How-To axle replacement, ish...

[Josh Ehlert]

My original intention was to make a how-to to change out your axles. However, I kind of got wrapped up in the process and didn't take too many pics. Ill do the best I can since anything is better than nothing and there isn't much information out there, That I could find anyway.

My axle(s) have been making noise for about 2 years now. My car is lowed slightly and I, like everyone else, slide mine around a bit. I figured it was about time to replace them. The cheapest I was able to find factory replacements was around $350. At $700 for the pair (+ shipping) I just spend the extra cash and upgraded to drive shaft shop axles from ft86speedfactory.com

There are a few different approaches to replacing your axles. I opted to go against removing suspension bits and went straight for the diff.


Step one: With your car in the garage (or driveway for the less fortunate, or street for the hardcore) remove your center cap with a pick or pick like device to get to your axle nut. (My rims are aftermarket and I'm too broke for center caps so I was able to skip this step.) Next, remove your axle nut. A 32mm socket and breaker bar equipped with a large ass pipe should do the job.

Step two: Place your car on jack stands and give it the bump test (better it falling now rather than later, your loved ones do not want to find you crushed under your car)

(Optional? I removed my exhaust, not sure if its necessary but its not hard to remove and gives you more room.)

Step three. Place your jack underneath the differential to support it. You are going to remove the 4 bolts holding your driveshaft to the rear diff. Be sure to mark the driveshaft and the diff to make sure it goes back on the same way (not sure if this matters but better safe than sorry) The 4 bolts are 14mm along with the 14 mm nuts on the back of them. I used a jackstand to support the driveshaft after unbolting.

Step four: You are going to remove the 5 bolts holding the differential to the car. There are 2 19mm bolts towards the snout of the diff, and 3 17mm bolts in the back (2 bolts above each other and one next to them.)

Step five: This part is a little tricky. The route I took was to lower the diff as much as needed to move it around enough to allow the axles to slide out of the hub. A punch and hammer help to hammer them out from the center of your rim. It took a little finesse but it is possible to get them out. Once they were out I lowered the diff completely and slid it out from underneath the car.

Step six: With the diff out I took a pickle pork and pounded out the axles from the diff (I was unable to do this while the diff was still under the car, also note, I did not lose any fluid after pulling the axles)

Step Seven: I chose to place the axle ends into the hubs first. Place the diff back onto the jack and slide it back under the car. Raise it until you can start to put the axles into the diff. At that point, the higher you raise the diff the more the axles will slide in. By the time I got the diff all the way up the pass side axle was all the way in. The drivers side was pushed in with a hammer and a punch at the axle end. Place the punch where the axle nut would go and hit it with a hammer until its seated fully in the diff.


At this point, assembly is reverse of removal. Overall it was easier than I thought it would be. Took me about an hour total including removing the old boots from the old axle to inspect. Hopefully someone will find this helpful. Post any questions and ill try to answer.

[Dustin]

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54054

[Josh Ehlert]

Where the hell was that when I was searching for info!?