Half Shaft Replacement

[1993ACCORDMAN]

On my 1993 Accord LX 5spd, I have a front half shaft that is abd. I can hear it clicking real bad. I have 2 questions if anyone knows, How much does one cost? and how hard are they to put in? Thanks

[starchland]

hmm half shaft...didnt know they were known to click

[1993ACCORDMAN]

re

Well it isnt exactly a click, but the best way to say it is that the half shaft is getting caught up. The boot was ripped on it when I bought the car. And After having it inspected it is a bad shaft./ Sorry I dojnt know really how to describe the noise.

[starchland]

ok well the part your probably interested in fixing is the Axle assembly, which part of it is the CV joint...probably the boot your referring to that is ripped. The actual halfshaft on our cars doesnt have a boot on it. To replace it is somewhat involved.

[starchland]

price is around 100 a side from autozone remanufactered. replacing it depends how confident you are with cars

[1993ACCORDMAN]

re

That doesnt sound too bad pricewise. I wouldnt be doing the job by myself. I usually have either my uncle or my freind help me do it. They both are mechanics and have garages to do it in. And my uncle has a car lift which I imagine would help. But as far as involved goes, how involved is it? and roughly how long would it take?

[dorby]

get lifetime replacement axles at pepboys or discount.. if u know what your doing a axle can be changed in 15minutes...
its very simple...

remove axle nut ...

unbolt the entire shock fork... from the lower control arm....

tap axle out of hub... use a pry bar to pry axle out of intermediate shalf or transmission...DO NOT PULL AXLE OR AXLE WILL BREAK AND LEAK GREASE ALL OVER..!!!

remove and replace axle

CLIFF NOTES....

[dorby]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION UNDER....



Joints go bad if the rubber boot protecting it , has been torn open , thus all the grease has been lost and water, dirt, dust get into the bearings,


Tools needed : ( the reason to use impact is that , it is a lot stronger than chrome socket ) . 32 mm impact socket, 17 mm 1/2 inch socket. punch,

lug nut tool, ( should come with car ) or just get a 19mm 1/2 inch socket, side cutter, 17 mm wrench, 1/2 long pry bar,extension pipe ,flat tip big screwdriver, medium size cutter pin, big hammer, Oh and the heaviest , biggest person you can find :-) ..floor jack and jack stands,,wd-40..or any penetrating lubricant in case of rusty nuts, bolts, etc etc.

For the 90 and newer Accords, you need a 36 mm impact socket instead on the 32 mm

parts needed : new axle,( Do not get a Honda axle way way too much money,, you can get one for around 60-75 dollars at Autozone, Checker, etc etc,) possibly trany fluid, you might loose some ,, Honda fluid ATF-Z1 if auto,,, 10w-30 motor oil if manual ,

First off, make sure you get the right part, auto and manual tranny require different axles, as does a car with ABS and no ABS,
You can install an ABS axle in a NON-ABS car but you cannot install a NON-ABS axle into a ABS car, if you do the ABS lite will stay on, and of course get the right side ( left- right)

Now we are ready to get the hands dirty.
If car has the big wheel covers with the plastic rings on the lug nuts,,( dx-lx)
remove 2 lug nuts, remove the plastic rings from the lug nuts, reinstall the lug nuts, remove the other 2 lug nuts, now the wheel cover should come out, reinstall the other 2 lug nuts , so all 4 lug nuts are back on and tight,
Make sure car is in park ( auto ) or in gear ( manual ) , E-brake engaged,

You now need to loosen up the axle nut, use the 32 or 36 mm socket ( depends on the year), get the pry bar and the extension pipe,Remember i asked you to get the biggest friend you got ??? Have him ( her ) step on the pipe and loosen up the nut ( counterclockwise),Once nut is loose, jack the car up, set car on jack stands, remove the wheel, remove the axle nut, remove the cutter pin on the lower control arm ball joint, loosen but do not totally remove 17 mm castle nut,the reason being, that you are going to hit the control arm to separate the ball joint, and if you miss you could ruin the threads on the ball joint ..so hit the control arm till ball joints separates, once done, lift the knuckle assemly up, to separate from lower control arm, tap on the axle to separate from hub assembly, once separated, swing the knuckle so it is out of the way,

On accords up to 89, you need to remove the lower bolt for the fork , that conect the strut to control arm, get the 17 mm socket and 17 mm wrench and remove the bolt,swing the fork over so axle can be removed, you need tp pry down on control arm , get the screwdriver and pry axle out of the tranny ,,

For the 90 and newer accords the axle will slide out throught the fork, so there is no need to remove the lower bolt, The only way it will not slide out , is if you have non honda struts, Some Non honda struts are a bit longer and it will restrict the axle from sliding out ..
In most cases you will not loose any tranny fluid, but have some at hand just in case you have to top off the tranny

To install new axle, make sure the retainer clip is there, where it goes into the tranny , fit axle into the tranny and make sure axle pops all the way in,,tap on it gently with hammer if needed ,,, reinstall everything in reverse order,,....Make sure to stake the axle nut with a punch once it is tight,,

[z31na]

depending on which side, the labor on it is charged at 1 or 1.5 hours. fairly simple honestly in my opinion, have you worked on a FWD car before?

by the way, The haynes or chilton manuals are pretty helpful and only about 20 bucks.

[1993ACCORDMAN]

re

Yeah I have and my friend has too. We are pretty familiar with them. Lol it is about all Ive ever drive is FWD except for a 1993 corvette I used to have. So it doesnt sounfd too bad though to do. Thank you greatly for the notes on how to do the job, very detailed.

[starchland]

oh by the sound u wont have a problem!

[wed3k]

autos never had a half shaft...just a really long axle. he may have been referring to that.

[starchland]

oh by the sound u wont have a problem!