I have been struggling with a wheel bearing and hub replacement for the last 3 days (during my evenings in my unheated garage in Chicago in the winter) and took great solace in watching you (my hero) struggle. Thanks for encouraging me and showing that if, "you can do it, I can do it too" I love your videos and honesty!

Now that was a lesson in perseverance! It's comforting to know that even the experts face obstinate mechanical parts unwilling to cooperate. Love your problem solving approach to difficult situations!

These Rust belt mechanics are another breed. Definitely taught me perseverance is key.

It is encouraging to watch a mechanic who cares work on vehicles like this one. You demonstrate the high quality of perseverance.

You sir are my favorite mechanic on KZfaq by a long mile. I prefer your non technical videos as I do not have a scanner like yours and after 10 minutes of watching I am lost in the technology. Scotland has rust and I've used a hammer to carefully and successfully round off more threads than I care to mention. And I am that person who overfilled the bake caliper pins with too much grease and caused the brakes to bind... I now buy too much brake cleaner (its not cheap here) and have purple grease for my next brake job. However, I must tell you watching this I now have tinnitus and a nervous twitch.

Dude!!!!! You are my hero! Not only did you conquer a brutal problem but you didn't swear one time! You are a real STUD. Thanks for the videos!

"Well it is 3 years old, so you can't really expect it to fall apart" god that comment had me in tears

"Oh sweet victory" I felt the frustration as well as the relief once that axle finally popped lol. I only wrench on my own or family vehicles but it seems like every "SMALL" job I do goes pretty similar as this did. Thanks for the video though. Now I can go finish my step daughter's town and country lower ball joint ;)

Every time I see you pounding on something and rust dust flies out into the air it makes me thankful I live in Florida. I have a 20 year old car and I can take apart any bolt almost effortlessly. Excellent video. I could probably watch you pound on an axle for an hour. Your editing is superb and videos extremely enjoyable. You have one of the best automotive repair channels on youtube now congrats!

Never a dull moment! You handled that like a BOSS! Looking forward to Part II, thanks for posting and sharing!

I don't know man, I keep hearing the wheel bearings are notorious on these but my caravan is still going strong after 190k miles. Struts and control arms finally went so taking care of that this weekend but overall I'm pretty happy. Love your videos. Cheers!

I started out as a lot boy when I was 20 in 1972 . Most of the Mechanics were competent and had the expertise like yourself. I ended up in the Parts Dept. and worked at various dealers for 35 years . I hate to say , as time went on the good ones lessened in numbers . I will pay u the biggest compliment I can think of.....u could work on anything I own ...anytime. Great to see a real Mechanic , u are a credit to the trade. Take care , keep on making videos .

Best car repair channel ever!!!! Thank you a bunch for the video :)

Fun fact: the KZfaq auto generated captions label the sounds of your sledgehammer and impact as "music" and "applause". Never has the auto caption system been more accurate!

I live not too far away, in Owego, NY. I was out on the driveway, attempting to do this same exact job on a 2008 Chrysler van. It almost brought me to tears. Through blurry eyes, I looked up at the sky and asked, "Why?" Then I took a few deep breaths, came inside, found this video, and I feel so much better knowing that professional mechanics also have these struggles.

Great job Eric! I really like your shop and the quality of work you do for your customers! I have been an automotive mechanic for over 30 years and it really makes me fill good when i see good quality workmanship by other mechanics. I can tell you take a lot of pride in what you do.I live out west and don't have to deal with near the rust issues that you do. But i bet you must go threw gallons of anti size! lol Even out west where i live i use it on everything i think will might have to come apart again for any future repairs,... Its hard to find Mechanics that show the quality of workmanship that you do!. Keep up the Awesome work and thanks for sharing!!! DC.

If it always was easy, we drivers would just do it ourselves. Great video and each time I watch your videos, I appreciate good mechanics even more. Keep up the great work and I will be watching.

Wow 3 years thats krazy if u did not say it was a 2012 and only zoomed in on the hub, I would have assumed it was something from the 90s as stuck as it was. Tough break with the axle though....Can't wait for part two..

these older videos are nice to watch every so often

An excellent demonstration of perseverance. Thank you for sticking with the job.

Eric you really need a 3/4 impact son. Dang the manufacturers really need start using anti seize for back east cars

I have done those without moving the axle. Loosen the ball joint and pop it from knuckle, lower and loosen more till it comes off.

This is why i like my mountain climate here in Colorado, my 30 year old Civic is rusty, but nothing is bound. My axle shafts pushed right on out with no effort. Good on you for sticking in it and not just tossing a knuckle in it

Speaking of invention, because lack of money, my dad took the back of a Dodge alternator, bolt it to the firewall of a Datsun 1200, and soldered wires from the Dodge diodes to the diodes on the Datsun alternator. Drove it that way for 5 years. Worked perfect.

Hey! I still have a MAC impact wrench like that. Bought it about 28 or 30 years ago. Still works well. But my Ingersoll Rand cordless 1/2" dr impact is better. It's a badass. 700 ft lbs torque.

lol, love the silent "Halleluiah" when the axle broke free

"If I can do it, you can do it..." Dude! That is all you! Another outstanding video of shear grit, determination and perseverance.

Brownsville, Tx here-I can't believe I sat through the whole video watching the process of just removing a ball joint. I hope I don't have to do that to my 2012 Grand Caravan. Very good video though. Really enjoyed it. I have to watch part II now.

Awesome channel Eric! Amazing work ethic!! Great job man!

Those darn Chryslers are so bad for that every time! I never see Fords that bad. You could just loosen the nut on lower ball joint up to cv then separate lower BJ from knuckle then finish taking off nut as you will have plenty of room now

I absolutely LOVED this one! I always think, "yeah, he's got the sweet tools. If I had those tools, things would go a lot easier. Look how fast he rips those fasteners out! " it's nice to see that it ain't always so smooth. In the battle of man vs machine, yeah, man wins, but machine flips him off on the way down.

Just watched you get an axle out of a hub away , to change a ball joint in a Dodge Caravan . Those vehicles have never failed to amaze me how tight they can be . After wrenching for 42 years , I'm now retired but I still miss even those kind of jobs . I had a mentor a long time ago say these cars ,just have never read the book to know what they can and cannot do , he said that about every stubborn job. Sir you keep on keeping on , I just wish I lived near you. Thanks for the lesson.

Man that was satisfying to watch it finally come out lol

Why not just turn the nut as far up as it will go, break loose the joint, hold be lower part of the joint with a good pair of Vice grips and remove the nut? I did that many times. Am I missing something?

I have to commend the mechanic for his patience & persistence. Really kept his cool (on camera at least). To vehicle owners ... should be quite an eye opener as to how a seemingly straight forward job can suddenly get much more complicated. Also the importance of having the right tools for the job. Hard to believe that a 3 year old vehicle would be that difficult to work on due to the harmful effects of road salt.

This is incredible. I just replaced the wheel hub assembly on my now 6 year old Missouri 2012 Dodge Caravan and it took about three taps with a 2 pound hammer and the axle popped right off. Crazy the amount of rust you have!

I doubt if u did any damage to the outer cv joint. the inner one should have enuf in and out movement to prevent that. remember it is a piece of $hit dodge that had a bad ball joint after only a few years. I have a 2000 Avalon with original ball joints that are just fine. not to beat a dead horse but u really need to wear safety glasses on certain procedures. u know murphy's law. take care

damn, I would order a bearing too....

It's actually great seeing a someone doing repair videos on KZfaq that isn't in California working on mint cars. Also probably the only mechanic that I've never heard swear 🤣

Good video Eric. Love the way you walk us through the various scenarios, and your comments and shop philosophy as well--good stuff. Don't leave NY State, we would not have near the entertainment watching you sweat and hammer rusted parts. Your just a rusted on NY mechanic--you were made for the job.

Yep...Reminds me of the Intrepid I did a while ago. Canada salt is the same as N.Y. State salt. {:-) Just goes to show what us mechanics face every day in the north. And the customer can't understand why repairs are so expensive not to mention your damaged tools.

Your actually lucky cause if you wanted you could have removed the shaft and knuckle together and got on it as you mentioned. I live in NY and I will say every Chrysler product does this shit. Just got a 02 Dodge Ram 1500 in for a simple wheel bearing and every bolt was a fight on that thing. Now I got to get the intermediate shaft out of the cv shaft cup. It took a lot of heat and beating to get it away from the hub. Now low and behold one goddamn hub bolt won't come out and stripped off after heating the thing. I'll drill it and then I can focus on everything going back together. Both upper and lower ball joints are bad on it as well I'm gonna try to talk the customer into doing those. I hate when a person can't afford to fix the whole thing and you have to put it back together with shitty parts.

Damn those neck veins popped with every hammer hit lol, nothing wins against Eric. Mr.O will get the job done no matter what.

Wathicg this I wonder wehter loosesning the lugs and putting tension on the force screw before beathing the shit out of it might be more effective since the threads on the force screw prevents it from going anywhere. I think it would give you more of a stroke and also youd know as soon as it moved since it would slack off.

Great video. Thank you. That huge bolt that you are pounding on, is it possible for metal fragments to come flying off it as you are pounding? Just thinking about protecting your eyes by wearing safety goggles whilst pounding.

I'm so glad I don't live in a rust state. At the same time your videos have helped me as a mechanic of 28 years ( southern California) learn techniques on how to deal with rust and broken bots/studs.

I had this same thing happen to me!. I'm a weekend warrior and have quite a few tricks, but this was the hardest removal I've had in a long time! Great job!

That axle would have killed my spirit doing flat rate.

you wanna know something weird i just replaced mine on my 05 trailblazer both side wheel hub assembly i used liquid wrench and did the same but with an oversized rubber mallet when a 2 lb and 4 lb hammer didnt work the rubber mallet broke it free with the juice

Lol, that axle nut... Finally videos that emulate my life here in Ontario Canada... Great job.

Put some anti-seize on those shaft splines... I live in Georgia, we don't really have a rust problem but I do it anyway... can't hurt.

Wow Billy Mays caveman style! That was awesome! Shame on Chrysler for using shitty parts too. Crappy balljoint, and a crappy seal of the axle splines from the elements. Not to brag, but my '89 Mazda MPV (that you just inspected lol) still has the original front end on it...balljoints, bushings and wheel bearings still going strong at 235k miles!! How's that for quality? Mazda's slogan in the 80's used to be "The Mazda Way: An Intense Commitment to Your Total Satisfaction"...no bullshit :)

Had to stop this morning at 13:00. Already a few good chuckles.

You are the best. Really appreciate the trouble shooting with the pico and other diag equipment and the hammer jobs.Please keep helping us.

Eric , I really like that little sprayer you have where can I get one? I assume its pressured by shop air?

i probably would loosend the nut and broke the taper and loosend it the rest of the way, seems easier to me and less chance of breaking a axle or bearing and haveing to eat the cost of that.

Just three years old WOW ! Makes me thankful to work on southern cars. But I am proud of you great job and you didn't throw anything ( on camera ) :) Looking forward to part 2!!

The amount of rust you guys get is absolutely crazy. I once helped to change a timing belt on my friend's Honda. The car came from up north. Everything was rusted. I was able to remove all metal on metal bolts and nuts after applying penetrating oil. Worst part was removing all small bolts from the aluminum engine parts. All the aluminum parts were coated with a thick layer of white crud. Almost every bolt that was in aluminum broke, no matter what I tried while removing it. I called it - "Honda from hell". We spent 3 days on that car, changing the timing belt. Unbelievable!

What was the point beating on the end of the press? To rattle the entire thing? Being that it is threaded I can't see how it was doing much

Please wear safety glasses! James

I like the part where you say, "Shouldn't be too big a job." at the beginning. That looked like a TON of work!

I love this stuff. I live in Minnesota so every job no matter how simple turns into a war with Rust. I can say i actually learn real world stuff here. Thanks!!!

could you not have saved yourself a whole load of ball ache by just using a wrench on the ball joint bolt? im not complaining as longer videos are awesome but just curious?

Get some safety glasses, man! I'd hate to see you take some shrapnel to the eye.

You probably don’t read these but boy do I feel your pain on this. I started out to change the wheel bearing but am now changing the knuckle, the axle and the ball joint. I got the parts from the junkyard except the ball joint. Tomorrow I will cut the😊 ball joint out with an abrasive disk. In the meantime part of the brake caliper slipped off possibly damaging the travel pins. Gosh, I like working on cars in the driveway. Thank God Dad was an electrician and not a mechanic.😊Steve

You're a good man Eric o. I've been throwing stuff across the garage the way that things been busting your chops. When I say you're a good man oh, I'm not talking just about being a mechanic OR technician. I mean you're a good person. I'm probably old enough to be your dad. I can tell you that your father and your family taught you well growing up about being a good man and I'll bet you're a great father. Mrs. O comes across as your counterpart, kind of like two hands put together with the fingers interlaced perfectly. I am twice divorced and single, retired. I have seen good and bad. I've done things that I'm very proud of and a few that I'm not so proud of. Tell your dad your grandfather and those that had the greatest influence in you're growing up that they did a great job. I may only know you through these videos but things come through about individuals without them even realizing it. Glad to know you. Maybe one day I'll drive up to New York and stop in for an oil change!

Sorry mam. Your 250 dollar repair ended up costing 1800 dollars. Have a nice day. Lol

Fun watching these old ones ! Before "Big Nasty" and a few of your other newer tools !

hi mr o, as the saying goes the grass isnt always greener on the other side of the fence. south you would have to deal with the humidity. which i think you would dislike even more. you do a great job. i wish i lived closer so you could work on my toys. thanks for sharing your life with all of us.

You earned your mechanics badge on that one, Thor would have been proud of you. Thanks for sharing and best regards from the UK.

The rust welding you deal with is mind boggling! The cars I work on here in Colorado you hardly ever need heat and pullers.

Watching you work on these cars makes me glad I live and work on cars in North Carolina!!

Even though this is an old SMA video i loved watching this. Im still relatively new to the trade with only about 1 year of professional experience. I work in Wisconsin so we get plenty of rust like New York and i have days like this sometimes where i do nothing but fight rust. Seeing a seasoned professional like Eric struggle like i do somedays makes me feel so much better.

You are awesome Eric. Most shops wouldn't have bothered with the axel at all. Just cut it off, replace n down the road...

Amazing, the snapping sound every time the axle spline moved through the rust.

Good job getting that apart. This is what almost every car is like where I live!

I totally feel your pain and frustration. Can you imagine doing this without air tools and a lift, using loaner tools from local auto supply --- like I do in my driveway here in Ohio. So painful, it's funny as I break one thing then the next to fix a minor issue. I once ruined an engine block on a dodge caravan when I broke off the ear tab that the thermostat housing bolted to in the back of the engine against the firewall (inaccessible). I love your vids. Thanks for sharing and keep it up

Wow, that was rust for just a few years old!! I just did our 07 Chevy Uplander and it was clean on the spline. Thanks for all these ideos, I like them very much! You do a bang up job doing them and yes job well done too!! I only wish I had some of those tools...

Man Mr. O why couldn't I have discovered your KZfaq channel just a few years back. You are a lifesaver now but I don't have the vehicles that I needed help with then LOL LOL LOL

years ago I ran a undercar shop in Lynn Ma, biggest reason for leaving? Rust, came to Tn, and life is a dream

Sweeeet! That axle came right out,no sweat! I wish I can get easy jobs like this one! Impressive special effects too! All that impacting and have not heard the compressor kick in once. You must either have it in the neighbor's back yard or it's a 300 gallon tank! :))

Eric, Thank you for the video, I were able to replace the ball joints successfully after watching your video. It is great to see that there are no editing to all your videos out there. You have just got me subscribed to your channel.

What you can do to avoid a lot of hassle next time is loosen the ball joint nut then break the joint loose from the hub using a balljoint fork or a heavy hammer on that part of the hub, then when the ball joint drops a bit you can get the nut the rest of the way off. This would have avoided the need to remove the axle and subsequently replacing it. You also could have replaced just the outer CV joint instead of the entire axle. As for those commenting on the amount of rust on the axle bolt, this is common when used in the winter on salted roadways. Another technique when removing and replacing the ball joint is heat the lower control arm with a torch until it's red hot, as it expands it will loosen it's hold on the ball joint and you can tap it with a hammer and it will drop out, then heat it again and the new ball joint will slide right in with a tap of a hammer or two, then when it cools down it will clamp on it like a vise and the snap ring will be added assurance that it doesn't drop out. You might also advise your customer that the right side ball joint was subjected to the same conditions as the left so it would be a good idea to replace them both together and since the new ones can be lubed they should last much longer if greased regularly. Enjoyed your video very much, it's nice to see someone sharing this knowledge on youtube. ASE Master Tech (retired)

Daymn! I've never felt so happy to be living in outerspace--I mean California. Seriously a 15 year old car looks brand new out here.

Eric I dont envy you at all for the crusty rusty bottom ends of those cars!!! Watching your videos reminds me to be thankful that I live in Tennesse!!!! Keep up the inspirational videos!!! Lol

as soon as I saw the part 1 and watch your intro ..I thought ..this is not going to be easy ...a 20 minute job ...not gonna happen :)... damn I love the rust you guys have

This driveshaft would have been easier to remove even if it was welded, you need a much bigger impact, something like they use shifting weels on trucks and trailers. But as always, you're the man with a lot of self-control when you in tremendous frustration didn't start beating up the car with that sladge hammer. Don't get me wrong, I love your videos and you have my full respect,(I have been there myself)

That was crazy. I do not see that kind of rust and corrosion in Central Florida. You did a great job. Thumbs Up.

Order a new bearing as well! Save the pain later. I felt for ya, rust is a pisser. Looking forward to part 2 to see the job out. Nice video Eric.

All that effort and ya ended up having to change the axle! That Sucks big time! Love that press looks good and beefy, well engineered. Can't wait to see part 2, hope there's no more surprises waiting for ya! I sympathize with ya with that rust, I live in Conn. and we get our fair share of rain, snow and salt along with the rust!

A good mechanic needs one thing above all else, patience!

Excellent work. I don’t even work on cars and I watched the whole video.🤣🤣 Satisfaction when, O...Something broke

I’m exhausted just watching your hammer work. God bless Arizona cars. Keep smiling.

Watching your videos makes me love living in Michigan even more.

as it says in the workshop manual ''simply remove ''

Didn’t really have to play with the axel like mentioned before, however if it’s a regular customer you just made it easy to do the wheel bearing if not made it easy for someone else great work!

I know this is an old video but I was looking for info because my wife's 1998 Dodge Caravan is pulling to the right. Any way I couldn't help but laugh thinking of you at 80 years old telling Vanessa "Look it Moved" lol

Another good video showing the reality of working on vehicles north of the Mason Dixon line.

ABSOLUTELY THEEEEEEEE MOST REAL LIFE / GENUINE REPAIR VIDEO ON THE INTERNET. SEVERAL TIMES I HAD TO LAUGH. BEEN THERE DONE THAT. TRYING TO FIX ONE THING--ONLY TO BREAK SOMETHING ELSE THATS EVEN HARDER TO REPAIR/REPLACE THAN THE FIRST .. I WOULDVE GIVEN THE CAR BACK TO THE WOMAN AND TOLD HER TO GO ELSEWHERE.. OR RUN THE DAMN THING OVER A CLIFF .. LIFE IS FAR FAR TOO SHORT FOR SHIT PROBLEMS LIKE THAT. THE ODD PART OF IT IS. THAT CHRYSLER KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN WHEN THEY DESIGNED THE DAMN THING... JUST AS FORD KNEW THAT FREEZING RAIN WOULD SLIP DOWN INTO THE DOOR HANDLE RODS INSIDE THE DOOR AND FREEZE THE DAMN THINGS IN PLACE-- WHERE YOU COULDNT OPEN THE DOOR UNLESS YOU POURED HOT WATER DOWN THE WINDOW.

I love these vintage Eric videos!