[jesseteague]

I was having trouble getting the CV joint off with the "vise and hammer" method ... so I tried this ... and it worked (if you have access to a shop press):

1) put the cv axle assembly in the shop press / outside cv joint pointing "up" toward the press.
2) put a long drift or punch through the hollow part of the axle end until it "bottoms out" in the inner axle shaft.
3) press the drift down until the joint releases.

I had intial concerns that it might cause problems ... but was careful not to mess up threads, and it worked well for me.

Bad news is the joints had too much wear, and a reboot wasn't an option... and since I needed my car back on the road, I opted for the vibrating-at-idle China specials from Advance Auto Parts. The vibrations is annoying ... but it only happens when not rolling and in gear. I put the transmission in neutral and live with it for now. I'll either try to source the parts to rebuild my old shafts to swap in when I can't live with the bad vibes any more ... or possible send 'em to raxles as has been recommended here often.

Hope the press procedure helps someone else out there.

Have fun!
JT

 

[bdr]

I made a slide hammer to remove CV joints (30'' piece of 1'' pipe, with a 10" piece of slightly larger pipe that fits over the 1'' pipe, with a 1'' piece of the larger pipe welded to the end of the 1'' pipe as a stopper, and an old CV nut welded at the other end), or you can use a regular slide hammer, but you will need to weld an old CV nut to a short piece of 1" pipe, and a nut that fits the slide hammer threads at the other end.

After removing the shaft from the steering spindle end (leave the shaft attached at the transmission end), attach the slide hammer to the CV threads, hold the shaft with one hand and slide the hammer slider, the CV joint comes off easily.
Make different nut adapters and it will fit whatever car you are working on.

bdr