*This section works for both sides*
1. With the car up and the wheel off, remove the cotter pin in the middle of the outside of the axle (closest to the brakes), remove the cover to the nut and grab yourself a 27mm (might be a 30mm) socket and crank that bitch off. Easiest way is with an impact, if none is available then you may need a friend to hold the brakes while you crank the hell out of it with your hand tools. With that loose, kick the axle with the sole of your shoe, or be professional and grab a rubber mallet and wack it in a little to make sure it's loose.

2. Next, remove the two bolts going through the bottom of the strut, these should take 22mm sockets on either end if you have the stock bolts still, if the brakes are in the way, remove the damn caliper and zip tie it to the spring on the strut (I would recommend this anyway so you don't stretch the hell out of the hose on the next step).

3. There are 2 bolts and 1 nut under the lower ball joint, they're going to be a 17mm socket, remove them and the lower ball joint should pop out with ease.

4. At this point I had my own brake caliper off, and I hope you do to, you should be able to pivot the hub assembly, knuckle, that thing you just loosened up, enough to get the first part of the axle out, do so and scoot it to the side so you can reconnect your lower balljoint and the tie rod doesn't have to support the weight of all this currently in your hands.

5. You have two options at this point, tip the car to the side (if you're working on the drivers, pitch it with the passenger side own, and vice versa), this will keep most of your transmission fluid in the transmission when you pop that axle out. If you don't want to be a cheap bastard and you have 3 quarts of brand spankin' new transmission fluid (owners manual recommends Dex II, figure out what the new stuff is Mr. I-can-do-this-myself), drain the sucker before you move on.

*This section is for the drivers side only!*

1. Congratulations, you have one step left before you can start installing your new parts! Bust out that happy music because this is the hardest part of the job and you will want to kill something by the end of this. The axle going into the transmission has a c-clip that 'locks' it into the transmission, you have to pry the axle out ever so lovingly and the c-clip will compress inside the transmission and allow the axle to *pop* out. After the first 15 minutes 'lovingly' will not be in your vocabulary. Along with the music, bust out the crowbar and carefully pry the sucker out.

2. If step one fails, see step 5

3. With the axle out, take your flathead screwdriver and wack one side of the old seal in the transmission. You know those seals you just picked up? Use those for reference of what I'm talking about and remember I said it's in the transmission, not a hard job here. After you hit one side it should have a gangster lean to it, without scratching the metal in your transmission, put the screwdriver inside and jimmy the sucker out.

4. With the new and improved seal in your hands, find a socket that goes over the seal so you can smack it in without damaging the lip of the seal. Good news, that lip will also keep it centered and hold it to the socket, bad news is you will damage it if it doesn't go in straight and true. Just make this thing flush against the transmission, you don't have to rail it all the way in. *Tip o' the day, put motor oil or assembly lube around the seal and make sure everything is clean, it might help a little* At this point you can start pushing everything back together. Disregard steps 5 and 6.

5. Hahaha, this sucks doesn't it? ALRIGHT, pop the passenger side axle out and find a long freaking flathead screwdriver. This is the portion of the show where it might be a good idea for a little more room, if you don't have that cross member out, take it out now. You see that cross member with two motor mounts on it? Take that off as well, the engine and tranny will still be supported by two motor mounts on either side so it shouldn't drop on you if those are in good shape considering the amazing care and upkeep you've given this car. *Skip to how to remove the passenger side axle, reference back here when you're done*

*WARNING, IF YOU BREAK A TOOL, DROP A TOOL, OR DO NOT HIT IN THE PROPER SPOT, YOU WILL DAMAGE OR DESTROY YOUR TRANSMISSION, USE THIS NEXT STEP AT YOUR OWN RISK! I personally had to disassemble my transmission because I had a tool fall in while I was doing this*
6. *See picture2* You see that sucker in the middle of the transmission where the passenger axle came out? That's a pin, don't hit it. Now with your sweet long flathead screwdriver, avoid the pin and press up against the inside of the drivers side axle. Push against it, then push the axle back in, there should be a little play and this will tell you that you sir or ma'am are on the right track. If the exhaust is in the way of you going to town with a hammer, figure out how to take it off, if you can live with it on, then more power to you. If this doesn't work, reassemble everything and hang your head, take it to somebody who knows what they're doing. It took me two hits to get the axle out this way. If you do get it out, see step 3 above here in this section.

Picture2

*This section is for the passenger side only!*

1. Welcome to the easy side, the more expensive and heavier side, but the easier side. This is where it's nice to have that cross member out, it gives you a little more room to play with when you're trying to get these bolts out. In the middle of your engine the axle should be hanging off a bracket, this sucker is called a carrier bearing and has two bolts attaching it to the block, don't touch those, we're more interested in the two bolts facing from the passenger to the driver side as circled in red on picture 3 (Axle was out for me at this point, if you cannot that, I don't think you've gotten this far anyway). These two bolts take a 14mm wrench to remove if you have the factory bolts in.

Picture3


2. Pull the axle out. Holy f'ing sweet right? Can't get any easier eh? I hope you have a bearing press...

3. Pull your brand new axle out of the box, look at it, admire it, spank it a little and talk dirty to it. It should look like picture number 4, you will notice the red arrow, my new axle came without the carrier bearing housing, if yours did too then you get to have some more fun! If not and it does have the housing on it, skip to step 7 and consider yourself lucky you sob.

Picture4


4. If you do not have a bearing press, take the axle to a shop and tell them you need this carrier pressed out of the old axle, and in to the new one. I have no idea what this will cost you considering I do this crap enough that I felt justified in buying a press, handy. This isn't really a step I suppose...

5. Congratulations, you own a press, there's going to be a snap ring on the inside of the carrier bearing, use a flathead and dig the sucker out, there's no grooves to really get snap ring pliers on so have fun with this, don't cut your hand (maybe wear a glove). Picture 5 shows you what side that sucker is on and what it looks like.

Picture5


6. You own a press, figure out how to push the sucker off with the snap ring out, the bearing will stay attached to the axle because there's another snap ring holding THAT on, so just press the housing itself off. Picture 6 will show the bare housing itself, the thing you're trying to press off.

Picture6


7. (Copied from a previous step) With the new and improved seal in your hands, find a socket that goes over the seal so you can smack it in without damaging the lip of the seal. Good news, that lip will also keep it centered and hold it to the socket, bad news is you will damage it if it doesn't go in straight and true. Just make this thing flush against the transmission, you don't have to rail it all the way in. *Tip o' the day, put motor oil or assembly lube around the seal and make sure everything is clean, it might help a little* At this point you can start pushing everything back together.


Don't forget to refill the transmission full of fluid if you drained it, put your cross members back on and your belly pans, horrah for a job well done.