Front Axle Drop Help

[bobmumgaard]

Alright, I got new axle drop brackets from Darlington and I'm trying to put them on. The VX manual is not very helpful.

Right now I have the axle brackets unbolted from the frame, and the axle unbolted from the brackets. In addition, one side (driver side) of the suspension is undone (upper ball joint disconnected, caliper hung, and ABS sensor off and broken [another headache])

Heres the problem: I can not get the axle to drop out of the car! I can't split either halfshaft off the axle, the brackets are caught on the steering idler arms and its just hung in there, completely stuck.

I know a few of you have done this. Do i really need to take both hubs apart and the pinion off the third member like the manual says? Any experience would be great!

[kpaske]

I can't remember what the trick was exactly, but if I understand what you're asking, it can definitely be done. I think you'll have to disassemble the CV Joint. If you do a search on CV Joint or CV Boot you'll probably find a couple of posts with some good instructions on how to go about doing that.

[bobmumgaard]

Got my axle put back together yesterday. The whole process took me three days and was a real pain. But that was because I did everything the hard way.

Thanks to Spazz and kpaske for their help, really set me on the right road.

For those interested,
Here is what I found is the easiest way to drop the axle.

1. Don't follow the manual, Dont take apart the steering, the hub, the brakes, or the upper ball joint. Instead:
2. Take apart both lower ball joints, being sure to support the lower control arm with the jack so they don't fall.
3. Take apart the inner cv joint, but don't rip the boot. Don't take the whole thing apart, just take it out of the cup and ceran wrap the whole ball, cage assembly together.
4. Drain the diff oil, take off the crossmember, take the six hex bolts out of the front driveshaft (TOD to Axle)
5. Unbolt the axle brackets from the frame (support the axle with the jack)
6. Unbolt the axle from the bracket on the side closest to the pumpkin and take the halfshaft out of the axle.
7. Unbolt the other side bracket from the axle and lower the axle, sliding the driverside halfshaft out of the axle.

Putting it all together is the exact reverse, but make sure you put the brackets above the steering components before you start jacking up the axle. Oh, and don't forget to fill the diff with oil after you get it back together. (there's also a breather tube that you need to watch out for)

I put in Joe Darlington's axle drop brackets and they fit perfectly, and really help the cv angles. While I was in there I took the cvs apart and regreased/rebuilt them. And put on all new boots. (I had one rip and so i needed to get the joints clean)

All in all it took me three days, but that's because I was on the wrong track for too long, took apart too much, too many trips to the hardware store, had to torch a stripped bolt, get a bearing pulled, etc... Real pain. But you really could do this in one day if you had the right parts, right approach and minimal problems.

I'll post pictures of the brackets some time.

Thanks again for the help guys.