Guide to Changing Axles on your Millenia By Matt64341 I finally changed my driver's side axle the other night and

it went very smoothly. There are a lot of details and steps that could be done differently or even skipped completely, but this is what worked for me. Also there are some spots where you can run into problems that you should be prepared for, but that was not the case for mine. In total it took me 3 hours including set up and 'some' clean up, and I work slowly. This was a drivers side axle on a ! ", but the same instructions should apply to both sides for any year and either engine with little or no differences. I tend to go into a lot of detail, so there may be some obvious#unnecessary details that you already know or could have easily figured out. Also, if you have any $uestions about anything, %ust ask me and I will clarify.

Red Upper Leading Link Blue Upper Lateral Link ello! "ie Rod #nd $%uter& Green Lo!er Ball 'oint

&efore I started, I hit the axle nut every few days with '& blaster over a couple of weeks. It might have done nothing, but my axle nut came off and the splines pulled right out of the hub with no problem, and I wonder if that had something to do with it. (y axle appeared to be original, so it was probably in the hub for the last )! years, and a lot of people have had fro*en axles on all different years. +ou can spray as much and as often as you want in there because nothing in there is going to be harmed by the spray, so I would recommend doing it. ,ow you need to get the axle nut off. If you have good air tools, you might be all set - and probably don't need this guide either. +ou will need to unbend the pinched in part of the locknut to start and use a person or ob%ect to press the brakes down hard to keep the wheel from turning. (y stock axle nut was 3!mm .or )/3#012, but the new one was 33mm .or )/4#)32 so make sure you have the correct sockets for removal and re/installation. I started off with a half inch breaker bar and sheered the end right off, so I would recommend you go straight for 3#51 drive for this. I got a 3#51 sliding T breaker bar and 3#51 impact sockets. The sockets are massive, the sidewalls are almost a $uarter inch thick. Impact grade might be overkill, but I did not worry at all about not being able to handle the tor$ue. I added about a 5 foot extension and it got the nut off.

"ame "ocket "i*e6 3#51 drive impact vs. )#71 drive standard grade ,ext you can see whether or not you will run into trouble. 8se a piece of wood in between and hit the end of the axle with a hammer. If it falls in, you are in luck. If not, you can hit it with '& blaster, and try again. If you still are not having luck, put the locknut back on until the end is flush with the end of the axle and hammer on that. &ut don't use too much force or you could damage the axle or other parts. Also if you have access to a puller, or can make something up to work, you can try that too. At this point, if it is really fro*en, you have to decide what you are going to do next. +ou can put the nut back on and take it somewhere, put the nut back on and remove to spray every few days and see if you can get it unfro*en, or you can remove the whole knuckle, hub, and axle as a whole and bring it to a shop that is willing to try to get it out. If you can get the axle out, then you can keep going. 9emove the wheel. ,ext, loosen but don't remove the 3 )4mm bolts that hold the lower ball %oint on. +ou will want a good )4mm socket for that, and you might want to use a short pipe on the breaker bar to get them free. Then remove the bolt that holds the tie rod end in and the two bolts that hold the upper leading link to the body. +ou will need to separate the tie rod end at the ball %oint from the knuckle, which might be hard to do. +ou should use a removal tool for this so you don't crush in the threads by hammering. This should be a cheap tool or it can be rented at auto*one. Also pull the upper leading link out of the two bolt studs and swing it around to the other side. ,ow finish removing the three bolts on the lower ball %oint. The knuckle is now only held on by the upper lateral link. It isn't necessary, but you can remove this too by taking off the nut and removing popping out the ball %oint. The whole knuckle would be free at that point which might make things easier. (y bolt was rusted pretty badly, and I didn't want to risk breaking anything so I left it on. I moved the knuckle around

enough to get the axle out of the hub completely. I put a bolt back in the lower ball %oint .in the wrong hole2 %ust so all the weight wouldn't be on the lateral link and to hold the knuckle out of my way. All that is left to do is to remove the axle from the transmission. I dropped part of the splash shield out of the way, which is a few ):mm bolts. I used a prybar to put between the axle and transmission and popped it out. I had to try several different tools before I found one that fit well and was able to get it out. ;nce I got the right one, it did not take much force. It should not be sei*ed in there. It has a retaining ring that holds it in place, so it will not %ust slide out without some help. ,ow the axle is free. It might be a pain to get it out completely, but it is a matter of finding the right way to turn it. All the hard work has been done. +ou now %ust need to take your new axle and grease the splines well so they don't sei*e up for next time. Install the axle in the reverse order of removal. Also, grease any ball %oints you separated so they will be easier to remove in the future. Tighten the new locknut to )45/73! foot pounds. I used a )!: ft. lb. Tor$ue wrench .)#71 drive2, and went from )::/)!: in intervals and felt how much I was turning it each time then when I hit )!:, I finished tightening by feel to get it up to tor$ue. "upposedly, an over/tor$ued locknut can lead to axle failure. I don't know if I believe that, but it will at least be easier to remove in the future than if it was put on with too much force. <astly, tor$ue everything you removed to the correct value. (e)essary "or*ue +alues, Axle <ocknut <ower &all =oint &olts Tie 9od >nd &all =oint 8pper <ateral <ink &all =oint 8pper <eading <ink ,uts )45/73! ft. lbs !0/03 ft. lbs 5)/! ft. lbs 5)/! ft. lbs 70/30 ft. lbs