Rear axle removal
 

Hi. Do i have to disconnect rear hub to remove left axle, or just unscrew those 6 bolts from diff and 1 main from hub. Then somehow slide axle down ?

Why are you removing the left drive shaft?

Sorry, hub has to be disconnected from the suspension, to get the clearance to pull the shaft from the hub.

FSM says:

• remove rear wheel
• remove suspension brace (2 bolts)
• remove cotter pin, lock cap, and lock nut
• remove drive shaft
  • place matchmarks on adjusting cam and lower suspension arm (want to maintain alignment, later)
  • disconnect No. 2 lower suspension arm from axle hub, bolt/nut (see step above, about alignment)
  • disconnect No. 1 lower suspension arm from axle hub, bolt/nut (see step above, about alignment)
  • place matchmarks on drive shaft and side gear shaft (6 bolts, for balance, should go back as it came out)
  • hold brake pedal (or parking brake?), remove (6) hexagon bolts, and washers
  • secure inboard joint of shaft, to make sure it doesn't flex too much, and toss it's bearings (been there, done that)
  • use brass hammer to tap out end of drive shaft, from hub
  • do not damage boots, end-cover, speed sensor rotor, or oil seal of axle hub

Installation is reverse of removal. Always try to put anything removed back where it came from (when multiple bolts, put bolts back where you found them; if it rotates, use matchmarks).

Torque specs (installation, reverse order of removal):
* Inboard joint shaft hex bolts: 61 ft/lb
* No. 1 suspension arm: 55 ft/lb
* No. 2 suspension arm: 81 ft/lb
* Outboard lock nut: 213 ft/lb
* Suspension brace: 37 ft/lb
* Wheel lug nut: 76 ft/lb

Have fun. :)

You don't want to try to remove it without at least moving the knuckle out some. Don't have to remove it completely, nor the brakes I don't think. Usually I just remove the upper or lower ball joint (whichever looks like it will give the most room) from the knuckle and pull out enough to slip the axles end out.

Thanks all for answers. I will remove upper ball joint and maybe another left arm and try to remove the axle . The reason why I do this, is tracking for vibration I have . I almost done everything . New Tires balanced (hunter), New rack and pinion ( tensioner also adjusted) , Swaped like 3 different driveshaft. I still feel vibration coming from rear of the car ( I guess) floor and seat. The most of them appears above 50mphs. Last week I just jack the rear up, put on jackstands and start the car. Accelerate to around 50 and above and whatched what vibrates. Driveshaft looks fine, right axle also, But left resonate alittle. I dont know is it normal or not but i have to try swap it :) Sorry for weak english, its not my native.

I can't remove the rear lower control-arm, the bolt is seized to the bushing, it'll spin yet not eject... is removing just the upper/forward control arm enough? Or should I abandon that, and removing just the upper ball joint will do the trick, and give enough room to get the outer cv around the suspension? Thx!

I had that happen on a Honda that I sold. To get it out I sprayed it with PB blaster and let it sit for a day then I used an impact and hit it with a hammer to get it to start moving in. Once the threads engage the bolt should come out.

To answer my own question, as I replaced the right cv-axle today ... yes, you can replace the cv-axle, while removing only the upper/forward lower control-arm. That provides enough wiggle room, with the compression/expansion nature of the cv-axles, to get around the lower-control-arm, also using the space up/forward of the diff to move things around.

The challenge with doing any work with the nut and/or bolt of the rear lower control arm is that the bolt is behind the brake rotor dust shield, so close that it's impossible to get a socket back there, and very-difficult to get a closed-end wrench between the dust shield and the bolt. And once the bolt is moving, you can only get the bolt and wrench off as a pair... once the bolt comes out some, then you definitely can't get the wrench out, the bolt is so close to the dust shield. You can only push the dust shield so far into the rotor, and I'm not sure you could get a direct linear hit on the bolt, once the nut is out. The dust shield might have to come out, and not sure that you can remove it, after removing the caliper and rotor.

If I run out of tasks, I might decide to replace the (2) axle-carrier bushings on both sides, then I can see about figuring out how to get that bolt out. Until then... other things to do...