Should I do this myself or bite the bullet

[LILREDROCKET]

So after some diagnosing and testing without having to rip the car apart, I have figured I need a new CV axle, wheel bearing and hub on my passenger side. I hit a pretty good pothole last year with the car running 225/40's at 70 mph on the highway on that side. The passenger side CV axle has a lope in it and minor vibration at certain steering angles, and I can feel when turning that the studs on the hub have been warped a bit. No steering or suspension components feel loose, so I am pretty confident of where the issue is.

I am pretty mechanically inclined and have done most of the work on the car so far myself but have never done a CV axle or a hub replacement. I have seen some good write ups on here and don't see any issues except getting it back together may be a bit tricky, only thing I need to take it apart is a jaw puller that I'm gonna rent and a 32mm socket for the axle nut.


I guess my pause is that I don't know what else I might find when in there, could the intermediate shaft carrier also be bad, or the shaft itself? Could the steering knuckle also need replacing, though I doubt this as it feels tight and the steering wheel is aligned and it tracks straight? I think I can get the side fixed for about 650 all said and done so with my parts I really would only be saving a few hundred dollars,but I wouldn't mind that either. It seems pretty straight forward other than I'm not planning on pressing in the new hub or bearing, local machine shop can do it for pretty cheap.


I do at least have the option of having the car down and driving my truck so it definitely gives me the ability to take my time.



Any tips or suggestions appreciated.

[Pu Manchu]

do it yourself, pussy!

what did you think we were gonna tell you?

oh, and get a new avatar

[g00s3y]

shaft...

pussy...

giggity...

[GroceryGtr]

you're going to need a press to do the hub and wheel bearing(and a big pair of snap ring pliers). Or take the knuckle off and take it to a shop to have it pressed in and out. Otherwise its not that bad of a job. Impact would be highly recommended, especially if that axle nut has been on there for any length of time. Getting it out of the hub is sometimes a lesson in patience. I usually pb blast the crap out of the splines a day ahead.

I highly doubt the knuckle is damaged, its pretty stout. I doubt you'll need a new hub either. Usually its just the bearings that go out. If you decide to do the hub anyways get a new snap ring as well. This way you can pre assemble most of it and save yourself some downtime.

Depending on the price of the CV you should be well south of $300 for all the parts.

[LILREDROCKET]

Originally Posted by GroceryGtr you're going to need a press to do the hub and wheel bearing(and a big pair of snap ring pliers). Or take the knuckle off and take it to a shop to have it pressed in and out. Otherwise its not that bad of a job. Impact would be highly recommended, especially if that axle nut has been on there for any length of time. Getting it out of the hub is sometimes a lesson in patience. I usually pb blast the crap out of the splines a day ahead. I highly doubt the knuckle is damaged, its pretty stout. I doubt you'll need a new hub either. Usually its just the bearings that go out. If you decide to do the hub anyways get a new snap ring as well. This way you can pre assemble most of it and save yourself some downtime. Depending on the price of the CV you should be well south of $300 for all the parts.

I am pretty confident the studs are warped slightly on the hub so I am just gonna do it anyway, I found a new one for 85 bucks shipped so why not if you are in there. I plan on the local Napa/walker machine shop handling the bearing and hub replacement. I plan on grabbing my dads impact gun and compressor for the job too as well as jaw puller set for separating the joints easier without destroying anything. I am assuming also no sort of spring compressor is needed to get it all back together.



I already have a 6 ft. cheater bar setup for removing the wheel nut and will be hitting it with PB blaster today and tomorrow before disassembly. I agree I don't see how the knuckle could be messed up so I don't plan on replacing it. CV was like 75, bearing was 38 and the hub is about 85 plus the 2 dollar snap ring and other little odds and ends, I figure with machine shop charge just under 300 bucks or right at it. Worse case I would maybe need to swap the lower control arm out if the ball joint was bad but it feels tight as can be when I pull on it, no slop at all.



Other than that I am feeling pretty confident about it all in all, the threads and video tutorials make it seem fairly straight forward. I have a shop press at home, 12 ton harbor freight model, I could probably press the stuff in here but I feel a little better with the machine shop doing it.

[GroceryGtr]

let us know how it goes... You do not need a spring compressor, the whole strut assembly will come out as a single piece if needed(shouldnt need to completely remove). 12T would do it with the right arbor plates, but like you said it may be easier to just let the machine shop do it if you aren't setup with all the plate sizes. Not to mention if its a humdinger it may require more umpf... I used/have a 30T for that kind of stuff.

[LILREDROCKET]

I've been swamped with work and have had little free time lately, I got a complete SKF hub kit for 124 dollars shipped and a carquest CV AXLE for 80, my mechanic who works on imports as it's his bread and butter said he would only charge $200 bucks including machine shop work to tear the side apart and put it back together.


So I am gonna let him do it, with what I am making working instead of messing with this it very easily pays for the repair.


I figure between tool gathering and everything it's not worth a 1/2 day to day worth of fighting with it for me.

[LILREDROCKET]

this is a great pickup for anyone needing to do this or having it done.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...=6375519&jsn=3

complete hub kit, bearing, hub, clip and axle nut.

other links are a bit more expensive so watch rock auto and it should come back in stock at 99.99

[Joshywahloves]

Replaced both my gen 1 axles with a set of DTA axles that I grabbed off of Ebay:

2 New DTA Front Axles Fit Mazda 3 MazdaSpeed Model 2.3L Turbo Manual Only | eBay

Read a lot into them and heard a lot of good things, and was in a pinch and so far have put over 8k miles on em' with no issues.

The job itself was a bit of a pain. My axle nuts were basically one with the hub and spindle lol. Since I bought new hubs, wheel bearings and axles I just went to town with an angle grinder and cut the nuts off. Had a friend up the road with a press and he was more than happy to press my new bearings into the hub

Had to use one of those ball joint separator forks to pry the axles out of the trans, and had to beat the passenger axle out of the half shaft portion. Reinstallation was definitely easier than removal lol. Good luck on whatever you decide though!