I'm in the middle of a project to replace a lot of suspension stuff, including the DTSS eliminator bushings. Most of it has gone relatively smoothly, but the rear drivers side axle has been a royal PITA. It took about a week of spraying it down with PB Blaster a few times a day, and a big 1/2" impact wrench to get the nut off. Now the axle won't release from the splines. I put a big 3-jaw puller on it, cranked it down and bashed on it with a hammer for a while with no luck. The puller is still tight and I've been spraying the splines with penetrating oil, hoping it will work it's way loose.

It seems like some asshat took this apart before and put it back together way, WAY too damn tight.

Anyone have any tips on how to get this thing out?

Thanks
Andy

 

Sounds like the splines could be stripped or its just rusted solid. Heat works well with rust, but you would end up replacing the wheel bearing. I always put the nut on a enough turns to get full engagement (so you can't bugger up the threads) and pound away with a dead blow or 2lb brass hammer until it gives way.

 

The outer portion of the splines that I can see looks shiny. Not sure if there might be rust down inside it though. The pass side came off with 2 taps from a dead blow. Drivers side, not so much. I even hit it with the sledge a couple times. (bad idea, I know) I've already taken a torch to it a little, hopefully not enough to hurt the bearing though. Are the bearings pretty sensitive? I was also thinking maybe dry ice on the axle.

 

dude, im 6'4 and about 280, it took me waling on mine with a 3" 12lb sledge hammer to get it out! while the other side slid out no problem......
sometimes the clearances are different side to side, it happens.
i would use an air hammer with a pointed tip and just go at it in the middle of the axle, be sure to wear proper protection when doing so though!

Lloyd

 

There is a tapered hole in the center of the axel. I normally just put a punch in the hole and smack it with a 5lb sledge. An air chisel will help if it's really stuck.

 

x2 on the impact hammer. i remember a tsi that had one so bad that even after lots of heat and lots of impact hammer it still hadnt budged after 3 hours of trying we just cut the axle and trashed the whole hub.

 

Damn! I've taken off write a few axels, done in junk yards w/basic hand tools and I've never had that kind of trouble....must be adverse climate conditions

 

If you need to save the hub, the only way is to heat the axle till it is cherry red(leave the nut on), and beat with the biggest hammer you can get. Mine took an 8 lb sledge, a lot of heat and a lot of cursing. in the end I got the axle out, but the tip was mushroomed and took a lot of grinding to make it usable. the nut was desrtoyed and the bearing grease was cooked out of it.

HTH

 

I had one stuck on like somebody had welded it!
The old sledge hammer is the best.But don't expect the axle to survive!
Lots of heat and lots of penetrating lube wouldn't hurt either.

 

Heat the axle nice and hot, then spray cold penetrating oil on it. Soak down the area. It may catch fire so be careful. The expansion and contracting of the metal will draw the penetrating oil into the splines. Then beat the hell out of it with a sledge hammer.

 

I wouldn't heat the axle, but rather the area around it on the hub. You want the outer surface around the splines to expand and give you the extra clearance needed. Wheel bearing will most likely be toast but its cheaper than a hub. Again air hammer with pointed driver in the indent and if possible a very large pry bar on the back side to assist. That's my .02

 

The bearings on the rear are sealed. They would need to be replaced. The old ones need to be pressed out and the new ones pressed in.

 

SUCCESS! I didn't have to heat it up too much. Is there any way to tell if the bearing is still OK visually? It still spins smoothly...

 

Is there any play in the spindle? Take a small pry bar and gently pry the spindle up, down and in out and look or "feel" for give. Also you can try to bolt the wheel back on with the back jacked up and grab the wheel and push, pull up down and side to side to check for play. If no play is present, no abnormal grinding feel or sound while rotating you "may" have gotten lucky. I've been "lucky" on a few focus's that have the rear wheel bearing built into the drum assembly and have been removed in similar fashion. I don't think you can see the bearing and seal with the spindle still in place but obviously look for any signs of heat discoloration or grease leakage/seal damage. If there are any doubts now is the time to replace it.

 

Ugh. $80 for a new bearing. Here's hoping it's OK.

 

Ok, think about this. What you have is corrosion build up at the splines, so what you need to do is break up that corrosion.

Leverage is your best friend. Any other approach runs the risk of messing up the parts all together. The 6'4". 280 lbs heavy duty pounding will most likely mushroom the end of the shaft. Heating can break the corrosion, but what does metal do when it is heated? It expands. So things get tighter, not what you're after.

This has worked for me EVERY SINGLE TIME when faced with this dreaded locked in half shaft problem. Just put the nut back on, and impact gun slightly (maybe more than slightly) over tighten it. That pulls the shaft forward breaking the corrosion. Now take the nut off, and I'll bet a few light taps of a hand sledge and it comes right out.

 

Now that I have it apart, I'm not sure if it's even usable. Might be way too much rust.

The splines:


The bad hub, all rusted out inside:


The good hub that came apart just fine:


Do I need a new axle and hub?

Anyone have an N/A left side axle and hub for sale cheap?

 

How far away from green bay with are you? I've got some id send you for a good deal but shippings gonna be a little pricey due to weight

 

If the bearing is still good, would you need to replace anything? that rust looks like it will clean up fairly easily with some wire brushes, perhaps you can just clean, put some anti-seize on it and reassemble.

 

The rust is just on the splines. Clean it up with a wire brush. If the bearing is smooth, tight and quiet, then it's fine. If the axle doesn't clunk around, then it's fine as well.

 

So I'm facing a similar problem in the middle of a Poly bushing install and I thought I'd take a slightly different approach to getting the splines out: I've pulled the whole axle from the diff along with the trailing arm, and I am going to try to press the axle out of the hub using a hydraulic press.

 

glad you got it off finaly. need some advice though. im in the process of new rear mounts and bushings and down to dtss bushings. i got the rubber bushing out (what was left of them) but cannot get the ring out to save my life. i tried hammering it out and failed, tried chiseling it out and failed, i even tried cutting it with a saw-saw and that even failed (with new metal cutting blade) i swear this thing is possessed just can't get the stupid rings out. did you have a similar problem, how did you get them out?

 

Since you have used heat on the hub/axle to get if free, you will have to replace the bearings. You will need a shop press for this or have a shop that knows what they are doing press the old ones out and new ones in (be careful they can be easily damaged if not supported correctly when pressing them in. Best price on good quality rear bearings is NAPA - but YMMV.

Also you will need to replace the rear seals - they are had to find, but they are out there.

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/rear-wheel-bearing-looking-part-number-793651/