I am in desperate need of help on how to get right side CV axle out of my 04 rx330 fwd. I've searched the internet over but apparently it seems I'm the first person to ever attempt to do this? We are down to getting the bearing housing off but I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do? I removed snap ring but bearing won't budge. Any advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

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I greatly appreciate the link but unfortunately it shows tie rod end replacement not axle replacement. You don't happen to have a link to a diy axle replacement do you?

 

Try messaging Htownblue https://www.clublexus.com/forums/mem...htownblue.html

 

I took the entire housing off. NOTE::!!!!!!!
Read carefully.
The upper left hand bolt which is positioned almost DIRECTLY behind the one of the CV joints is almost not accessible. If you try a traditional socket you will likely have to have it seated on the Bo,t at an angle WHICH WILL STRIP THE BOLT. YOU CANNOT GET A TRADITIONAL SOCKET ON IT. DON'T TRY.
So.... What to do???
Two options. Use a CROW'S FOOT WITH THE TEETH AT THE END NOT THE OPEN KIND!!!
Option 2 is to use a closed end wrench IF YOU CAN FIT IT IN BETWEEN THE JOINT HOUSING OF THE CV AXLE AND THE BOLT HEAD. Very very small clearances.
Another option: STUPID OPTION BUT ONLY WAY I COULD DO IT BECAUSE I STRIPPED THAT BOLT HEAD:
I HAD TO CUT THE ENTIRE AXLE IN HALF AT THE JOINT TO MAKE CLEARANCE FOR A SOCKET TO REMOVE THE HOUSING BOLT.

You cannot get the thing off with a slide hammer. Good luck. If you do, send me a photo because I won't believe you. You can beat the thing until you are silly and it won't budge.

The only other idea I would have is to heat housing until red hot and see if the bearing gives way.

Email me with any questions. This is a ***** of a job. Absolute worst job I ever had to do on my lex. Mainly because that bolt stripped.

 

To follow up on the results of this PITA job, I'll give my findings on what I would do different on this job next time. First of all, thanks to HtownBlue for offering help on this "top secret" job.

Let me preface this with the fact that me & my friend are both mechanically inclined & just did a timing belt change on this thing 2 weeks ago. After that we figured the axle would be a cakewalk.

Most of the job is pretty much straight forward down to the part about about actually removing the axle. I searched this forum, youtube & google for any info I could find. Lots of vids of vehicles having their axles pulled but no RX330 or Highlanders to be found.

We go everything removed down to the part to where its time to pull the axle. Wouldn't budge so we studied it awhile. Back to the net for more info, nothing. I got a desperately brilliant idea! I'll buy an online Chilton manual & it'll have the info I need. WRONG!! What a piece of garbage. Basically it said to remove wheel, bolts & axle. To install, reverse steps. So I called to get my refund. More time wasted. So then I tried Haynes. I went thru all the steps & ordered it via paypal. ***}#%##££#^!!!!! I didn't pay attention & ordered the book version instead of the mobile version. I check on the mobile version, guess what? Mobile version not available for my vehicle. So back on the phone to cancel that order. More time wasted.

Next step we were gonna remove the bracket that HtownBlue mentions above. We were already doing all this before we saw the reply from HtownBlue & he had already lived our current nightmare. We got down to the last bolt holding the bracket & he's right it is nearly inaccessible. With the bolt already starting to strip, we took a ride down to the local Advance Auto to try to find a 6 point box end wrench as a last resort. While we were there I asked if they sold repair manuals & they did. Best $25 I spent that day. $25 for a couple sentences worth of info was well worth it! It said on 4 cyl versions the bearing mount comes out & needs to be pressed off. On V6 models the bearing is held in with the snap ring. Having removed the snapping early in the process, this gave me all the info I needed. It was time to employ force. I got a wedge & a big hammer & put the wedge between the housing & the axle pivot. I wailed on that thing a good 3 or 4 times & finally it broke free!!! We then slid the axle out & went & got lunch & took a well deserved break. The reassembly is all pretty much straight forward by that point.

I am still not sure why there is no info on the net about this? I have to assume that most people are taking them in to Lexus dealers to have the repair done?

While we were under there we also found that the steering rack boot is split in a couple sections. It's either gonna have to wait till I get over this last job or I'm gonna pay somebody else to do it!

Thanks again,

Ant

 

Any, never thought to try a wedge between the axle pivot and the housing. Good call. Glad it worked out.

 

As a better alternative to Haynes or Chiltons you can get access to factory repair information here:

https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfo....toyota.com%2F


It costs $15 for 2 days access and it allows you to download sections of the manual as PDFs.