CV Shaft Replacement [*]

**webracin** · 12-21-2007

This write-up is for replacing the Constant Velocity (CV) Shaft on the Pontiac Grand Prix. The write-up can be found here.

webracin

**copperpacecar** · 02-22-2010

hell no...doing it this way means u have to do an alignment on the car every time you replace a cv shaft....again hell no...if u remove the bolt for the sway bar and remove the ball joint u can swing the whole assembly out of the way without loosening the strut..its quicker and no new alignment needed and it works great as ive done at least 6 this way.

**Deimos** · 02-22-2010

You only have to worry about it if the strut is slotted

**copperpacecar** · 02-22-2010

arent they all? ive never seen one of our cars that u can just bolt the strut back on and still have perfect alignment

**Deimos** · 02-22-2010

No they are not all slotted and if your that worried about it use a camber gauge

**copperpacecar** · 02-22-2010

wow...why get mad? and why use a camber gauge...that just makes my way even easier. look im just trying to help...had an easier/faster way to do it and thought id share...sorry ill restrain myself next time

**Deimos** · 02-23-2010

Who said I'm mad? I don't get upset how you do it is how it works for you. I'm lazy and happen to have an aligner at my shop. You may get .1 to.2 camber movement but highly doubtful that is why they have cam bolts for our cars.

**benner** · 02-23-2010

Originally Posted by copperpacecar

wow...why get mad? and why use a camber gauge...that just makes my way even easier. look im just trying to help...had an easier/faster way to do it and thought id share...sorry ill restrain myself next time

This is the same way I've done them on most front wheel drive cars. Generally easier and doesn't require an alignment afterwards. Just have to be careful not to tear up the balljoint dust covers.

**hourang** · 02-23-2010

thanks for this. i will be doing mine soon. FYI, just went to oreilys last night and it was $69 and NO core charge (pass. side). lifetime warrantee too.

**copperpacecar** · 02-28-2010

Originally Posted by benner

This is the same way I've done them on most front wheel drive cars. Generally easier and doesn't require an alignment afterwards. Just have to be careful not to tear up the balljoint dust covers.

just also note..dont hit the spindle with a hammer to break them loose...i use to till i found they r aluminum and i lobed out the ball joint hole once...striking the actualy sides of the a arm at the ball joint releases most without having to put a fork in and tear the ball joint dust cover

**CheeWee** · 04-16-2010

Cant get the bolts to slide off the strut / steering knuckle. Help go it lifted as we speak.

**hourang** · 04-19-2010

just did my axle. was the easiest thing i ever did. walked up to the counter at belle tire that my buddy works at and handed him $50. i really broke a sweat on that one. now i know what its like to pay for someone to do the work for you.

**NoOne0785** · 04-27-2010

Great write up! I am actually in the middle of replacing mine now, along with the bearings, and had a question. You said there should be no fluid coming out, though I have read others saying there should be some small amount that would come out, and the instructions with the CV said drain the tranny ( I didn't). When I took the right CV out the fluid immediately starting coming out, just a small stream, I would say half a quart total. I looked inside and didnt see any damaged seals or what not, but I wanted to get a little input before I run into an issue and more money spending

Thanks for any help!

EDIT: Well, when I went back out the trans was done leaking out fluid, so I put the new shaft and bearing assembly in. I decided to check it on the stands and started the car once I had everything back together and torqued down. The new side wasnt turning at all in gear, old side was fine, and I was hearing a clunking noise. I turned the car off and went to check it out. First I checked to make sure the brakes were not locked up, they were fine, then I tried to turn it by hand, which it would do. I thought that maybe it wasn't pushed in all the way at the trans... So i disassembled the whole right side again to redo all my steps (couldn't get the new CV back out so I made sure I pushed it in as far as it would go, put everything back together, restarted the engine and it worked that time. Did the left (which was a pain to get off the trans) then put the tires back on and let her heat up to check the fluid level, it lost a half a quart like I thought before. Test drove her up the street and back and everything seems to be good! Again, I appreciate the write up, this really helped me out a lot as I hadn't tried doing something like this before.

**copperpacecar** · 04-28-2010

Originally Posted by NoOne0785

Great write up! I am actually in the middle of replacing mine now, along with the bearings, and had a question. You said there should be no fluid coming out, though I have read others saying there should be some small amount that would come out, and the instructions with the CV said drain the tranny ( I didn't). When I took the right CV out the fluid immediately starting coming out, just a small stream, I would say half a quart total. I looked inside and didnt see any damaged seals or what not, but I wanted to get a little input before I run into an issue and more money spending

Thanks for any help!

EDIT: Well, when I went back out the trans was done leaking out fluid, so I put the new shaft and bearing assembly in. I decided to check it on the stands and started the car once I had everything back together and torqued down. The new side wasnt turning at all in gear, old side was fine, and I was hearing a clunking noise. I turned the car off and went to check it out. First I checked to make sure the brakes were not locked up, they were fine, then I tried to turn it by hand, which it would do. I thought that maybe it wasn't pushed in all the way at the trans... So i disassembled the whole right side again to redo all my steps (couldn't get the new CV back out so I made sure I pushed it in as far as it would go, put everything back together, restarted the engine and it worked that time. Did the left (which was a pain to get off the trans) then put the tires back on and let her heat up to check the fluid level, it lost a half a quart like I thought before. Test drove her up the street and back and everything seems to be good! Again, I appreciate the write up, this really helped me out a lot as I hadn't tried doing something like this before.

ive never done one where at least some fluid doesnt come out

**benner** · 04-28-2010

yep some fluid is normal. All depends on the angle the cars sitting at and how much fluid is in it.

As for the not spinning, It was most likely that the other axle simply had less resistance at the time. Our cars are open diff so which ever side has less resistance is the side that'll spin unless both are pretty free then both will spin.

**y2ed** · 09-27-2010

Great write up, here are a few things i noticed:

I couldn’t pry the strut up in the way that was shown. instead I used a large pry bar to lift the strut from below it, lifting the bar up.

I had a hard time getting the CV out of the transmission. I was able to do this easily by trying 2 ropes to the CV, right before the transmission. Then had a friend help me pull it. It came out easily.

BTW my car runs great now. Thanks!

**MoarkatsINmuhtrailer** · 10-06-2010

Originally Posted by hourang

thanks for this. i will be doing mine soon. FYI, just went to oreilys last night and it was $69 and NO core charge (pass. side). lifetime warrantee too.

i work at advance auto and we have it for the same price