how to remove front drive shafts?

[DefeXion]

we took off the nut and banged the thread through with a malet and a piece of wood but it only got so far. What is the trick to getting the shafts off the hub?

[The Vee]

Have you separated the lower ball joint to allow the strut outward movement to clear the stub? You may also find it easier to separate the track rod end and anti roll bar drop link to give you more movement. You'll also need the strut support (the iverted horshoe looking thing removed) if you want the shaft right away from the car. It is sometimes easier to disconnect the lower arm at the inner end rather than separate the ball joint. Make sure the whole thing is securely supported on stands as you want the weight completely off the wheel.

[DefeXion]

Cheers Vee. Worked a treat. The only tricky thing we ran into in the end was the CV doesn't fit through the u part of the suspension. Had to unbolt it then it came apart with ease.

[The Vee]

Glad you got it done. And yeah, that U bit was the horseshoe type thing I was refering to. When you put it all back together, after locating all the parts, if you can normalise the ride height it will stop any pre-loading of the rubber bushes before you finaly tighten the through bolts.

[DefeXion]

don't think this one will be going back together :). stripping for parts and i'm stealing the brakes. Might need to put mine back together when I get around to it.

[The Vee]

Doh/pan /pan LOL