captjay

i know there is a write up to remove front axle on the jk. i have used it to remove mine. is there another way to remove front axle without having to disassemble entire wheel assembly? my father says the older trucks and such, you could do something like pivot the axle up or down, remove the ujoint and slide the axle out. is this possible , is it too much trouble if possible, or should you just stick with removing wheel assembly and sliding it through? this is just curiousity. he just doesnt believe thats the only way to do it. any comments appreciated. if it cannot be done or is not recomended, i would appreciate the reason why, not just a no it cant be done answer.

Suffolk JK

Do you know how much trouble it would be do disassemble a u-joint still attached at the stub shaft? What's so hard about removing the 5 wheel studs, 1 axle nut, and 3 hub bolts?

ronjenx

Maybe your father is remembering the days of king pins and u-joints held in with little u-bolts.

captjay

i personally dont think its that hard, i did it last week when a ujoint failed. but im 30, my dad is 60, he has to argue everything, so figured id check. on the jk setup, i dont think it can be done, especially if there is an axle seal which i have, there doesnt seem that i would have any room to play with as far as pivoting the axle up , down, side to side, but im the kid in my fathers eyes and i dont know what im talking about. he has proven me wrong in the past. he doesnt want to believe that disassembling the wheel is the only way

those with kids or have parents like this im sure u understand where i am coming from.

captjay

were those the ones where u put the ujoint in place and then a second piece over each end held in with couple bolts? i will ask him, maybe it is what he's thinking about

ronjenx

Yeah, something like that.
I can't imagine taking out a press-fit u-joint while still installed on the vehicle.

captjay

i tried to explain that to him about being pressed or even beating the crap out of them. unfortunately he is not phsyicaly able to get down and look. so i took some pics to show him.

appreciate the responses, maybe he will think diferent once he sees the photos.

nangulator

You have to remove the hub/wheel bearing to get the axle shaft out, You can now tell your pop that an ASE certified master tech with 20 yrs experiance told you that this is the only way to do it. I argue with my dad over pluming crap all the time.

JPT

On some CJ's you could open the diff cover and pound out the large pin that held everything together. Don't think that is the case anymore.