Originally Posted by alnsquare

I just did the driver side CV axle change this past weekend. It took me good 9 hrs.

1. Jack up the car into a jack stand
2. Take the wheel out and unscrew the cv shaft big screw
This task literally took me 2.5 hrs to do. The crimp on the screw was so tight that I had a hard time wedging a screw driver in it. Ruined (3) screw driver during the process.
3. After the screw is off, I took off the caliper and the rotor
4. Then unscrew and unhinge the tie rod
5. Unscrew the idle arm from the chassis (easier), not from the knuckle
6. At this point, the knuckle can be move around. I used a hammer to loose the axle
7. Even the axle is out of the knuckle, i still can not separate the axle from the differential.
8. I had to unscrew (6) bolts that are attached to the skid plate, to get a better leverage on prying the axle from the differential
9. Finally, my back on the floor and was able to separate the axle
10. To put the new cv axle on, it doesn't go in all the way. I finally had to us a mallet and a screw driver to hammer it in. After two punches, the axle clicked.
11. Wipe off all the excessive grease and put everything back in.
12. 9 hrs later, I am done.

If I had to do it again, it would still take me good 3 hrs to do. I did my Quest in less than 1.5 hrs. The skid plate was the key.