I just did this tonight and all I can say, what a b*tch. I still don't understand how Hanr3 did this without removing at least the upper balljoint. I had no room to play with. On the driver side, I had to lower the weight of the car onto a crow bar wedged between the CV and the front diff and then slam it with a sledge to get it loose (189,000 miles on the CV shafts with NY/MI winters). I then had no choice but to undo the ball joint which to be honest only probably added 10 minutes to the job. Even with the top balljoint out it was still interesting to get it out.

The passenger side was the worst. The shock is directly in the way. I found that after dropping both the upper and lower ball joints and getting the knuckle out of the picture, I used a jack to push up the lower control arm which moved the shock forward just enough to let the CV joint out. Don't be surprised if the 2 foot long extension shaft comes out. I had to put it on my vise and tap the CV off of it. I cleaned up the extension shaft and reinserted it. The new CV installed very easily then.

It still blows my mind that you can do this without disconnecting the ball joints.

On a side note, keep in mind that Advance Auto Parts has $20 off $50 coupons (code ES123). You can re-use them if you clear your cookies and then either pay with PayPal or create a new account using a different email address. I have purchased a ton of stuff in the past week keeping everything just over $50 and utilizing cheap and practical filler items if I'm close to the $50 mark. Its a forty-percent discount that is hard to pass!

 

2 weeks ago I replaced my passenger side half shaft without removing any balljoints. Had a helper and we both had crow bars, also had a jack on the lower control arm so the half shaft was straight. Got it out in like 20min.

 

did this last night. Im ashamed to say it took me about 5 hours. This is the first 4wd ive ever worked on. The majority of my problems being a 84 model was all the rusted bolts and built up mud. It was a pain in the ***. i pulled the whole spindle off just for ease(Got big arms and was hard to move around). The 6 bolt flange in the back was a pain in the *** to get on there while I tried bolting it with my other arm(Did everything by myself..had no help). All in all when I finally got moving good the rest was a piece of cake. however I pray the passenger side doesn't go out anytime soon.


Im use to owning nothing but honda and acura cars and I can do both sides in 35-45 minutes but owning a chevy is def. more difficult.

 

there's a nice easy trick to getting the axle nut off.

Stick a flat blade screwdriver through the brake caliper into one of the cooling fins on the disc. Then turn the axle nut. *dusts hands*

 

I had to take off my upper ball joint too. There was no possible way for me to squeeze it out. I just had to warantee my drivers 2 days ago

 

You can do it without removing the balljoints, but I have yet to figure out how to do it without pulling the spindle.

Remove the castle nuts on the ball joints and the spindle drops down. I did what pj5454302 did...jacks on the control arm and some hammer-induced coercion. Unless I misread that and you left the spindle on..?

 

Hey guys, I just did my passenger side on my 97 4x4 2-dr and there is about a 1/4"-1/2" gap between the housing and inner cv shaft. And I feel like I can hear it moving when turning.... Is it supposed to sit flush? or is a small gap ok? Will the snap ring lock in place if the grooves inside the differential are not lined up with the cv axle? Thanks.

 

Nice tutorial man!

 

Great write-up! Was just wondering if the t-bars should also be cranked down (mine are about 5 turns up) before starting, or does it not make a difference when pulling the cv shaft?
Thanks again!!