Thanks to all the good advice here I got the new bearings and hubs installed and when on the last step came to a serious problem.

After getting the car on the ground set the torque wrench to 250lbs. and tightened the right nut no problem... on the left I did not get a click so I backed off the nut to investigate and the nut came off full of the fatigued shaft.

I guess the good thing is it happened in the garage, but the wife is not thrilled I won't move the car. (maybe this is the reason the left bearing was a problem since the dealership replacement)

So the question is has anyone here replaced the outboard component and how difficult is this fix?

 

I just replaced my driver's side outer joint due to a wheel bearing issue as well. My outer joint snapped right before the splines.

The swap is very easy. If you buy the OEM outboard joint set (44014-S2A-953), it comes with all necessary hardware which is very nice. This includes both band clamps, axle nut, outboard joint, grease, CV boot and the c-clip. The hardest part of the job was to pull the broken CV off the axle. Crimping the ear clamps was also a minor challenge, those things are tough (it actually bent my tool)! Overall, it's an easy job.

 

Thanks, I ordered the part. As I recall the manual has the replacement done with the drive shaft removed... is this the only possibility or could it be done in place? Are specialty tools required?

 

You can replace the outer joint with it still in-place. The challenge would be to hold the axle firm, while someone else tries to pop the outer CV out. If the axle is still in place, you just have to work around the confined space. What I did, is remove the axle and had my girlfriend hold the axle shaft tight. I then used a bearing separator and used it as a slide hammer to pop the outer CV off.



When you reinstall the axle, it says to drop the end of the CV joint to the floor so that the c-clip snaps and seats in place. So you'll need to use a hammer or apply some direct pressure to get that to seat.

As far as special tools, need a ball joint separator and the CV band clamp pliers to crimp. After bending my Autozone pliers, I purchased the Lisle pliers (PN 30800), which is very sturdy.

 

Thanks for the feedback... and tip for getting the CV off the axle since the Honda tool counts on threads still being on the end.

I have pulled the axle and will see about getting my bearing separator setup to pull the joint off. My parts won't be available for awhile so I have time to kill.

 

After a couple of hours of trying to use my slide hammer (without the Honda attachment since the threads were gone on the joint) I went for brute force. Since I could not use the CV joint I simply beat it off with a hammer... a five minute job.

The new CV joint is on and operational with the new bearings. I still am not confident about torque values on the axle nuts... I can get ~200 pounds but very little turn after that. I initially tried for the 180 +60 but frankly can't get much movement. I suspect the bearings may compress a hair and will recheck after a hundred miles.

The CV joint set was slow to get as no one seems to keep in in stock. Majestic got it from Honda and then 2 day shipped it to me but I was still down over a week.

Thanks for your help.

 

Glad it worked out. Make sure you have 180 ftlbs + 60 deg on the nut