Right side drive axle, '97 accord

My 97 accord has a busted boot on the outer right side cv joint. It
is sounding off on turns and acceleration.I plan to replace the drive
axle, but, although I've done a lot of work on this car and my '90
accord, i've never done one of these.

What actually has to come off? My haynes says the damper fork has to
be completely removed and that the lower control arm has to be
separated from the steering knuckle ball joint. Manual shows using a
standard two jaw pulley/gear puller to do this.

The FAQ left me a little confused about what actually had to come off
and whether the ball joint would separate with a standard puller. I'm
mostly concerned with getting the ball joint separated without ruining
it. Also can you go right to that joint without doing anything else to
the lower control arm or steering knuckle?

Anyone who has done one shed any light on this.

Thanks.

Frank

 

No frickin' way. MA Stewart should chime in here soon. If not, I'll repost
what he did recently.

Way better than that:
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/faq.html#balljoints

You can rent them cheap.

You mean my FAQ? If so, I'd better elaborate.

Easy with the right tool.

Yep. Once the lower ball joint is undone, the knuckle will swing away. It
will try to pull the inner CV joint apart, so be prepared for that! You're
supposed to knock the driveshaft out of the hub, which takes a hammer.

 

I reread the FAQ and I guess confused is not accurate, but cautious
about the difficulty. Several methods mentioned some with notes about
the possibility of doing damage to the ball joint. Seems like the
puller first shown is the best and least likely to do damage and if my
gear puller does not turn out to be a perfect fit, I'll try to rent
one that is shown.

Frank

 

-------------------------------

The correct puller can be bought at Princess Auto, (in Canada) for $21.
I found this out the day after picking up a (virtually) identical one
from a 'wholesaler' for $68 CAN. I told Tegger and he was choked too.
The 'Imported from Asia' type places are now carrying the 'clones' very
cheap. The Princess Auto ones are (were?) made in Taiwan. For $21, it's
cheaper than driving to the rental place, twice.

'Curly'

 

I remember that now. There is a Princess Auto about an hour from me, and I
was going to go check out the puller you specified next time I was down
there. Then I forgot.

I'd love to compare and see the difference between a $90 puller and a $21
one.

 

Is this clearer?
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/faq.html#balljoints
(Hit "refresh/reload" in your browser)

I also added something jim beam sent me a long time ago.

That's correct.

It might not be strong enough. The ball joint is T-I-G-H-T.