Broke my first CV on the trail today-need to replace

Got a chance to work on it yesterday. Got to the dust cap and it gave me fits. Then it started to rain so that's a bummer. Still stuck on getting that dust cap off. Ill try again this evening.

Oh and when I went to NAPA they had to order the CV. I told them I wanted the one for $115. Went to pick it up the next day and it rung up as $87 on the register. So I double checked it was the new Maxdrive version and it was so that was a nice surprise.

Dust cap can be difficult if it has never been removed. Just be relatively gentle and patient. I put a hole through mine being careless with a hammer and flathead screwdriver.
 
Got a chance to work on it yesterday. Got to the dust cap and it gave me fits. Then it started to rain so that's a bummer. Still stuck on getting that dust cap off. Ill try again this evening.

Oh and when I went to NAPA they had to order the CV. I told them I wanted the one for $115. Went to pick it up the next day and it rung up as $87 on the register. So I double checked it was the new Maxdrive version and it was so that was a nice surprise.

Good to see you got the "better" CV of the bunch. I have just been using the remans from my local parts store. $53 bucks outright with a $10 core charge

One tip for the dust cap. Pick yourself up a wood working Chisel.
Like these:
Amazon.com: Stanley 16-150 150 Series Short Blade 3-Piece Wood Chisel Set: Home Improvement

Put the angled side towards the hub and tap it with a hammer a few times then rotate and repeat. Comes off way easier than with a flathead and wont damage the cap. It's angles to a sharp edge so it gets between the cap and hubwithout marring it up.

Also, Pick yourself up some anti-seize paste for the shaft splines on the new one. It will help keep it from seizing on the hub for the next time its removed.

Leave the nut on the end of the original shaft flush with the end and hit it with a dead blow hammer or rubber mallet to pop it free then just slide it out once the lower ball joint is removed from the hub.

Also, when you get to the axle nut, put a screw driver into the vents on the brake rotor and rotate it so it locks up againt the caliper. That was one thing I learned years ago. Its the easiest way to lock out the hub when trying to get the nut loose.

Hope that helps ya out some.
 
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Dust cap can be difficult if it has never been removed. Just be relatively gentle and patient. I put a hole through mine being careless with a hammer and flathead screwdriver.
Thanks for the heads up!


Good to see you got the "better" CV of the bunch. I have just been using the remans from my local parts store. $53 bucks outright with a $10 core charge

One tip for the dust cap. Pick yourself up a wood working Chisel.
Like these:
Amazon.com: Stanley 16-150 150 Series Short Blade 3-Piece Wood Chisel Set: Home Improvement

Put the angled side towards the hub and tap it with a hammer a few times then rotate and repeat. Comes off way easier than with a flathead and wont damage the cap. It's angles to a sharp edge so it gets between the cap and hubwithout marring it up.

Also, Pick yourself up some anti-seize paste for the shaft splines on the new one. It will help keep it from seizing on the hub for the next time its removed.

Leave the nut on the end of the original shaft flush with the end and hit it with a dead blow hammer or rubber mallet to pop it free then just slide it out once the lower ball joint is removed from the hub.

Also, when you get to the axle nut, put a screw driver into the vents on the brake rotor and rotate it so it locks up againt the caliper. That was one thing I learned years ago. Its the easiest way to lock out the hub when trying to get the nut loose.

Hope that helps ya out some.
I've heard good things about the Napa ones plus they come with a lifetime warranty. And even better it looks like I have a Napa on the driver side. The inner boot is slightly leaking on that one so ill be able to return it under warranty as well!

Thanks for the great info! I really like the screw driver tip.

The anti-seize grease just gets applied to the outer shaft splines? Is that correct?

I'll look into one of those chisels as well.

Thanks again!
 
Thanks for the great info! I really like the screw driver tip.

The anti-seize grease just gets applied to the outer shaft splines? Is that correct?

I'll look into one of those chisels as well.

Thanks again!

Ya the screwdriver in the rotor came from using spacers on a lot of my vw's back in the day and without the wheel on, you can't exactly set the car down on the tire to keep the hub from spinning. I used to have someone step on the brakes when I was torqing the spacers on to make sure they were good. However, I started doing a lot of work by myself and needed a way to stop the hub from spinning. Seemed like the logical solution.

Yes the anti seize just gets applied to the splines. I throw a little multipurpose grease on the seal and mating surface of the new cv as well just for good measure to keep it lubed on assembly. A little oil works as well.
 
Does anyone know or heard of a better offroad axle? Not to have to worry about breaking? Been thinking about ordering me some Lotus axles any reviews?
 
OReilly Auto had the 35mm socket. Also has new lifetime warranty CV for $100. Looked pretty solid but I only installed them last week so only time will tell.

I saw you got your parts from Napa but wanted to post the info for anyone coming after.
 
I've tried and tried but I can't get the axle nut to budge. I gave it all I had with my legs. So I'm down to a few options. It sucks not being at home where I'd have more things available. But I can look into getting a cheater pipe tomorrow sometime. If that doesn't work then I guess I'd need to take it to a shop.

How much do you think labor would be? I've already got the new axle I just can't break the nut.

Also I've noticed brake fluid leaking from my left rear drum brake. Which realllllllly pisses me off. I put in new shoes and cylinders not long ago. Why would the wheel cylinder have exploded? I don't think it happened while I was offroading because I would have noticed it. Which means it had to happen when sitting on the jack stands and the only think I've done is pull the e-brake and have a friend push on the brakes trying to get the axle nut off.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!
 
....don't take it to a shop. This is easy peasy stuff here. Spray some wd-40 or some lubricant or penetrant on it and find or go buy a breaker bar to get the nut off.
 
I've tried and tried but I can't get the axle nut to budge. I gave it all I had with my legs. So I'm down to a few options. It sucks not being at home where I'd have more things available. But I can look into getting a cheater pipe tomorrow sometime. If that doesn't work then I guess I'd need to take it to a shop.

How much do you think labor would be? I've already got the new axle I just can't break the nut.

Also I've noticed brake fluid leaking from my left rear drum brake. Which realllllllly pisses me off. I put in new shoes and cylinders not long ago. Why would the wheel cylinder have exploded? I don't think it happened while I was offroading because I would have noticed it. Which means it had to happen when sitting on the jack stands and the only think I've done is pull the e-brake and have a friend push on the brakes trying to get the axle nut off.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

Get a breaker bar. There is no way you are going to get it off with a standard socket. You will use it again and again. Harbor freight has a long one for pretty cheap or just pick up some piping to fit over your socket.

....don't take it to a shop. This is easy peasy stuff here. Spray some wd-40 or some lubricant or penetrant on it and find or go buy a breaker bar to get the nut off.

Agree 100%. You are going to need to know how to do this and have the tools to do it if you are going to continue wheeling your 4runner anyway.
 
It's torqued on tight. Long piece of pipe on your ratchet should get you there. You know the science, the longer the handle the less force you have to exert.

If you don't have a pipe but have a breaker bar and a bfh or even a small mallet try giving it a solid blow. It's the primitive impact wrench. At the moment of impact a lot of force is released. More than you get by continous arm force

Just some options in case it's not easy to get a pipe but have a hammer and breaker, or vice versa.

Learn to do it. Next time it might break on the trail, no shops out there :-)
 
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A cheater bar made taking that axle nut off so freakin simple. Leverage is amazing. I got the CV all changed out and everything went fairly smooth after that. I did have to drop the BudBuilt though. Thanks to everyone for all the advice!

One more quick question about the brake fluid coming out of the drum. Should I be worried? Once I got everything all buttoned up, I drove it up and down the road a few times. It doesn't appear that I'm losing any. I slammed on the pedal pretty hard too. Why would it leak with the e-brake on and someone pushing on the pedal? The engine was off when this was done. Thanks
 
A cheater bar made taking that axle nut off so freakin simple. Leverage is amazing. I got the CV all changed out and everything went fairly smooth after that. I did have to drop the BudBuilt though. Thanks to everyone for all the advice!

One more quick question about the brake fluid coming out of the drum. Should I be worried? Once I got everything all buttoned up, I drove it up and down the road a few times. It doesn't appear that I'm losing any. I slammed on the pedal pretty hard too. Why would it leak with the e-brake on and someone pushing on the pedal? The engine was off when this was done. Thanks

Great news on the CV axle.

I would be skeptical of the leak magically stopping while driving. Sucks that the cylinder is new, but they are cheap. I would pull off the drum cover and check it again after driving a little. Brake fluid all inside the drum gets messy though...
 
Great news on the CV axle.

I would be skeptical of the leak magically stopping while driving. Sucks that the cylinder is new, but they are cheap. I would pull off the drum cover and check it again after driving a little. Brake fluid all inside the drum gets messy though...


Pull off your drums and see if your cylinder or your rear axle is leaking. The sooner, the better.

Roll Tide.
Is there any reason this could keep occuring? Did I not tighten the shoes enough causing the wheel cylinder to over extend and fluid leak out?

Ill try this evening to pull the drum off and see how everything looks.
 
Eh - as mentioned above, may be differential fluid and not a leaking cylinder...

Better check that guy out sooner rather than later.
 

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