ekim17mr Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 What is involved in replacing the half axles in a 1998 buick century ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonpro03 Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 I've never replaced them myself. I usually just rebuild mine because they're too expensive. Take off the tire, remove the big bolt holding the half shaft. Remove the ball joint bolt on the bottom of the lower control arm and pop it down out of the way. Pop out the outer end of the half shaft and use a slide hammer or a pry bar and a prayer to get the halfshaft out of the trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 Make sure you get the right one. We had a forum member who was sold the wrong one and it was too long. As I remember, It seemed rather easy to get one for the wrong transmission at the parts store last time I checked. It may be different for second gens though. Also getting the axle nut off is probably the most complicated part of this job (not complicated) but there are a few ways to do this. Some put a screwdriver in the cooling vane of the disc brake and have it press against the caliper to resist your torque. What I like to do is turn the car on to get vacuum assist brakes and either have someone press the brakes or prop something against the brake pedal. If you are familiar with the front suspension, this should take you 30-45 minutes a side given you dont run into any trouble. If you are learning and you are the first person to take these bolts off and run into trouble, you could be spending up to 2 hours a side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 What is involved in replacing the half axles in a 1998 buick century ? Assuming you dont have an impact gun/work at a shop.. -Remove wheels center cap/hub cap to expose the axle nut. -Use 36mm axle nut socket and breaker bar, loosen axle nut. Blocking the wheels keeps the car from rocking so bad. -Loosen wheel lugnuts 1 turn using 19mm socket -Jack up car, remove wheel -Remove caliper bracket bolts (15mm If I remember right) -Remove caliper and bracket assembly, support with something (I use bungy cords) -Remove rotor. If stuck, hit with hammer on hub facing to not damage the rotor -Remove axle nut until on the axle by a couple threads. Hit with hammer to break loose from hub -Unbolt strut, remove strut bolts. Seperate knuckle from strut -You know how enough room and play to get the halfshaft out of the hub -Use a prybar, pry carefully between the axle and the transmission. It will eventually pop out -Use drain pan to catch trans fluid -Axle will be can be difficult to pop in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatTheFehl Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 Impact gun and shop size compressor in your home garage FTW. It seriously makes doing almost anything on any car that much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 Impact gun and shop size compressor in your home garage FTW. It seriously makes doing almost anything on any car that much easier. Im buyin a air compressor off Venom this weekend for my new place for that simple reason. Nothing better than just bringing my air tools home from work and being able to work on my cars with ease Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatTheFehl Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 I have the advantage of having a father who used to own his own auto recycling and repair business. So... I've got more tools than the average weekend warrior in the garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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