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Older video, but I didn’t spot it here in the video forum and figured it was worthy of some commentary. The video looked pretty easy but I wanted to share some snags I had so that anyone else doing the procedure can learn from my time/mistakes.
First off though, thanks to Eric for the video, it was certainly put together well and gave me the confidence to do the job!! My frustrations below were due to the car, not the video.
I replaced the front passenger axle on our 2003 Honda Pilot. The inner boot on the old axle had gotten cracked and leaked out most all its contents as far as I could tell. I figure I saved ~$200 in parts/labor, so well worth the headaches. I supplemented Eric’s video with my Honda Service Manual from Helm.
The first “detour” in my effort was due to the manual calling out to disconnect the stabilizer link from the damper. I don’t know if this was necessary to provide the axle adequate clearance during removal/install, or if pulling the knuckle outward would have caused undue tension on the link. Had I watched the video “Front End Noise, 2003 Honda Element Stabilizer Links” ahead of time, I would have been warned that stabilizer links are a total PITA and to proceed with caution. The first nut I was removing completely seized up with rust when it was about halfway off, so I ended up taking the saws-all to it and replacing (after much sweating, swearing, blowtorch, and other futile attempts at removal). If I had to do it again, I’d probably try to skip this step or have a replacement link ready.
Separating the knuckle from the ball joint / lower control arm was the next PITA. So in the video, Eric hits the knuckle with the hammer and the lower control arm falls away. On the Pilot, the post from the ball joint goes “up” and the knuckle rests down on it. Even when you hit the lower control arm with a BFH, it doesn’t fall away. In fact, the control arm wants to push itself “up” due to the rubber bushings where it connects to the frame. I didn’t have the Honda tool (07MAC-SL00200) to do the job, so relied on a pickle fork and muscle. I ended up putting a tiny crack in the boot of the ball joint…so I’ll replace that next time I get the wheels off, and after I order that tool and a new boot. Again, lots of cussing, sweating, and “WTH how did it look so easy on the video?!”
Popping off the axle was surprisingly stubborn, but mainly due to the exhaust preventing you from getting a good angle on the backside of the axle. A 12″ Wonderbar finally got me the right angle on the axle to strike and pop the axle out. Compared to earlier problems, this wasn’t as bad, but does require a bit of creativity.
Lastly, getting the knuckle back onto the lower control arm was just as bad as getting it off in the first place. Sweat, muscles, tears, cussing, etc.
What have any of you found to be helpful in scenarios like this where the knuckle rests above the control arm? Maybe remove the damper pinch bolts to get the whole knuckle loose? I’ll keep any suggestions in mind next time I have the wheels off and replace that boot.
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You don’t need to disconnect the stabilizer links, in fact, I’d avoid that unless there was a problem with the links. It might make things easier but I don’t think it’s worth the trouble. Ball joints can be difficult sometimes but that’s with any vehicle. Sometimes you have to pry them away once they break loose.
I found this video extremely helpful when my wife’s 1998 Subaru Legacy needed a new front drive axle. I am definitely a novice at car repair. I could not believe it when I searched and a video with instructions for the exact problem on basically the same vehicle came up. I mean, how often does that happen? The only real problem I had was getting the new roll pin installed. I finally just used the old one. My question now is should I have replaced both front drive axles? The other one does not appear to be damaged but I wonder if doing both would have been better? Thanks Eric for a great video!
[quote=”Cheaha” post=117625]I found this video extremely helpful when my wife’s 1998 Subaru Legacy needed a new front drive axle. I am definitely a novice at car repair. I could not believe it when I searched and a video with instructions for the exact problem on basically the same vehicle came up. I mean, how often does that happen? The only real problem I had was getting the new roll pin installed. I finally just used the old one. My question now is should I have replaced both front drive axles? The other one does not appear to be damaged but I wonder if doing both would have been better? Thanks Eric for a great video![/quote]
No you don’t need to replace both axles. The vehicle won’t know the difference. If both are damaged then yes, replace them, but if only one is damaged that’s all you need to be concerned with.
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