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How to replace an axle shaft and/or a wheel hub bearing assembly w/PICS!

226K views 340 replies 153 participants last post by  jetnjeff29r 
#1 ·
This post has been rewritten and the images have been recovered. Here is the new link:
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f310/archive-arloguthrojeep-s-axle-shaft-wheel-bearing-assembly-write-up-3684209/

After a day of fun you Jeep may look like this:


On my Jeep I have aftermarket wheels so I am able to access the main hub nut with the wheel still on.

Start by removing the cotter pin:
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Then the cap:
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And behind the cap is a spring (shown on left):
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Next, use your trusty 36mm socket to break that nut before you take off the wheel:


With the nut torqued to 175ft/lbs and rust/dirt seizing up the nut, it isn't a surprise that a cheater bar helps:D In this case it is my old tie rod.


Now jack up your axle:


And remove the wheel, place it under your sliders if you have them or under your hub in the event your Jeep falls off the jack, it won't crash onto the ground:


Next, remove the caliper bracket (2 x 18mm bolts) and hang it from the spring via wire or zip ties:
 
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#145 ·
Driver-side should be exactly the same. The benefit to working on the driverside shaft is that it's a lot shorter and easier to get it aligned and into the differential when you're installing it.

I've never heard anything about the motor mounts when replacing CVs. Weird. I've seen PB at just about all of the major stores (Checker, Advanced Auto, Autozone, not sure about Napa).

As for the axles themselves, I bought the new ones and kept my old ones to use as spares. The boots are torn on the old ones, but they're good enough to throw in there if I was really in a bind somewhere. Make sure you get the right ones to go with your particular 4wd system. IIRC, the 242 uses different length shafts than the Quadratrac/Quadradrive systems.
 
#146 ·
As for the axles themselves, I bought the new ones and kept my old ones to use as spares. The boots are torn on the old ones, but they're good enough to throw in there if I was really in a bind somewhere. Make sure you get the right ones to go with your particular 4wd system. IIRC, the 242 uses different length shafts than the Quadratrac/Quadradrive systems.
That's actually not a bad idea. My axle has a torn boot, but it's not making any noise at all. I just noticed one day while changing the oil that it was torn. I was just going to wait until it started clanking around, but I'm going to Moab in March and don't want to risk anything. So the old one could be a good "get you home" spare.

As far as the diff goes, when you pull the axle out, is there just a gapping hole in the diff and you slide the new one in that hole? Does a bunch of fluid spill out when you remove the axle? What does it look like? (sorry for the ignorance).
 
#147 ·
It's actually a pretty small hole, exactly the same diameter as your new axle shaft is. That small hole is your axle seal (rubber), which is why you need to be careful when putting it back in there. If you bump it around too much, you'll risk tearing the rubber seal which will then lead to your differential leaking out that axle seal, all the way to the end of the axle tube.

And no, hardly any axle fluid will come out when you remove your axle. The shaft will be pretty grimey, but that's about it.
 
#150 ·
:salute: Roger that. If by chance the parts monkeys gave me the wrong one, it would be obvious when I went to install, right?
 
#153 ·
done this plenty of times! never on my jeep though, (mostly wranglers, few pickup trucks) but glad to know if i need to it's real easy. question though, i know on wranglers and some other jeeps the pad snaps into the caliper which makes things real easy when you slip it over the rotor. Is it the same for the WJ? Recently did a brake job on a mazda b2200 and it was a pain in the ***. thanks in advance arlo!
 
#154 ·
Another question. What kind of poundage would an impact wrench need to get that axle nut off?
 
#156 ·
Theoretically, it's held on with 175lb/ft of torque. But that number can grow immensely depending on rust and scale. I used my impact gun on my '99 and it zipped right off. I think I did let some PB Blaster soak in there for a few minutes beforehand-
 
#157 ·
I heated the nut almost red hot with an oxy-acetylene torch and a small tip so the heat stayed mostly on the nut.
Let it cool some and PB Blasted it. Then it came right off.

I then cleaned up the shafts, ended up scraping scrubbing them clean and baked them in an oven at 500 degrees.
I then JB welded the shaft to keep down the rust and replaced the u joint.
I greased it all well when putting it back together.

If you want jb weld to speed up the cure to an hour or less, simply heat the part you put it on to around 120 to 140 degrees.
 
#158 ·
The impact wrench I got can do 240 lbs I think and I got a can of pb blaster as well. I'm probably going to be tackling this in the next week or two. I want to do it but keep procrastinating because I'm afraid of something going wrong :rolleyes:. I just need to man up and get 'er done.
 
#160 ·
Today is the today! Wish me luck! :thumbsup:
 
#162 ·
well i just finished the right cv shaft.. those 3 bolts were a PITA, and the hub was seized up real good too.. used A LOT of PB Blaster.

Im not sure if anyone wrote about doing this (i didnt read 10 pages of replies), but to remove those 3 bolts without a torch, i proped the base of the handle of my wrench on the jack and pumped until it was fully extended.. then i readjusted the wrench and repeated.
 
#163 ·
Just a tip for those that do this - use anti-seize on all bolts as well as the lip of the unit bearing. Makes the next time a whole lot easier.
 
#164 ·
Awesome write up, just wondering why you didn't switch to u joint shafts? I'm just waiting until i blow another CV and them I'm getting Ujointed shafts.
 
#166 ·
I have an 01GC that has this nasty grinding noise coming from the front end( I think its the right side). It only grinds when I turn left at anything more then 20mph. Its a deep low pitch sound. I just looked under the jeep and noticed that the CV joint boot is ripped on the RH side. I stuck my finder in there and there is no metal shavngs. It looks like the ring is still holding the large berarings(marbles) in it. I cant see anything wrong in there but I dont know what to look for. Could this be a wheel bearing possibly? Like I said, it only grinds when turning sharp leftover 25mph. Going straight is nice and quiet.
 
#167 ·
I broke two ratchets and a 1/2" drive breaker bar this weekend trying to get the rusty axle nut off so I could do this swap... Even soaked the thing in PB blaster for a couple of days first. Now I'm looking at taking it to a shop to either break the nut and then properly torque it back to 175ft/lbs, or maybe do the entire swap.
I hate rust.
 
#168 ·
Instead of paying a shop to do it, invest that money in some tools that won't break...a quality breaker bar (they aren't expensive) with a piece of pipe over the end should do the trick easily. Just keep in mind that that nut is normally is easy part, it is the 3 bolts holding on the hub that are normally a bear so perhaps you want to start with those before you get too far into it.
 
#169 ·
Instead of paying a shop to do it, invest that money in some tools that won't break...a quality breaker bar (they aren't expensive) with a piece of pipe over the end should do the trick easily. Just keep in mind that that nut is normally is easy part, it is the 3 bolts holding on the hub that are normally a bear so perhaps you want to start with those before you get too far into it.
Thats exactly what I tried. 2 days of soaking in PB blaster. Then after breaking 2 ratchets I bought a "heavy duty" breaker bar that had a lifetime replacement warranty. I tried it on its own, and it wouldn't budge. Added a 4ft section of pipe as a cheater and it broke the breaker bar.

Now i'm looking at trying it again with another breaker bar +heat, or with a good impact wrench if I can find one(at least 400ft/lbs+), or going to a shop to have them fight with it....
 
#178 ·
Yeah, I should admit that socket was pretty flimsy. Another better quality socket got it off.
 
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