Leebo Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 So I got a replacement CV Shaft from NAPA to go into my 87 GL-10 with d/r 5 speed out of a non turbo GL. I made sure it was the same part number and everything (I dont really trust them so i counted to splines at the counter though this annoyed the guy behind the counter) So I get home expecting a nice easy install like I have had in the past, no luck. Struggled for two hours trying to slip the spindle into the hub assembly. I removed the outer hub and the rotor to make sure everything was lining up nice from the start, and noticed that there is spacer in the hub assembly that its pretty loose in there and it seems to be blocking the spindle when i try to slide it down. This thing has a 2" BOSS lift so axle install has never been quite like stock but I can't remember this spacer ever being an issue before. I was thinking of using a piece of dental floss to hold the spacer dead cent while tring to slide the spindle in and then sliding the floss out. (gonna try this tomorrow). Let me know if there are any other tricks, or is this spindle just a wee bit too large (defective?). Also I disconnected the upper control arm bolt (more so I could remove in inner part from DOJ) and also the outer sway bar bolt. thanks, Leebo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leebo Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 sorry to be clear this was a replacement shaft under warranty for one I had bought last april, and part numbers matched Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyBrat Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 i am having a similar problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l75eya Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 If you can just get the end of the axle to poke out of the knuckle a little bit, thread the castle nut on and then grab it with two hammers; use the hook ends.OR (some people don't approve of this) just start cranking on the axle nut and pull the axle through with the nut.Do whatever you gotta do to keep that spacer out of the way, I assume. Strange that it's getting in the way though and not just sliding along the axle itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 If you can just get the end of the axle to poke out of the knuckle a little bit, thread the castle nut on and then grab it with two hammers; use the hook ends. OR (some people don't approve of this) just start cranking on the axle nut and pull the axle through with the nut. Do whatever you gotta do to keep that spacer out of the way, I assume. Strange that it's getting in the way though and not just sliding along the axle itself. Why don't people approve of that method? This is the hammer method, it's from my rear bearing tutorial: I always get them through with this method far enough to put on the hub and use the nut to pull it the rest of the way through. I think the reason people may frown on that is if you're using the conical washer in the seat, it'll start to grab the axle shaft and tighten up before you have the axle fully seated. To combat this, I have a very large fender washer that goes over the conical area of the hub so I don't need to use that washer. And the axle gets pulled completely through the bearing. The spacer shouldn't be an issue, these bearings are an interference fit, meaning the nominal OD of the shaft is the same as the ID of the bearings. Due to differences in tolerances, sometimes they're more of a pain to install than others. Don't stick anything through the bearing for this reason, even a piece of dental floss may make it impossible to install. And it certainly won't just pull out afterwards. It'll stay in there. As far as I know, it's the transmission end that's different between the turbo/na, the outer end should be the same. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leebo Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 i thought i was being generous enough with the grease but maybe i just need to really load it up. ive used the hammer method in the past, i guess i thought the pry bars would do the same thing. ill try that tomorrow. no dental floss. thanks for the responses. just annoyed. at least this is no longer my daily driver. just bought a 95 legacy wagon my GL-10 is now my "pleasure vehicle". such a pleasure haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 i thought i was being generous enough with the grease but maybe i just need to really load it up. ive used the hammer method in the past, i guess i thought the pry bars would do the same thing. ill try that tomorrow. no dental floss. thanks for the responses. just annoyed. at least this is no longer my daily driver. just bought a 95 legacy wagon my GL-10 is now my "pleasure vehicle". such a pleasure haha. a whole lot of grease isn't really gonna help since it is such a tight fit. I usually just put a thin coat on the surfaces. But yea, sometimes they can be wicked stubborn. I had a really nasty one 600 miles from home in a mall parking lot... Persistence, beer, and swearing. It'll work eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leebo Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 tomorrow is a new day. i will start fresh with cold beer. im just glad to know im not the only one who has experienced such trouble. i will win this battle! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the sucker king Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 (edited) The axle is meant to be pressed through the knuckle, so there is nothing unusual here, I've had them go in easy and I have had them go in hard. The above mentioned tricks are good. You just want to be carefull not to bugger up the outer seal. Just to throw another log on the fire, here's how I did it: You don't need the air tools, a socket wrench will work fine (although the air wrench makes it a lot easier). you add washers as needed to get the spacing you need to draw it through. and the screwdrivers can be replaced by the inanimate objects of your choice. Edited February 20, 2014 by the sucker king Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Pack some grease inside the knuckle so that the spacer can float on it in the center of the hub. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rlmcowboy Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Hammer method worked for me. Once I had it pulled through so far I used the old stripped out drum and ran the nut down to pull the rest of the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robm Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 (edited) I had one that would not go on. It was a rebuild, with a new NTN outer joint, which are normally quality parts. I couldn't get it through the inner bearing far enough to even get the nut on the end. Finally, I took it back to NAPA, complete with the inner bearing. I told them I wanted the bearing back, and a new shaft the right size. They took it to the shop next door to salvage my bearing. The bearing came off, in a press, with a lot of work and swearing and drama when it finally popped. At first, they were just being nice, "customer is always right", but after seeing how much work it was to get the bearing off, they realized I was right. That shaft was not built properly. We hear about knock-off parts from China. I wonder if this CV joint just said NTN, but was a counterfeit? No way to tell without a micrometer. Edited February 20, 2014 by robm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81EA81 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I had one that would not go on. It was a rebuild, with a new NTN outer joint, which are normally quality parts. I couldn't get it through the inner bearing far enough to even get the nut on the end. Finally, I took it back to NAPA, complete with the inner bearing. I told them I wanted the bearing back, and a new shaft the right size. They took it to the shop next door to salvage my bearing. The bearing came off, in a press, with a lot of work and swearing and drama when it finally popped. At first, they were just being nice, "customer is always right", but after seeing how much work it was to get the bearing off, they realized I was right. That shaft was not built properly. We hear about knock-off parts from China. I wonder if this CV joint just said NTN, but was a counterfeit? No way to tell without a micrometer. Like the Sucker king said, the C.V axle is designed to be a pressed fit through the wheel bearing,the spindles are normally machined slightly larger then the bearing. Your C.V axle was likely the right size, it is the rebuild or re manufactured units that slide right in that have been tampered with.Its an easy install,but its not right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leebo Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 i got this bitch! hammer method has worked, but not this time. MilesFox had some good advice packing grease at the bottom of the spacer to give it something to float on. once i got it center and could get the nut on i used my oversized washers and started tightening the castle nut to pull it through. ended up using a giant pair of vice grips to grab the axle shaft so i could get a better hold on the back side. finally got it in enough to get it on the DOJ (my control arm was still disconnected so i could swing it out an inch or two) then pulled the rest of the way through by tightening the castle nut some more. gonna put a new tie rod end on tomorrow, and have some of the studs (one was spinning when i took the wheel off and a few are on their way im sure) in my outer hub (drilled to 6 lug pattern) tack welded and this job will be done. leebo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 You might want to bolt the hub to a rim before tack welding. That way you'll be sure you don't get one of them ever so slightly crooked. Even if it looks straight, as soon as you weld the heat is gonna make the stud shift just a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 If your running 2" over stock lift....you should unclip the small part of CV boot at tranny end of the axle. Slide it up above the padding, and reclamp it. Otherwise it will tear within a few weeks/months. They aren't meant to run constantly at that steep of an angle/stretch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leebo Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 thanks gloyale. i actually did this before i installed it seems like it will make a huge difference. still gotta do the other side, i will before i get it off the stands. and i brought my spare to the shop so the guy could bolt the hubs on while welding them in, though he didnt think it was needed. i asked him to any ways, but who knows if he will haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robm Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 81EA81 said: "Like the Sucker king said, the C.V axle is designed to be a pressed fit through the wheel bearing,the spindles are normally machinedslightly larger then the bearing. Your C.V axle was likely the right size, it is the rebuild or remanufactured units that slide right in that have been tampered with.Itsan easy install,but its not right." The press fit is why you have to pry it in with hammers, and then suck it on with the axle nut. It is supposed to be a light press fit. I have changed several, OEM and aftermarket. All the OEM's went on and off without a press, just prying and the axle nut. I much prefer the slip-fit aftermarket ones, even if it isn't quite right. What I had was a joint that did not go into the bearings. This was proved by the fact that they needed a press to get the bearing off, and it took all the force the press had to get it to move. It came off with a bang, which is NOT normal. And it wasn't even on all the way, not even far enough to get the axle nut on. I figure that joint was too large, and tapered as well. But without a micrometer, there is no way to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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