The Toyota Camry is a mid-size vehicle made by the Toyota Motor Company. The front wheels are equipped with two drive axles with constant velocity joints to allow the suspension to move correctly. The shafts require little to no maintenance, but the constant velocity joints and boots will fail over time. Although the joints can be removed from the axle and replaced, it is easier to replace the entire axle as a remanufactured unit. It will take you most of an afternoon to replace both axle shafts.
Drain the transmission fluid into a pan. Begin on the left hand side of the vehicle. Remove the wheel and tire assembly. With the special service tool or a drift punch with a hammer, unstake the staked part of the front axle hub nut. If you use a drift punch, be careful not to damage the axle or nut. Loosen the staked part of the nut completely. Ask a helper to hold the brake pedal while you use a metric axle nut socket to remove the axle spindle nut.
Disconnect the front stabilizer link by removing the nut that secures it to the shock absorber. If the ball joint turns as you loosen the nut, you can hold the stud with a 6 mm wrench. Remove the wheel speed sensor wire clamp from the shock absorber. Remove the bolt that secures the wheel speed sensor wire and the flexible hose as well. Remove the bolt securing the wheel speed sensor to the steering knuckle.
Remove the cotter pin and nut from the outer tie rod end. Remove the tie rod end from the steering knuckle with the special service tool or a small jaw puller. Remove the bolt and the two nuts that secure the lower control arm to the ball joint. Disconnect the axle shaft from the hub with a plastic hammer. Do not damage the axle boot or the speed sensor tone ring in the process. You can now move the steering knuckle outward so that you have room to remove the axle.
Place the small hook end of the slide hammer puller between the driveshaft and the transaxle. Deliver several blows outward on the hammer to pull the drive axle from the transaxle. When it is loose, remove it. Do not damage the oil seal inside of the transaxle.
Remove the drive shaft bearing snap ring from the drive shaft bearing hole. Remove the bolt securing the bracket and remove the right-hand drive axle from the drive shaft bearing bracket. Reverse the procedure to install the replacement drive axles.
