Hey guys. I am trying to replace my front outer CV joint. Unfortunately, I needed the car done yesterday and it's still outside as the ball joint split and so I had to go and buy a new pair.

But my ball joint splitter just doesn't fit. I had the type with the bolt you tighten up to seperate the joint from the suspension arm. So I went out and bought the fork type splitter. That was a complete waste of money as it appears the prongs are too narrow to fit. No amount of hammering is getting it in under the joint.

The first one, the bottom part of it just won't quite get under the bottom of the shaft of the ball joint. So I tried putting a nut on it to give it something to grip. It just crushed the nut.

I'm getting really frustrated here and have to drive to my sister's for Christmas! And I currently have no car! Help!

 

Is the balljoint cup out of hub at top? If so id be removing wishbone turn upside down then give good whack.

 

have you undone the castle nut or the 12mm bolt
undo the 12mm nut above the ball joint, knock the bolt out you will need a long strong bar wedge it so you can stand on it and force it down trapping it on chassis and on top of wish bone
if this fails there's another way slacken nuts on engine mount knock pin out of drive shaft move the motor to ward the passenger side far as it will slide the shaft will Just about come off the gear box and put CV boot on from that side. easy remember you don't have to turn it inside out like you would if you was doing it from the wheel side.
DONE ALL MINE THIS WAY ITS FASTER AND EASY

 

What car is it?
Are you replacing the CV joint or the CV joint gaiter?
Are you saying you split the ball joint gaiter while trying to get the ball joint from the control arm?

I suggest you get a hammer and hit the control arm really hard if it's steel and shock the ball joint out the control arm, but it depends on the car, more details?

If the car is driveable do it another day.

Thanks
Sam

 

I took both the bolt out and the castle nut off. I think these BJs are the originals from 1993! There's just no moving it. The hub won't separate from it currently. Maybe more brute force is required!

 

Whacking the wishbone where the ball joint sits inside with a copper hammer works wonders. The vibration usually knocks them loose. Failing that, a ball joint splitter

 

tap a thick screw diver or chisel in the slot to free it up should pop off out
if your doing the cv boot do it the way i said above allot quicker and easier

 

You will just knacker the shaft threads been there done it lol

 

I would but I wanted to avoid the shaft coming out of the box and needing more gearbox oil and possibly a seal?

I have now got the damn ball joint out, so thanks very much guys. I jammed a screwdriver into the bottom bit of the hub where the BJ sits and managed to rag it off in the end.

Now I just need to figure out how the heck I take the CV joint off the shaft..... Can't see how to get the clip out of it or even where any clips are! Doh....

 

If you cant seperate either locations i would leave it as is if you need a working car for tomorrow.

Ive broken subaru hubs before in the past using chisel method described above. It took surprisingly little force to fubar hub.

If you have alloy arms there is then collar insert to be reused as well and by the sounds of things wont go to plan either.

How bads the cv just clicking on full lock?

 

Well everything is off now but the CV joint. I'm not going to put it back together from here without changing it I just need a pointer on how to get it off the shaft

Then I'm done.

 

Ops to late.

Outer cv hammers of as there is internal snap ring, you should have new one in your new kit to see.

Older subarus have stub axles in gearbox so front shafts come of after removing roll pin if you want better access.

Hope your new kit is correct one as subaru have nasty habit of changing number of splines on driveshafts all the time.

 

it dosnt come out m8 its slip over a splind shaft that stays in the box

Make sure you turn it inside out before putting on
tap the cv joint but make sure you have the shaft straight make things easier

 

OK, I am beating the hell out of the back of the existing CV joint, with a big heavy hammer. It is angled down at the floor now, but I have been hitting it for ten mins and it hasn't come off. Am I doing this right?

 

if you have the drive shaft out,then pull the old boot back so you can clean the grease from inside the cv joint.then you will see the clip that holds the shaft inside the cv joint.slip a small screwdriver behind the clip and pop it out.then the driveshaft will pull away from the cv joint.if you just keep hammering at it with the clip in place you will end up smashing the cv joint.

 

The inner cv joint is assembled with clips, no need for hammer. The outer cv joint has snap ring and cant be taken apart.

I would cut of boot and make sure your taping inner race on outer cv joint squarely. I take whole shaft off and hold shaft in one hand so im not impacting inner cv.

 

30 mins now. Not budged. Half the bit with the ball bearings in has smashed, there's sparks coming off it when I hit it etc. It just won't come off.

 

This just doesn't seem to correspond to mine! I see no clips anywhere. The new one doesn't have clips on its outside either. Can't see into the joint because of the ball bearings and no space between where the shaft goes into it and the housing of the joint itself. I just can't work out what you mean

 

Argh I wish there was someone in Leeds that could just call by and explain this to me. I bet there's some really stupid reason it's not coming off

 

if your struggling with hammer i would resort to cutting up joint than damage shaft. once the ***** are out the outer bit will come off just leaving inner race on the shaft. You could then press, pull with gear puller or weaken with hacksaw.

 

What do I cut with and where? Will the angle grinder sort it?

 

In your rage, are you therefore singing to it:-

# This Garage Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us...
And it ain't me who's gonna leave... #

 

I have said a few words to it, but most of them would be censored on here!

 

 

grinder will work and quickly. the shaft is only a inch or so into joint. once you cut open outer case you will soon see whats what. when i say cut i just mean cut from either side, not all the way through from one side iykwim.

 

WOOO!!! I took the grinder to the bit around the edges of the inner part. It soon fell
away.

So I don't screw this up, do I put the circlip on the shaft on try to slide the new CV over it, or do I try to put the clip inside the CV itself and then put that onto the shaft?

 

ive always put clip on shaft first then tapped on new joint.

remember to slide new boot on to shaft first though!!

 

Yep will do! Many thanks!

 

OK last question - why is there what looks like a bleed nipple shaped bolt with my new ball joint? Never had that with any other car!

 

Might have to give up for tonight

I have put thub back on, and put the new balljoint on, minus the weird bolt it came with (the old one didn't have one and there's nowhere for it to go. It has a hole in the top of the ball joint though and it looks like it is some sort of bleed valve that goes in this hole. Very strange. Worried the grease will leak out through said hole.......) and now I can't straighten the hub back up. It's as if the driveshaft has gone rigid and won't let me move it back at all, so the hub is just sat tilted forwards.

So fed up.