Hi Forum - I am about to attempt to change my drivers side CV axle on my 95 camry 5 speed MANUAL transmission.
The engine is the 2.2L 5FSE with 375K miles. The last time the CV was removed (not replaced) was at 250K miles in 2008 when the tranny was replaced. I was duped by a toyota dealership that said my "planetary gear" was shattered. I found a junkyard that also installs to replace the tranny but it was really just the original clutch had gone bad but unfortunately I lost my original tranny due to toyotas lack of concern for my older vehicle. They were only interested in selling me a new car. I had done minor work like oil changes and tuneups on my own but this incident is what made me want to get better at fixing my own cars so I have been getting better at it each year. Especially with the help of this forum. My most recent big project was in 2017 timing belt, water pump, and all seals so I have more experience and confidence since 2008!.

My concerns are as follows after reading the repair manual and watching youtube videos.

1. What is the best way to access the shaft? I have seen people remove the 2 nuts & 1 bolt holding the control arm to ball joint and then remove the outer tie rod end
and I have also seen where they only remove the 2 large strut bolts. Which is the preferred / easier method?

2. Transmission gear oil. Im sure I will loose a bit of tranny oil when the half shaft is removed? Should I do a complete drain and refill while doing this?
Embarrassed to say this but I have no idea where the drain bolt and refill bolt are located or what type of oil this is?. I would want to make sure that I can access these and remove these before I attempt any shaft removal. Does the new oil need to be pumped in?

3. Should I put a new axle seal in while doing this job, the current one is not leaking but it seems like that would be the correct thing to do.

4. How hard is it to get the inner joint free from the trans? This is my biggest fear that I will not be able to remove it due to the c-clip and 11 years since last removal.
Same goes for re-insertion - I have seen people reverse the axle nut and give the shaft a few whacks with a dead blow hammer to try and seat the new axle?
I have heard the c-clip split should be facing downward on re-insertion? Also do you suggest any type of grease to hold the c-clip in place on re-insertion?
I have pry bars but no slide hammers. It seems like you really need to jerk it out and not just a steady pry motion. I was thinking of using 2 pry bars and giving it a quick pull to pop it out. Im in doubt that one pry bar would work as that would tend to make the joint go up vs. out.

5. I only have a jack and jack stands to do the job. Do you need more access than this? I have also read that some people find better success by going from the top of the engine with a large pry bar to remove and re-install the inner joint to tranny? Should I jack up the entire front of the car or can I just jack up the drivers side?

I have a 20V HF Earthquake 1/2" impact so hopefully that will zip the axle nut off. Its been an amazing tool so far. I bought a Cardone Select A1 66-5038 half shaft
and it looks like a nice axle, Has 3 good gripping locations for a jaw puller of pry bar locations if ever need to remove in the future. I am not sure if this is the original toyota drivers axle on the car as in 2005 the seals were leaking but im not sure if the axles and seals were replaced or just the seals. The cost should have been for axles and seals - if not I got taken to the cleaners!!!

Well thanks for reading and for any advice you can bring my way. I can hear the shaft clicking on take off and around corners. I bought the replacement axle in Oct 2017 so you can see how long Ive put it off! Timing is good now for me to not need the car if problems arise. I do love my car!
Thanks Kev

 

I think I found the type of gear oil in my repair manual - looks like SAE 75W-90 grade API GL-3, 4 or 5

I will also change the axle seal - no reason not too while in there. Still dont have any clue on location of drain & fill plugs. repair Manual
only says to drain it but doesnt show any locations.

Also my repair manuals dont have part numbers - is there a repair manual or site that you can easily search for part numbers as I was looking at Rockauto for
the axle seal but there are many out there and they have different sizes. In fact I couldnt even find a picture of my axle seal in my repair manual. Looked
in the manual transmission section and the steering & axle section but no pic of seal anywhere.

 

Might be one of these. The side of the drivers door should have a sticker with the trans model on it. E153 or S51. S51 should be for 4 cylinder.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...haft+seal,8792

Loosen axle nut, strut bolts holding strut to knuckle, bolts holding ball joint bracket on. Remove tie rod end. Remove the now loose bolts and pull out knuckle. You need everything somewhat bolted together at first to apply the torque to loosen the nuts without the suspension flopping around. When removing the tie rod end you may need to pound on the threaded stem. Don't damage the thread by pounding. There is also tool the will press out the rod end.

The trans and diff share the same fluid. There should be drain and fill plugs on the case. Make sure the fill plug can be removed (frozen) prior to draining the trans. Fluid is SAE 75W-90 GL 3, 4 or 5.

The issue with the diff axle seal is can be damaged when the axle is removed. It's cheap insurance to install a new one. Your going to need to drive it in without damaging it. This can be accomplished by using a section of pipe or large socket that will drive the outer portion of the seal. Install seal the same depth as the old seal.

The inner axle clip can be challenging to break free from the diff carrier. Here is where a large pry bar comes in handy to try to pop it out rather the pry it out. Pop as in jerk the bar. As to pry bar access you will figure out what is best quickly. Need to get behind the CV joint with bar and perhaps use a 2x4 behind the bar and trans case as a fulcrum and to prevent bar damage to trans case.

Installing the axle can also be challenging. Need to get the axle spline's lined with up carrier splines then RAM it home!!!! Be careful with each attempt ram it in, to align the axle as you don't want to damage the diff axle seal in your hast. Can align cir-clip down and apply some grease. Will need to recheck this with each attempt to install the axle.

Need only raise the driver's side. Apply emergency brake and block all tires on the ground to prevent rolling of the car when lifted.

Fastener torques are as follows in ft lbs: Axle nut 217, tie rod nut 36, ball joint fasteners 94, lower strut bolts 156.

For drain and fill see link below:
https://parts.maitatoyota.com/images...a1_MCL830A.jpg

 

Well described Toyomoho. I did mine on my 95 Camry LE V6 automatic a while ago. Not so hard once you did it once.

 

So I finally started this project.
Right before I was going to start my alternator died but I was able to just change the brushes and all was good there.
I normally do projects when my truck is available so I can buzz out and grab parts /supplies as needed but naturally I hit a deep puddle during a bad rainstorm and it screwed up my truck to idle really high.
So I figured if I have to drive the truck I can but its time to get the camry back on the road! So far toyomoho instructions have been spot on and "knock on wood" things are going relatively good for a change!
My differential fill plug was just as you said - TIGHT! I managed to break it free with my 1/2" breaker bar. I thought the torque spec for the fill & drain plugs was 36 ft lbs so its weird how tight that was. On a scary note when I was socket checking the bolt size and found it to be 15/16" I thought the drain was actually smaller as when I put the socket on it it just spun around and I thought I needed a smaller socket until I realized the drain plug was WAY LOOSE!

I also noticed my drain plug has an aluminum crush washer ( the filler plug did not). Is that correct?

The axle nut needed some penetrating fluid but I have a harbor freight 20V 1/2" drive earthquake gun that is a true beast. I bought it a year and a half ago and the battery has never been recharged. Its only down one light and I have used that impact gun for many things (crankshaft bolts, lawnmower blades, frozen alternator bolts, a dozen tire rotations, etc etc) I swear the thing has an invisible 120V cord!
So I am at the point of trying to pop out the axle from the differential - I might try an axle pickle fork, it seemed to fit pretty good or I also have a cv axle puller adapter which fits good as well but I would need to pick up a slide hammer for that. Im leaning towards the slide hammer as it seems like the best way to avoid damaging the differential housing.
Figured I'd give an update while the gear oil is draining - I need to go buy some of that as well as I didnt expect to be making such good progress so fast!

 

Thanks for reporting back with your progress.

The CV slide hammer should work. Otherwise put a board between any pry bar and the trans housing to prevent damage.

Suppose the aluminum washer should be replaced buy have never replaced it and no issues.

Just be extremely cautious to prevent diff axle seal damage when putting the axle in or you may need to whole job over to change the now leaking seal.

 

So I did buy new crush washers, the old ones were certainly crushed as compared to the new ones!
I tried the axle pickle fork several times and rotated the axle to several different positions. Im not sure if I was applying enough jerk force or not since I have never done this before. If the axle let go I imagine I would have lacerated my forehead on the wheel well if that indicates the amount of pressure I was using.
So then I went to the 2 foot rental slide hammer - NO GO - it was just too short to get a good pull with all the hub and strut stuff in the way so I decided to make my own puller.
I ordered a 3 foot section of 5/8x18 rod and added a protective layer of PVC tubing to it to avoid mashing the threads. I used a 7.5 lb round metal weight as my battering ram with various nuts & washers.



I found that the brakes were in the way so I did end up removing them (caliper, caliper bracket and rotor).
In hind sight I dont know why I left them on, they add extra weight to the hub and are easy enough to remove and replace. Good to remember for next time.
So the newly built puller did the job. It still took about 4 rotations of the axle - not sure if the c-clip has to be in a particular spot or not but figured since after 5 blows it didnt come out might as well move it. I did position the axle puller toolhead on the bottom of the axle.

Tomorrow I will replace the seal and hopefully get the new axle in and button it up.
The current seal seems to have some elastic type material peeling off like a little stringy rubbery piece. Not sure if the last person in there used something in addition to the seal to prevent leaks or not. Seal doesnt look bad but I bought 2 new ones just in case I screw up!
Also one issue I seem to be having is when I am done for the night I thought it would be a good idea to reattach the hub/knuckle back to the strut tower. The night before I was able to get the lower bolt back in but tonight I was not able to get any of them in.
Is there a trick to that ? Or does it need the weight of the rotor to get it in ? (yesterday I still had the brakes on but still only able to get one bolt attached)
Came off nice and easy and didnt anticipate it would be this much trouble to get it back on!
Thanks

 

So the seal pulled out quite easily. I did have a big seal puller so hopefully that is why, I thought it would be tougher as the only seals I have done other than this was the oil, crank and cam. They were much harder. Im assuming this was much easier because you can really insert the seal puller right into the transmission opening and really hook the seal well. I made a seal seater out of a piece of plumbing waste pipe which worked pretty well.
There was some type of form in place gasket over the old seal and housing. The junkyard that put the transmission in must have done it
as a just in case. But like I said earlier, sections of it were peeling off so it probably wasnt doing much.

I then attempted to insert the axle. I have no problems feeling the splines catch but I cant push hard enough to engage the c-clip and get it fully into the
transmission. I tried the hand push method 4 times.
I then, by myself so maybe not the best way to go, aligned it and to the best of my ability compressed both ends of the axle shaft and then hit the spindle end with the axle nut on it with a dead blow hammer. I tried that 3 times and no success.
Granted I am being cautious as to not damage the new seal so maybe that apprehension on my part is a bit too much, since Ive never done it I really dont know how much oomph you can give it and still keep the seal from getting damaged.
I am giving my tired arms a break right now!
Any suggestions?

 

If you are trying to get the lower strut bolts in, start by installing a punch, bar or something else to get the hub and strut at least someone lined up.

But first install the shaft. It can take many attempts and patience! Rotate half clip with gap down. Center to the grove circumference with some grease to hold it in place. Line up shaft and carrier splines. Then RAM!!!!! the shaft into the diff housing. Repair the process as many times as needed.

 

OK, Im pretty sure Im not RAMMING it! I must be going too gingerly in fear of damaging the seal. I agree with you as the last thing i want is a leaking seal and have to do this all over again!.
But I guess as long as Im sure my splines are caught initially before the RAMMING I should be in no danger of seal damage. Im thinking seal damage would occur if i wasnt engaged in splines and tried to RAM it off center and hitting the seal.
I guess my other inexperience fault here is where to hold the axle while RAMMING? Im am also afraid of the boot ripping or pulling the joint apart.
Should I be worried about this?
I know when my splines initially catch the inboard joint is straight, do I need to worry about the entire shaft being straight?
I am also only pushing from the inboard metal cup, I have not grabbed the shaft behind the inboard boot and pushed because I dont know if that would damage the boot or joint?
Any advice on best hand positions to RAM home would be greatly appreciated!