TophSauce

I installed a passenger side half shaft about two months ago. I have been hearing a thud thud thud sound when going over bumpy roads. I popped the hood and was able to get some play out of the axle. Its up/down and side to side at the inboard spline. This was a brand new axle I picked up from autozone and installed in a driveway.

Did I need to replace the axle seal when I was replacing the axle? The driver side axle has no issues.

Yes I searched.

MadVladCivic

Was the half shaft equipped w/ a set ring on the tranny side? Are
you sure you got it seated properly in the tranny casing?

If there were no leaks around the shaft, replacement of the
oil seal is unnecessary.

TophSauce

There was a set ring on the end of the axle. I pulled out the old one, did a visual inspection on the old vs new to make sure they were the same. (length, spline count, etc)

There is a leak at the inboard shaft to the transmission. The play is what is most concerning. There were no leak marks on the transmission prior to replacement.

Seating - I got it lined up and used a hammer to tap it into place.

Emeraldbomber

Make sure your c clip on the axle is seating. If yes then your differential bearing could be worn.

TophSauce

what would be the best way?

I just went out to the car and there is about a 1/4 to 1/8th inch gap between the axle seat and transmission seal. I can move it with my hands very easily.

MadVladCivic

If you are leaking now, it could be due to the looseness of the half shaft
and not due to a failed oil seal.

You can actually work the inboard joint as you would a slide hammer.
Make sure that you treat the splines and the axle end (the groove
which holds the set ring) w/ tranny fluid. Next, treat the circumference
of the portion of the shaft that mates w/ the inner circumference of the
seal w/ a generous amnt of tranny fluid. Lube it up good.

1/4in gap is waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy too much. That's 6+mm.
The allowance is closer to 3.0-3.5mm. 1/8in is about right.
If its closer to 1/4in then it is likely that the set ring is not
locked into the casing. If you are dealing w/ a wider gap, the
leak is due to the wider gap and likely not due to seal failure.

When I did mine in June, I could just get the tip of a 12in prybar
inserted btw/ the tranny casing and the inboard joint. It was
approx 3.5mm thick. I was going to use an 18in pbar but the
tip was 5+mm thick--no fit.

TophSauce

I was able to get access to the half shaft, I worked the shaft like a slide hammer about 5-6 times. I checked the axle for tightness to the transmission, it was not tight. I was still able to manipulate it with the same amount of play. I was still able to move it in and out.

MadVladCivic

I just prepared a lengthy reply that was lost. I will reformulate
and re-post tomorrow.

X E Ryder

Is this one of those Cardone rebuilds?

You might have gotten a bad one, they do hundreds of them and the cores are inspected but... Maybe your core was one that was too far out of spec? Might need to swap it again.

Wiggle in the spines - there just is no other answer here if it is seated, yes?

MadVladCivic

If you were to separate the half shaft into two pieces, 1) the metal "cup"
on the tranny side of the inboard joint and 2) the trunion/shaft/outboard
joint, you could insert that metal "cup" component into the tranny casing
and due to the tight tolerances of the splines, both on the shaft end
and the receiving end in the tranny case, it would be held rigidly in place.
The set ring would lock it into the tranny. There should be no in-out
play or side/side or up/down play.

Did you recover the old set ring? Did it stay behind in the tranny?
Did you lube the splines and set ring groove? Did you lube the
circumference of the shaft where it contacts the oil seal?

From what I could see in the service manny, the half shafts
communicate w/ the differential assembly. So, maybe the
diff bearings are worn as noted by another poster.

Try these vids at youtube for lubing the inboard splines and
for actually getting the shaft properly seated in the tranny casing.
I will have to post from home tonight as I do not have the
addresses at work. If you go to youtube and search "Paul
Wyndham" AND "97 Honda Civic CV joint", the 13min vid will
come up. He puts in the shaft at about 6min.

MadVladCivic

Try these vids at youtube for lubing the inboard splines and
for actually getting the shaft properly seated in the tranny casing.
[/QUOTE]

Vid 1: (last 2-3 mins most appropriate)

Vid 2: