I was going to work last week and the howling in the front end of my 2000 Jimmy was so loud I had to wear hearing protection. At first I suspected a bearing but when I got it jacked up I seen I have a cv joint out . I have to replace the front axle on the passenger side next weekend. Is there something in the differential that holds it in place that I have to remove? I'm in northern minnesota and will be working out in the weather.

 

Nah, just ****** it out, there's a clip that holds it in. It's a pain in the *** though, you have to drop the lower control arm to make enough room for it to come out of the truck. To do that you have to pop the lower balljoint loose. My suggestion is this: Buy a new balljoint in case you mess that one up, as that's quite likely to happen. Also take the shock loose at the control arm, and disconnect the swaybar link on that side as well. All of these things will allow the control arm to drop lower. I found getting the new cv axle in to be much harder than getting the old one out, but I had only popped the balljoint loose. When I also disconnected the shock and swaybar link it was then possible to get the new one in. I can't remember how the old balljoint was held into the control arm, as another guy replaced it. It may have been something stupid like being tack welded in, so be sure to take a close look at that BEFORE you start the job so you can round up whatever tools you'll need to deal with replacing it, should that be necessary, before incapacitating the truck. I would advise you to have a fairly large prybar available, one that's curved at the end. You'll probably need it to pry the control arm down, and maybe to pry against the end of the new cv axle when installing it to guide it toward the splined hole in the hub. Last thing-ensure you have the correct size socket for the axle nut (I'm sorry, I don't remember what that was, MAYBE 34 mm) and either a strong impact gun or a pretty long pull handle to loosen it. It's not a trivial task in many cases and you don't want to come under prepared for that part of the job.

 

That's good information to know! Thank you!