Axles

Removal and Installation

Removal - all models

Here are the steps:

  1. Jack up the rear end of the car. Support it with jack stands under the sub frame of the car since you need to remove the wheels.
  2. Remove the wheels (see - I told you that they had to come off).
  3. Disconnect the lower (ie. only) ball joint from the end of the A-arm on each side of the rear end. You may also need to disconnect the emergency brake cable as well - I can't recall.
  4. Drain the transaxle. The manual doesn't say this but when you pull the axles out of the trans - all of the oil comes out as well.

    I found this out the hard way - you can imagine my delight as I emerged from UNDER the car with my entire head throughly coated with Dextron II or whatever stuff is in the Isuzu 5 speed. It took my wife about 5 minutes to stop laughing at me. Ho Ho Ho.

  5. Somehow - pull the axles out of the trans. This was the really hard part for me. The manual says a sharp tug - HA! - bovine excrement! I pryed and pulled and tugged for about 2 (!) days. This is where a large proportion of the beer was used up, incidentally.

While you have the axles out be sure to replace the axle shaft seals in the trans housing. They cost about $7 each (there is 1 for each axle) and will leak within 24 hours of reassembly if you don't put new ones in. Be sure to drive them in square with a proper sized seal driver.

From: Peter Frise


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