1997 Accord LX 2.2L changed front half-axles and CV joints

[CheeseHead1]

Hi all, a friend changed both front axles on my 1997 Accord LX 2.2L (including CV joints). He made it look easy so I wanted to share my notes with the list. He had both sides done in about 60-90 minutes! The car had about 136k miles and I expect the old half-axles were original.

Admittedly he is an experienced automotive technician, and owned and managed his own shop for a while. Also we had the use of a lift and an impact wrench. And a good tool set!

The symptom was a clicking sound when cornering (if applying power - it was quieter if I coasted through the turns). Also the outer CV boot was ripped on both sides. It was like this when I got the car about 2 years ago, so I knew the CV joints would need to be changed sooner or later.

Then recently I was going straight at highway speeds and the front end started to make a clicking, clunking noise and I was also getting vibration in the steering wheel. I was able to slow down and limp to my destination going 20-40 mph. But I knew the time had come to do the job.

I bought remanufactured half-axles from Auto Zone, this includes new CV joints. $50 per side, plus a refundable $10 core charge each. Limited lifetime warranty. They were a perfect fit. My friend said the recommended way to replace the CV joints is to just replace the entire half-axle.

The instructions said to drain the transmission fluid, but we skipped that and it was fine. No fluid leaked out when we changed the half-axles. The car was level while we were doing the work (up on a lift).

Removing the spindle nut (on the end of the axle) required a big socket, I believe it was a 36 mm.

Sorry, I can't remember exactly what order he took things apart in. I was distracted fetching tools.

He removed the long bolt and nut at the bottom of both damper forks. Came apart no problem using the impact wrench.

He removed the cotter pin from the nut at the bottom of the lower ball joint (on both sides). Be prepared to replace these - mine were rusty. Still in place and securing the nut, but falling apart as he removed them.

He used a small pickle fork to remove or free up the lower ball joint. Hammered it in with a medium-size hammer to get the ball joint free. I didn't see exactly what was being disconnected/freed from what.

He didn't use any penetrating lubricant removing the fasteners - just the impact wrench and pickle fork.

That's all he took apart prior to removing each half-axle. To remove the half-axle, he had me prying down on something (the lower arm I think) with a large (3') pry bar, and another helper lifting the rotor assembly up and toward the rear of the vehicle. Then he used a pry bar to gently pull out on the old half-axle until it slid free. (See a manual, these instructions are not comprehensive).

Before removing each half-axle, he had the replacement ready to insert, in case ATF started to run out. But it didn't and there was no rush to insert the new half-axle.

After removing the half-axle, he had me prying down again and the other assistant lifting the rotor assembly, then he was able to get the half-axle mostly in position and lined up, then insert it to lock it in place.

Reassembly is the opposite procedure.

When tightening the castle nut at the bottom of the ball joint, it needs to line up with a hole so you can secure it with the cotter pin.

Both half-axles came with a new spindle nut (the wheel end) and also a new set ring on the other end (that locks it in place).

When done, torque the spindle nut to 180 ft-lb (or hammer it good with an impact wrench, which is what my friend did). Then there is a ring of soft metal and a cut-out in the spindle nut that is used to lock it in place. You want to hit the soft metal ring with a chisel or a punch to drive it into that little cut-out and prevent the spindle nut from backing off.

Sorry this is not more detailed - hope it is helpful!