I'll probably still end up having to guess on the torque, but the initial torque on those inner nuts is 61 Nm, which is something like 55 ftlb, if I remember correctly. I KNOW we didn't get anywhere near that with channel locks.
Sorry Danny, didn't get any pictures. The time that I get to actually work on this hunk o' junk doesn't come around very often, so we were kind of trying to get in as much progress as we could with the time we had. That was Saturday morning, and I haven't been back to it since. But once you get down to the stub axle, spindle, whatever you want to call it, you basically just pop that off and the CV joint pulls right out with the axle shaft connected. A circlip holds the CV joint on the half shaft, so you just give it a couple of good whacks with a soft-ish mallet and it pops off. And at this point you have full access to the inside of your swivel ball too, so all that goop comes pouring out. Messy. In my case, that's where all the ball bearings from the CV joint were found, inside the swivel ball.

 

I have new CV joints that I need to replace also. I'll try to take pics and post if I ever get around to doing them. May be a while. Where did you buy yours from and how much?

 

I got mine from europartsdirect.com. The brand I think is Euro Spares or something like that. $53 per joint. I simply couldn't afford $170 for the "good" ones from Atlantic British, so I hope the Euro ones are decent quality. I also got my water pump from there. Quite a bit cheaper. I know a lot of people will probably say not to go with those cheaper parts, but for me it's either go with the cheaper parts and hope for the best, or let the truck sit because I can't afford to fix it.

 

[quote=UpChuck;227465]I got mine from europartsdirect.com. The brand I think is Euro Spares or something like that. $53 per joint. I simply couldn't afford $170 for the "good" ones from Atlantic British, so I hope the Euro ones are decent quality. I also got my water pump from there. Quite a bit cheaper. I know a lot of people will probably say not to go with those cheaper parts, but for me it's either go with the cheaper parts and hope for the best, or let the truck sit because I can't afford to fix it.[/quote]


Nothing wrong with that at all. I would do the same as well.

In my case, that's where all the ball bearings from the CV joint were found, inside the swivel ball.

That is incredible. I guess it self destructed in use maybe.

Good Luck with it all.

 

It sure did self destruct. There is a metal ring that retains the ball bearings, which there 5 or 6 of. That metal ring had broken into about 3 pieces and just let the bearings fall out. It also allowed the CV joint to come out in 2 pieces when I removed it. I'm just glad it did that while I was turning around in the drive way and not off on the other side of town somewhere.

 

I think the hub nut is a 2 1/16 inch, but I found a 1/2- inch drive hub nut socket supposedly for a Toyota (I think) that fit sloppy but did the job. Cost was $17.00. That let me use a torque wrench to do the job right instead of guessing.

 

I guess it depends on how sloppy the fit was to be able to trust the reading. If it slipped or was angled very much, the reading would be close but may be affected.............

 

The force would still be applied to the nut, who's size hasn't changed, so the torque value would remain constant. But you would be applying it to a smaller area on the nut, so it would probably do some damage to the nut.

I figured out what the problem was. When we installed the axle shafts and CV into the axle, we put them in as far as they would go. This was the wrong thing to do. Turns out they had just the slightest bit of angle on them, and when the stub axle and drive flange were installed over them, they were stuck. I just began taking everything apart again, and as soon as I got the stub axle bolts loose, the CV shaft came unbound, and all was well.

So for anyone attempting this repair in the future, when reinstalling the axle shaft into the axle, only put it in just far enough for the splines to be engaged. Then, slide the stub axle over the CV shaft, and let the stub axle push the CV and axle shaft as far into the axle as it needs. This assures it won't be in too far. Then you should have enough free play that you can slide it in and out (just a little) with and odd bolt or anything that you can hook in there.

Also, I ended up using the channel-lock elbow torque on the hub nuts, since UPS is taking their sweet time shipping the correct socket to me. Maybe I'll re-torque it later.

 

Thanks a mill for the heads up! It was very useful to me, since one of my cv axles is shot, and with the warmer weather on the arrival, I'm running out of excuses not to get started on it. I'll replace them both, 'cause the still good side is leaking around the swivel ball seal anyway.
I'll post pics,but of course, since it's my first time working on a LR front axle.

 

Hey, glad I could help. I would offer that if you're doing your CV joints, it's also a good opportunity to do your wheel bearings, and like someone suggested to me, get the spindle bearings knocked out as well. I didn't change my spindle bearings, but I probably should have. I figure they're not really load bearing in the same way that the wheel bearings are, so I guess I'll let it slide for now. But I'm pretty sure they're like $6 or something. There is also a small bearing in the axle shaft, just inboard of the swivel ball, not sure how hard that would be to change, but might also be worth the effort while you're in there.