22 replies to this topic

[PHAT87CRX]

Ok, thank you, may end up having to go that route, but hope not.
No intention to be contrary to advise given, just short on funds.
Here's a picture of what I'm working with:

[ncdogcrx]

Ok, thank you, may end up having to go that route, but hope not.
No intention to be contrary to advise given, just short on funds.
Here's a picture of what I'm working with:

you should be able to get axles from any parts store and if you went through the trouble of pulling the old ones its just as easy to replace. like i said you'd be looking at 130ish for (2) NEW axles, not reman,but new.

[PHAT87CRX]

Stock '87 Si Axles nice and clean and all back together with fresh grease and New Raybestos Proffessional Grade Boots.

[Screech]

I have an old set of axles here that I was going to use the outer joints for holding the bearing together while just rolling the shell around. I could not find anyway to remove the outer join. I even had the axle shaft through my vise and pulling on it like a slide hammer and having the outer joint strike the vise. Nothing would get it off.

My old left axle in my 86 started clicking at the end of the last season. Recently found an 87 Auto Civic in the pull it yard and the axle nuts looked new. So I grabbed them for $25 a piece.

[PHAT87CRX]

The PRP on-line Civic Manual DOES have a note saying the Outer Joints are non-removeable,
where the '87 CRX Manual I have lacks having that note, and fails to say they are non-removeable.

Yeah, outer joints were not removed, just cleaned out as best I could. All the parts looked good, no visible galling or pitting or play. Packed fresh grease back down into the joints with a popsickle stick and fingers, smeared the rest around the joint and shaft in a cone shape, was kinda like icing a cake, lol. Put the entire packet of grease that came with each boot in each joint. Carefuly slid on the new boot doing my best to prevent touching the "grease cone" and getting grease between the boot and outer housing where the band clamps the boot to the joint. On the fatter drivers side shaft, i was surprised how easily the outer boot stretched out and slid right over the larger diameter area along the center of the axle on the way to it's new home on the drivers side outer joint.
They all feel nice and smooth now, guess I'll find out.
Did mark the inner roller type housings and put all the rollers back into the same grooves they came out of. Both inner boots were intact, but was surpirsed how little grease was found to be left inside the inner roller type joints. Glad I went ahead and did all (4) boots instead of just the outers with the speedi-boots or anything else. Both inner joints have plenty of fresh grease in them now. Too late now, but one afterthought was, I failed to mark the end of the shaft and the Inner Joint SPIDER before removing it from the splines. So the original rotational position of the Spider on the shaft splines was not duplicated upon re-assembly, which would change to relationship between the inner joint (3) spider shaft "clock" positions and the "clock" positions of the outer joint (6) balls. Don't know if this matters or not, hope not.

[Rampage]

A couple of time savers when replacing CV boots:

To quickly and easily remove the CV shaft simply disconnect the upper strut mount nuts under the hood. With the steering unlocked you can turn the wheel to one side, compress the shock and have enough room to squeak the shaft out of the knuckle, No lower ball joint removal necessary!

The outer joint is removable from the driveshaft. Simply clamp the shaft tightly (not too tight on the longer, hollow shafts) in a vice, and with a soft blow hammer or hammer and brass drift firmly hit the inner sprocket of the outer joint. Turning the joint to expose the inner sprocket helps to avoid damage to the fragile ball cage. It can be tricky to get a good hit on it, but be patient, and it will come apart. Accuracy in your hits goes a lot further than brute force here. When re-installing the end, don't bother replacing the c-clip unless it is broken or clearly damaged. I almost always re-use them as the new ones are difficult to install and make re-installing the outer end very difficult. Remember to put some grease on the c-clip and do your best to center it on the shaft before attempting to install the end. Use the same soft tools to hammer it back into place.

You don't have to remove the inner joint to replace an outer joint, but I see where it makes sense if you struggle to remove the outer joint. Since outer joints fail 10:1 vs. the inner joint, replacing only the outer is faster and simpler.

Lastly when removing the inner joint it is not critical to mark everything for alignment but more important to hold the rollers together when you remove the joint from the axle as the rollers simply slip on the inner tripod.

Cheers,
Mark

[millcreek]

All split boots need to be trashed. I will not install them in my shop. complete cv boot kit or new axle!!!

[PHAT87CRX]

Thanks for the tips, attempted the Brass Drift on the Outer Joint Inner Spider with the Shaft clamped in a vice.
After a number of somehwhat stout well aimed blows with 3 lb sledge the outer joint was still on the shaft.
Probably failed to release because of the so-so Bench Vice I have and fear of clamping down to hard on the shaft.
All the visible joint internals looked realy good. Driven ~165 miles so far and all is good, no clicking or other issues.

Yes, agree, glad it was decided to return the split boots and go with all (4) 1-Piece Replacement Boots.
Thanks everyone for all the input and good advice.
Had to get up the gumption to do it, rookie to FWD, CV Joints, and whole Honda "thing".
Glad I got the car, it's a blast to drive. Need to replace the Clutch though to be able to really "drive" it.