Removing CV Joint From Axle

Most CV joints are held on with some style of clip on the end of the axle that keeps the CV from sliding off. This is a stock Volkswagen Bug, this is held in by a simple clip that doesn't require the use of snap ring pliers.

All I used was a rag to wipe the grease away to expose the clip, 2 flathead screwdrivers, and a knife. 

I used my knife to pry the clip outwards, then put the flathead underneath and worked my way around until it popped off. Once the clip is gone you can tap the CV off of the axle. Be careful not to yank it off at an angle and drop the balls from the CV out. Your CV's are now off and can be cleaned, crack checked, replaced, etc. 

Replacing brake light bulb

This is a pretty simple task. I will be doing this on a 2000 Toyota Tacoma. All you need is a screwdriver and a new brake light bulb. 

Take the screws out of the housing to expose the bulb. 

On this truck, the brake light bulb is the bottoms one. Loosen the bulb and put in the new bulb. Put the housing back on and the screws back in and you're good to go.

Obviously each vehicle is different but the concept is the same. 

Removing Rear Trailing Arms on VW Bug

This is relatively easy when the axles are already out. Remove the brake lines and let the fluid drain in to a container. You're going to need a 17mm Alan socket for the inner pivot bolt. Remove this next.  

With limited space, I found the easiest thing to do was to put the Alan socket in the bolt, and then put a 17mm box end wrench on the socket to turn the bolt. After this bolt is out, remove the bolts from the spring plate. 

Once these bolts are out, you should be able to drop the arm down and remove it. 

Removing Axles and CV Joints

Splined axles and CV joints (or continuous velocity joint) are used on many front wheel drive cars, 4 wheel drive vehicles, and on rear engine vehicles. Today I'm working on a 1973 Volkswagen Bug which I will do a lot of my postings on. 

First, you will need the correct tool for whatever style of CV bolt your vehicle uses. In this case it is a 12 point style Alan. 

Then start removing your CV bolts using a ratchet, preferably. I simply held the axles while loosening the bolts to keep it from turning. There will be bolts on the inner CV as well as the outer. I pulled the boot out to make it easier to remove the bolts. I am not concerned with getting the CV joints dirty because I will be cleaning and crack checking mine which will be on another post soon. 

Once you have all the bolts loosened completely, you should be able to pull the CV's out from the flanges and maneuver the axle out. I like to keep somewhat organized and clean so I placed all the bolts in a up and the axles on rags to prevent CV grease from getting everywhere. 

That's it for this post, thanks for reading and I hope it helps. 

Purpose of my blog

This blog will be primarily dedicated to mechanical help for cars and dirtbikes. It will be limited on what things I work on as I do not own many vehicles, but much of it can still be used on other cars/bikes as well. I am not an expert by any means but hopefully some things I post can be useful to some people.