Boulderguy

^^ that could be arranged

You say that like it's some kind of compromise...? Am I misunderstanding?

The hatch button becomes 'open,' meaning unassigned. The output still functions on the wire harness under the dash but it's not connected to anything.

Yes. Only if running the same distance, which you aren't, you're only going a few feet. Nothing wrong with using OEM ground points.

The Sooby electrical system isn't bad out of the gate so this isn't crucial IMO until you cross the 1000+ watt line with your system. Even then, debatable. Still it's a good idea and I believe it takes some strain off the system. If you're at or under 1000 watts I'd just tack some 8g on top of the alt to B+, another 8g from B- to the strut top hat stud & a third from B- to the alt engine mount bolt. With connectors & looming you're probably around $25. You can use bigger wires but there's no benefit til you get some serious amps(like 1500+ watts). Plus they're harder to work with & $$ more. Fusing the B+ to Alt is a waste of a fuse since current could travel in either direction.

That's exactly what it was too, the shield above the driveshaft. Imagine getting that racket right after replacing the axle - I was freaking out. Why is it you can't use the same axle I did?

OK, back from shop, it was a freakin' heat shield rattle that just suddenly "developed" by itself almost immediately after the axle job. Good news is the axle & diff are 100%. I was really worried I'd screwed something up there.

Great, have her swing by & fix this damn thing for me.

No no, nothing like that. It's an open diff - not locking - so it's supposed to do that if one wheel's harder to turn than the other. Which it was since I had one brake riding a bit tight. But I've still got a weird sound coming from the front end, will finally take the car in tomorrow & have someone else figure it out - I'm over it.

What not to do... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtTte6lCbps]Don't end up with these results...[/ame] (EDIT - everything is normal here, just one brake a little tight)

I used a 3' extension on the socket & was able to get about a quarter-turn tighter, so we're not talking about a lot of play. Rattle's gone, but now I have a new sound, kind of a metallic clinking, random, & mechanical sounding, almost like a baseball card in the spokes. I'm wondering if something got loose in the diff. At this point I'm out of patience & will be taking it to a shop for them to check.

Hey, just a note, mine developed a bit of a rattle this afternoon. I went in & checked, turns out the axle nut wasn't quite tight enough. I've now torqued it to the point that I worried the breaker bar would snap.

And this is a problem how? Kidding. That sucks.

Laramie - I used a 12" nail-remover pry bar on the green cup, once it popped out an inch I was home free. VTown - you've hosed that ball joint now, add it to the pile of broken stuff in the corner of the garage - screwdrivers, ratchets, skin from fingers... Now you HAVE to remove the LCA completely & hammer out the joint to replace it. Those things are pressed in with a hydraulic compressor I think, but you can probably bang a new one in by hand.

Did you remove the horizontal bolt in the knuckle completely? I mean not just loosen it, remove it altogether? Because it has to be completely out for the BJ to drop down. I used a big prybar. Or try just removing the other two attachment points & leave the BJ intact. Once those two are out you can swing the knuckle assembly free, you'll just have the lower arm hanging in space.

Hi Sam, I literally just finished this job, it took about three hours but much of that was spent wrenching apart the other pieces, not the CV Axle. 1. Can't think why there would be any problem. 2. Because it's been crimped, best bet is replace. But in a bind you could probably re-use. 3. Yes. Tight. Really tight. I think it's like 140#. 4. A new unit like this is completely plug-n-play. Comes with retainer ring installed & new axle nut. That's the piece I used & I'm impressed - it's completely new, not rebuilt and the shipping was quick. I wrestled with removing only the ball joint & swinging the arm out of the way, the offset bushings I have maybe made it tougher. So the solution for me was to remove the lower arm completely, then pop off the ball joint. Next challenge was knocking the axle out of the rotor which really required three hands, one of them pulling the rotor outward while hammering. I managed with two but a buddy would have made this much easier. Oh, and the axle nut, I didn't bother un-crimping it, just wrenched it off. Wasn't bad with a big cheater bar. Popping the axle out of the tranny was easy with a small prybar. Once started it came easy. No grease leakage for me, at all. If I had to do it again I'd start by completely removing the lower arm. It would probably take 90 minutes using that approach. I wish I had an impact wrench. And a car lift. And now that I'm a pro at this task I'll commence to forgetting everything I learned about it until next time, where I get to re-learn it all. I'd write out instructions to myself but it's not like I'll read them.

That was my thought too, just wrench the thing off. We'll see later this week.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Scorpion101/2702981902_fe14b05b62.jpg

I got nuthin' on the first picture you posted, ain't showing up for me. You? The suspense is killing me... I see the groove in the tranny-side of the axle, I'm assuming I can recycle any snap-ring that lives there from the OEM axle - unless this is just a generic axle pic it doesn't appear the new one comes with any retention rings. Will post my findings.

This is a great write-up. I'm pretty fired up about not paying $270 to have the axle replaced at the shop. A few questions - What does it mean to "Unstake the axle nut?" Why does this kill a screwdriver? Any pics of this? Something's crimped on there? What? Was there any kind of retainer ring on the engine-side of the axle? There are references to it but it's not clear. Does the axle just pull out or are there addt'l steps/caution req'd with this part? (I'm in a '05 OBXT if it matters) Just ordered this out of California, it's listed on Ebay but I went straight thru the company by phone & it was about $72 shipped total. EDIT - I finished this & can vouch for the part below from http://www.carpartsdiscount.com - Toll Free: (888) 437-4272. It's totally new, not rebuilt, installed easily & works great so far. For $75 shipped I'm pretty happy. http://images1.carpartsdiscount.com/auto/archive/pictures/81609/700/1/P/47798280/cv_front_axle_shaft.jpg http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220567419137&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

My MPG indicator already has numbers like that . Maybe I should get off the gas. Cool mod.

I should get a commission or something. Seriously, it deserves to be stuck.

Good thing none of us do THAT...

Uh oh, foot in mouth...

I'm going to be anal here - Vehicle Speed Sensor. (if anyone sees my OCD meds laying around let me know, can't find 'em anywhere...)