I have my passenger axle out to replace the outer CV boot, and the joint just won't come off. It's in a vice and I've been beating on it for 10 mins with nothing. There are no visible c-clips or retainers that I can see....

What am I doing wrong??

I'll post a picture soon even though photobucket is trying to strong arm everyone into paying.

sometimes they just dont come apart and they will actually break by the time they do come apart. Its easier to spend the extra money to get a full axle. Aftermarket ones are not that pricey and most auto stores provide lifetime warranty.

What? You don't need to take apart the outer CV Joint to reboot it... You take apart the inner CV Joint (the one that fits into the cup that goes into the differential) and then you slide the boot off the shaft. I don't think I've seen a Toyota Axle (or come to think of it any axle) that has you take apart the outer CV Boot first.

Now I wonder if you've damaged the CV joint...

Post Note-

Do you mean "outer" by the side that goes to the hub or the one that fits into the differential? Because the differential side has a snap ring and then you tap the CV portion off.

I'm well versed in inner (diff side) boot replacement:

How to: Replacing inner CV boots

Nothing is damaged, but I wanted to clean the joint thoroughly and there's no way to do that if the joint won't come off the axle.

The replacement boot comes with a replacement c-clip so I'm pretty sure there's one holding the joint on. I believe it retains the joint the same way the inner half is retained in the diff.

Factory Reboot kit comes with two clips. One snap-ring for the inner CV Joint and a C-Clip for the splined end that goes into the differential. I'm not aware of any other clips in the kits (I never have left over parts when I do them and I haven't had to take apart the outer assembly yet.)

Post Note-

Not sure honestly, TIS doesn't show any way to remove the Tulip. Even the components section just shows it as an assembly at that end. Usually you take a tube and squeeze the grease into the gap between the tulip and the housing to "flush" it out. If you have contaminants in the tulip grease like dirt/abrasive particles it's probably done at that point. If you're dead set on cleaning it, I'd scoop out as much grease as possible and just hose the crap out of it with a couple can's of brake clean, then jam as much grease as you can in there. Though in all my years and all the years my coworkers have been changing them out, "flushing" the grease has worked fine.

Couldn't get the outer joint off, so I removed the inner in order to slip the boot on. Had to replace the inner bands of course. $2.50 each from advance dorman 614-069

2000-2002 Audi S4 is this way. You can leave the axle in the car, then you press/pull the outer CV off utilizing the axle bolt. Slide boot on, slide CV back on, put clamps on, reinstall outer axle to hub, bolt, torque, done. Does a new bolt need to be installed for these? Just saw my outer driver CV is leaking.

You can get the outer off, theres a c-clip within the outer joint that will just pop loose with enough force. The only way I've found to get it off is to take the inner tripod off, then get a big pipe that fits around the axle shaft and rests on the outer cv. Then just smash the pipe into the ground as hard as you can and after a few hits it should pop off. Be prepared to break the c-clip though, and finding them can be a challenge.

yup, just like troymclure said. here is a vid showing what he is saying

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEaWyxF1S7o

Yep, couldnt find the video when I posted, but thats exactly what I did