drive shaft removal

[91rb240c]

Hi all,

Sorry for the extremely noob'ish question but I'd love to hear if anyone has any points for disconnecting the drive shaft from under the car. This is one of my first projects and it's just such a PITA to try and undo the bolts.

Any suggestions or pointers are welcome

[solallein]

They shouldn't be that hard with a breaker bar or piece of pipe. If its all rusted up get out a propane torch and heat up the bolts before you try to loosen them. Some penetrating oil might help, but I have the best luck with a pipe and heat. Oh and have a catch pan ready. Some oil will spill out of the trans. Not too much though.

[AntonioG]

Also, makes it much easier if you have someone who can put it in and out of gear to lock the shaft in place. Obviously you can do it by yourself, but it sure does make things go quicker.

[vas13hatch]

If you have 4 jackstands, set the back ones slightly higher and you wont lose much, if any oil from the trans.

[vrizi]

not sure if it is the same on the s13 as s14, but on mine(96 s14) there are 4 bolts from the drive shaft to the rear diff. I believe these are 14mm. they will be pretty tight. make sure your e brake is on so that there is no movement when you loosen them. You want to loosen the nut side, not the bolt side. It will be easier to come off this way. Once you get those off there will be 2 bolts going up holding the carrier bearing. remove those, and the shaft should slide right out of the transmission. I hope this helps you.