I've got essentially everything except springs and struts separated from the car, and in one piece . It's a '99 legacy. I've take the ring off of the end of the axle (set inside the knuckle on the wheel side of everything) but it wont give me the axle....I'm trying to separate the parts to do rust treatment.

 

Any suggestions to help me get these apart? Am I just missing a step?

Axle nut? You usually have to pound the axle loose with a hammer to get it to pop out of the hub.

Only ring on the inside I can picture is the tone ring for the ABS and that doesn't need to come off to remove the axle.

there is no ring that needs to come off, so i'm not sure what you mean by ring?

 

being rust-welded in place may be a possibility.

 

soak it in some rust penetrant? folks have been talking about an excellent product available in auto parts stores, you soak a rag in it and stuff it where you need it and it soaks overnight/over time into the rusty joint. forget the name and haven't tried it myself yet.

I meant the axle nut =P just didn't know what it was called. I probably just need to he more forceful. Right now its covered in wd40, so we'll see if that helps.

WD-40 is useless. You need to buy or rent a hub puller.

 

GD

WD-40 is useless.

+1

 

don't hammer it. if it's really bad like it can get here in the northeast then the amount of hammering required can mushroom the end of the axle and once you get it loose it will be mushroomed too far to pass through the threads. LOL then you'll have to file the pounded lip down. then you'll see the threads damaged so badly that the axle is no longer usable and few people have a die that big to rechase those threads.

 

don't use a regular gear puller either. there's nothing to grab onto and again if it's anything like the rust here your disc rotors will crack right off or the hub will break if you try to grab anything on those.

 

i'd be interested to see a hub puller in action against some of these rusted demons, i need to get one.

Air hammer hasnt failed me yet

deep creep is the spray. PB'laster works too. but deep creep is better.

Yield by Chemsearch is the stuff. Works like nothing I've ever found in the stores.

 

Frankly though - it won't help rusted hub splines - it won't get in to them more than 1/2" or so. Hub pullers are very cheap - they bolt to the lug nut studs and force the axle out. You apply pressure then hammer on the drive screw till it moves a bit then repeat.

 

GD

suggestions for a hub puller? I've tried a 3-jaw puller, often they break.

+1 for air hammer

Hub puller. This one is an extra heavy duty version but there are others out there that work well and don't cost as much. HF has a set IIRC that should be fine for the occasional DIYer.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OTC-6574-Heavy-Duty-Hub-Puller-/200725098767#ht_2347wt_805

Hub puller. This one is an extra heavy duty version

 

center threaded sleeve must slide through the donut hole to allow hammering, nice idea.

center threaded sleeve must slide through the donut hole to allow hammering, nice idea.

 

Naw, when you have it tightened down on the axle you whack it with a hammer and the force transfers through the screw without the screw moving. Tighten, hammer, tighten, hammer etc until it pushes out just with tightening the screw.

 

Also, with a lot of preload all the bits will deflect and stretch and the axle can move a bit and actually keep tight against the axle.

Thanks for the posts. OTC-6574 tool did the job as everyone said and saved me hours of dealing with rusted splines in my old method. I left the brakes on and bolted it over top of the rotor using the included plate. I could see the tool being used without the plate, with the rotor on or off. I didn't try this, but I could see that by removing the rotor it won't see any stresses from accidentally hammering the center pin past the point of travel on the center donut, and also the center pin would have more thread travel to push more of the axle through the hub instead of having to remove the tool to finish pushing out the axle with a handheld punch.

Autozone has one that works you can rent it for Free/$25 and take it back to get money back.

I have an OTC slide hammer set that includes a hub puller - great for both pushing axles out as well as the slide hammer can be used to remove the hub when doing bearings:

 

http://www.amazon.com/4579-9-Way-Slide-Hammer-Puller/dp/B0015DMNIS/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1348445304&sr=1-1&keywords=OTC+4579

 

GD

Lucky you. My front hub passenger side wouldn't give up the axle. Replaced the hub and axle. Had the old axle pressed out of the old hub, come to find out the splines were twisted. You usually only see that on trucks. :-/

I had the same problem, twice. The first time I took it to a shop and paid several hundred dollars for them to finish replacing the axle for me. The second time, I tried to remove it, and once again frozen solid.

 

I broke my puller

 

I broke my BFH

 

I read that even a 20 ton press does not always work, and SOA recommends replacing the hub and axle as a unit because they are not "meant to" come apart.

 

So I left the CV in the hub, undid the inner connection to the trans, took off the bearings and races, and was able to replace both boots from that end.

 

 

As long as the bearings are OK, I will do it this way from now on. I wish I had thought of this the first time before I threw all that money at it. It's so obvious now.

 

More pics and more details here:

http://BeerGarage.com/SubyAxle.aspx

I think this style

 

 

holds an edge in strength, and in transferring hammer blows to the axle.

 

I haven't really challenged mine yet, though.

Any amount of rust between the hub and axle splines make the thing just about impossible to get out.

 

I tried using a cheapie HF puller to yank the hub, forget about it, would not do it, and I think I got nerve damage in my wrists from it. I was able to put two 10lb barbell weights onto it and damn it YANKED the hub right out, but it completely ruined the threads on the hub puller, so it's garbage now.

BEER GARAGE!!!

Love your site man! I always send people there for the great pics you take. Glad to see you found us!

Usually on tough axles, I use a back and forth method using an air hammer and the axle nut after using some penetrant on it (been using Zep 45). Hasn't failed me yet! *knocks on wood*

And I assume everyone knows you are supposed to tighten the puller bolt, then beat on the bolt, and repeat...

 

If the puller bolt tightens up even a tiny bit more after hammering the bolt, at least you know you are making progress.

And I assume everyone knows you are supposed to tighten the puller bolt, then beat on the bolt, and repeat...

 

If the puller bolt tightens up even a tiny bit more after hammering the bolt, at least you know you are making progress.

 

Just don't beat on it hard enough to mushroom the head and then have to file it down so the socket will fit again. :cool:

 

GD