CV joint replacement 1999 Pathfinder

[doode]

So my CV boot split and flung grease all over the place.

FSM says simply drop the lower control arm and you are set.
I'm thinking to myself, how hard can it be ?

Answer ? If everything is rusted...extremely hard. 3 hours later....

Tried to drop the lower control arm, one bolt kept spinning and wouldn't come out.

Tried to drop the lower ball joint. Cotter pin was rusted to hell so I just cut it off and used an impact gun to zip the nut off. Couldn't t break the ball joint free though( i wasn't using a pickle fork cause i didn't want to damage the boot so i was smashing the outer part of what the ball joint threads through with no success).

Tried to loosen the wheel assembly from the strut...one bolt was seized on there could and wouldn't budge.

Last resort, I unbolted the strut mount , used spring compressors to get some wiggle room , turned the wheels to one side and managed to reef on the strut tower just enough to wiggle the damn CV joint free.

Getting in back in was relatively painless.
Still gotta go back tomorrow and drill out the cotter pin to replace.

So if you are faced with rusty bolts....be prepared for a fight.

[4xq]

Some days don't you wish you had an acetylene torch in your garage so you could just cut those rusted bolts off?

[ncalnissan]

Glad you got it done. When I replaced my driveshaft, I was able to do it by removing the 3 smaller nuts holding on the other side of the ball joint.

BTW, in case it helps anyone, I found the trick to removing the ball joints is to cut away the rubber boot, use one of the ball joint press tools described in the factory service manual (see link below). Remove the little metal cup from the ball joint tool and leave the castle nut screwed on the ball join stud, backed off the end of the bolt so that the "castle" part holds the tool's screw bolt in place. Then tighten, and it should just pop right out. I tried pickle forks, a BFH, a harbor freight ball joint press, etc. and nothing else worked for me.

http://www.autozone.com/loan-a-tools/ti ... 09628_0_0/

[atraudes]

Be aware that hammering on the bolt of the ball joint is likely to screw up the threads and make it so the castle nut can't go back on. If that's the case you'll need to buy a new ball joint. I used a EverTough 67028 pitman arm puller on the ball joint and it popped out with no fuss. Check out my post on the related subject here:

steering-knuckle-replacement-guide-t593813.html

ncalnissan is right. Removing the 3 nuts on the ball joint is the easiest way to separate the control arm and ball joint. This is the preferable route since you can't pull the ball joint out with the CV joint still in the knuckle anyway.

If you end up having to get a new ball joint, I highly recommend buying Proforged. They're really high quality products and don't need regular greasing.

Those new CV joints look sharp I'm looking forward to doing mine as well. Thanks for the pointers and pictures!