I just replaced the driver's side halfshaft on my wife's '88 Voyager. It was the third halfshaft counting the OEM one.
It went very smoothly and I thought I'd just offer a few tips on how to save a goodly amount of time.
- Remove wheelcover. Pull cotter pin and castleated keeper on the end of axle shaft. Have someone sit in the driver's seat and apply the brakes. Using an 18" breakover bar and a large (I think it's 36mm) socket made for this purpose, loosen the axle nut. It's torqued to 180 lb/ft so prepare to grunt.
- Thank your brake applier person and dismiss them. Loosen the lug nuts. Jack the left front up, place it securely on a jackstand. Remove the wheel. Then remove the previously grunted over axle nut.
- Remove the two bolts (13mm head) holding the end of the sway bar to the lower control arm. Also remove the plate on the underside of the bushing. Remove the front bolt holding the sway bar to the subframe and loosen the rear bolt 3-4 turns. Turn the plate to the rear. Using a long pipe, piece of wood or whatever, pry down on the sway bar so clearance is established between it and the lower control arm.
- Place a small pan beneath the area where the halfshaft enters the transaxle. A small amount of trans. fluid may run out after the halfshaft is removed. Using a 15 mm socket and an 18mm open end wrench, remove the ball joint clamp bolt. Using the previously mentioned piece of wood or pipe, lever the lower control arm down until the ball joint stub is loose from the steering knuckle. The steering knuckle/strut assy. can now be pulled out and rotated enough to free the outer splines of the halfshaft. After the outer splines are free, put a large screwdriver between the inner portion of the halfshaft and the transaxle housing and pry gently to free the inner portion. It's not a good idea to pull on the halfshaft to free it from the transaxle b/c the inner tripod joint may separate in the process.
Installation, as they say, is the reverse of removal. Torque the ball joint clamp bolt to 75 lbs/ft and the axle nut 180 lbs/ft. Torque the lug nuts to 95 lbs/ft. Remove the car from the jackstand, put away your tools and go in and get a kiss from your wife.
The first time I did this job it took over 4 hours. This morning it took 80 minutes including running to the parts store get a new one (replaced under warranty at Advance Auto parts.)
I hope this helps.
Charlie