How do you change CV joints on a 1997 Toyota carolla?

Answer 1

don't bother get replacement axles, both for my 94 cost me 80 total with no core charge (the genuine Toyota ones were like 600 total I got cheap ones at napa), where as the cv boots would have cost, for all four that is, like 60. You gotta take the axles out one way or another- and that's a wrestleing match no matter what. Don't get a haynes manual and think your gonna do it all on your own. they damn near weild those suspension bolts on at the factory. It took me and a friend- about 450lbs total - one pushing and one bounceing on six feet of pipe on the end of a breaker bar to release the the two steering knuckle to ball joint bolts. I don't know how yours are but we cheated with the axles and just hammered them out the steering knuckles. everyone says to use a puller/pusher tool to get them out- but we decided since everywhere that had one was closed to just knock em out. I got like 40000 miles out of mine so far. There wasn't a lot of clearance, but once they are down from the knuckles you gotta pry them out of the transaxle, again me underneath prying and my buddy on top with a 6 foot crow not pry bar to get them to pop out, the drivers side sucked but the pass was easy, beware 2500 bucks if you screw up your trans- some cars you gotta stick a dowl in there to prevent the differential gears from falling or some such nonsense, on mine no special order popped them out smacked them back in with a mallet, line them up in the knuckle and use the big nut whatever its called to force them back in the knuckle and wala you just saved yourself enough money to buy a new boat. good luck, and remember its not as easy as an alternator but not nearly as hard as a trans.