:32

+1 on anti-seize

aahmes57 · Post by **aahmes57** » 14 May 2021, 06:41

As always Thanks For the Expert advice. After relooking at this project it seems the control arm
( easily moved up and down by hand) needs to be replaced as well. New question. Since the weight of the vehicle needs to be on the control arm to tighten-it down, do you put it on ramps ? I’m on the ground, no lift. Thanks again. Gonna be a long long day. I guess I should order parts for the other side too.
Thank you.

Post by **erikv11** » 14 May 2021, 08:19

You can put a jack under the ball joint of the control arm and jack it up. when it gets nearly parallel it will start to lift the car off the jack stands - that's when you stop and tighten the control-arm-to-subframe bolts to torque spec.

Just moving up and down easily doesn't mean the bushings are bad though. Maybe they are, but just saying ...

aahmes57 · Post by **aahmes57** » 15 May 2021, 10:22

Thanks erikv11. I was hearing a knocking sound which made me look and found the axle boot ripped. But the knocking appeared to come from either and both sides at times. The control arm seems really loose at the frame side. Is there a way to tell for sure?

Post by **scot850** » 15 May 2021, 11:31

Front end knocks are from usually the following:

1) Ball-joints worn
2) Inner bushes worn (but you may also see tire wear with this and fell vibration with breaking or steering wheel snatching when braking) on the control arms. Look at the rubber bushes for separation from the metal bush.
3) Anti-sway bar end link ball joint wear.
4) Shock upper spring seats (try using a flashlight under the top plate and look for cracks. Or bounce the car with hood open and look at the top mount for movement).
5) Anti-sway bar bushes worn.
6) Sub-frame mounts, but my experience was they groaned before they knock.

I tighten the lower control arms with the wheels on and on ramps at the front to give enough room to wrench. The jacking the ball joint until it just lifts the car of stands also works but not as safe in my opinion.

Good Luck!

Neil.