Remember that really poignant post I wrote about how getting the right tool is preferable to banging your head against the wall? This is about how you can still run headlong into that wall, again and again, even with the right tools laying, smoking, around you.

This happened while I was waiting on those sweet James Duff parts. To our delight, my wife’s son came to visit on a quick overnight trip. Since he was going to be here, we decided to put his 2004 Subaru on the lift to check out a weird “click” noise he’s been trying to figure out.

After some looking, we decided it was most definitely maybe possibly coming from his CV axle. Knowing our time was limited, we watched a couple YouTube videos on the replacement procedures. Even with a few expected bumps in the road, it seemed like we could totally replace the axle in the time we had.

Are you hearing the Jaws theme song yet? You really should be. Some of you may even be traumatized enough by past experiences to not want to continue. I’m sure most pro mechanics won’t even be phased.

All started well. Remove wheel. Pop off tie rod. Disconnect strut and a couple hoses. Minor run to Harbor Freight to grab an air wrench (yes, I’m ashamed to say I’ve never had one) so we can get the axle nut off.

Now, pop the axle out of the spindle with your thumb. Ok, give it a few whacks with the hammer, it’s probably a little stuck. How about some PB Blaster? Umm…here’s a bigger hammer. No? Then let’s torch it for a minute. Dang, let me dig out the slide hammer. More heat!

If it’s not obvious by now, this stupid axle was stuck in the spindle like…I don’t even have a good analogy. It had no business being that stuck. We finally disconnected the entire knuckle from the can and put it in the press. A couple failed attempts later, and we filed the hub with penetrating oil and let it sit overnight.

Returning in the morning, we went back at it. Pressure, heat, cold, force. I’m pretty sure making diamonds is easier. We even bent the beam on the 12 ton press. Let me repeat that. We put over 24,000 lbs of force on the axle, and it still would not separate from the spindle.

This is where the lessons in my previous post give way to new ones. Even when you have the right tools and a box of tricks, there will still be times when you will struggle and will be humbled. The key is to “take it like a man’’ and keep moving forward. You’ve been beaten, how do you move forward?

In our case, moving forward meant visiting two auto parts stores (well, three by the end) to accumulate the parts necessary to rebuild that side brand new. New knuckle, new hub, new ball joint, and yes, new stinkin’ axle.

On the bright side, by the time he went home, there was no more click. Worn out and tired, yes we were. But victorious.

Epilogue: Between writing this post and publishing it, we saw my wife’s son again. Turns out he was withholding the fact that, as he drove away from our house after our battle, the damn car “clicked” again. He was finally willing to tell us months later, which was probably smart. Also, he dropped that he figured out the problem was mostly like an HVAC fan or vent. Humbled again.