help really fast
 

I have to change my passenger side axle i have a clinton book and a haynes(?) but they really do not tell you what to do. so are there any how-to's that i have not seen that could help me out.

HELP

luckliy you got the easier one to deal with. just unscrew the huge nut thats in the middle of the wheel hub. then undo the bolt that connects the a-arm to the wheel hub, that'll be a bitch to get out you'll see why. then pry out the axle from the jack shaft with a pry bar.

the escort book(chiltons) has better detail.

1. Lossen the nut on the axle shaft
2. Remove the 2 LOWER shock bolts..this will let the hub tilt out or to the side
3. Remove the 3 bolts that attach the intermediate shaft to the rear of the engine.
4. Pull out the shaft.
5. use a soft mallet hammer to safely detach the inter. shaft..
6. install the reverse of removal .

DON'T bother with trying to pull the bolt under the hub that is under the A-arm ,,, it's a waste of time ..............
I forgot the actual name of it ...
pulling the shock bolts out and swinging the hub out towards you will give you plenty room to move the axle out ....
Bruce

In the last post, mark the position of the lower shock assembly on the steering knuckle/hub - this is how the camber alignment is adjusted. If you don't put it back in the same exact location, you're front end alignment will change. Personally, I just unbolted the lower ball joint from the lower A-arm and the steering arm from the knuckle. My axle nut was extremely tight and I had to put a 4 foot pipe on the socket handle to get extra leverage. The inner CV joint can also stick in the differential carrier, so be prepared to help pry it out if needed - the little C-clip on the end of the inner CV joint shaft in the transmission is there to keep it from falling out and needs help sometimes. I have had that clip jam the joint in the housing - big trouble when that happens.

That little clip on the end of the spline is a B1TCH! Just did both my CV joints, pass and driver side, and lemme tell you what a project that was. First off, drench the axle nut in WD-40 or some kinda lube to loosen it up, cuz it took a 4 foot pipe and 2 socket wrenchs (broke the first one) to pop it off. Next, put on a pair of heavy duty workboots or have a giant rubber mallet nearby to whack the hell outta the rotor cuz it's pressed on. I was replacing my rotors anyway, so I had to beat the piss outta it for it to come loose. But the worst part was when I installed a re-man'd CV joint on the driver's side, took it out for a test drive, and heard a "click, click, click". Came to the conclusion it was a defective CV (Happens alot down at AutoZone) so my friend and I went to remove it and pulled on the shaft so hard the knuckle came right outta the boot, leaving the end metal peice sticking in the tranny. Which, if you know, is the tighest area in the world to try putting a crowbar or hammer in there. Eventually had to take it down to a shop and watched the guy spend a half hour whacking at the damn thing cuz that little clip on the spline was pressed into the tranny in some weird way. I hope to never ever have to do my CVs again. Yay backyard mechanics! :)

wait till you need a clutch:D

Regarding Ravewhq's reply:

Beating the CV shaft out of the steering knuckle is usually done with a heavy brass mallet. The brass keeps from buggering up the steel threads on the shaft - a big consideration if you plan on reassembling it. Not a major concern if replacing the shaft, but there are times you might tear it apart, replace ome other part, and reassemble. Yeah, you gotta hit heavy and hard to get them out sometimes.

My experience with the c-clips on the inner end of the shaft was a nightmare. We had the tranny out on the shop floor. The inner CV joints wouldn't come out. We pried, hammered, yelled at them, but they wouldn't budge. My son finally set up a jury-rigged gear puller arrangement (sockets as spacers, puller plate across them to push against, and the gear puller in the middle of it). We had
the gear puller wound up so tight, I was afraid the aluminum transission housing was going to break. By the pitch of the gear puller threads and the torque we were putting on it, my guess is that we had about 4-5,000 pounds of pull trying to pull that CV joint out of the tranny. Finally it budged and we pulled the joint out. The clip had been in a weird position and we had literally pulled the clip through the splines in the inner gear. The other stuck CV joint had a weird casting shape of the tranny around it and we couldn't use our puller arrangement. We finally had to go to a junk yard and get a half shaft that hd a CV joint that matched our stuck one, disassemble the junk yard shaft and reassemble it to our stuck joint and let it go at that. Definitely not something you want to come up against on a Saturday afternoon looking fo a quick repair job!

step 1:

don't bother to even open the chilton's , just use it as a pillow under your head while under the car. You'll find it more usefull that way than if the pages were actually open

step 2:

listen to what all these poeple have told you

step 3: for any other work in the future remember to have your chilton's pillow close at hand and open the haynes book

actualy chiltons escort book is better than both of those.