Sunkenkarma

Long story short, I picked up a B18B1 EF Hatch, only about 10 minutes from my house. Went and saw it, loved it, drove it, and bought it. It has a few things that need replacing, like the mounts, im not sure if they are bad, or just super stiff, but it rattles the whole car. Its pretty low, not SLAMMED, but low. Im going to raise it 1'-1/2' tommorow. I noticed on the way home, that if you shift and let off the clutch pretty quick, it kinda slams into gear and does not feel too nice, chalked it up to the mounts. Coming down my street, almost home, on my road, I shift into 4th, and I hear and feel it, the feeling of a broke axle, revs went up, I turned the car off and coasted into my driveway. Looked under, and sure enough, axle is in 2 pieces. Called around, got a 91 DA Axle, came home and went to work. Yesterday went fine, I drove it all day, until I did a U turn near my house. Heard the pop again and I quickly depressed the clutch pedal because I thought it happened again, and I didnt want to break anything more than it was. Pull off to the side, look under, axle still there, OK. Decide to limp it home. Its kind of loud so I couldnt hear anything while accelerating, but when slowing down, I hear click click click, slowing down as the car slow and you can feel some vibration. I get home, decide to feel around and the part of the axle that connects to the midshaft, inside the rubber, I can move around. Not well, but It didnt feel like that when I installed it.

Sorry for the life story, just trying to get my message clear to avoid a billion questions xD. Its currently in the driveway while I try to figure out the issue. I have come across a few things it could be, but not sure.

-Wrong Axle.(I did get an ABS one, but some people say its still ok to use)
-Motor/Trans mount is screwed.
-Too low.
-Something about having to remove a dust shield from the back of the EF Knuckles.
-Ball joints.
-Alignment.

I am no mechanic, so any help would be appreciated. Me doing the axle was about the limit of my skill. Sorry for the huge run on aswell, Im on mobile. Thanks for the help people!

2x0

Try 86-89 teggy axles. They are about 1/2" shorter on the passenger side, and 1/4" on the driver's side. This could help prevent them from binding. I get the new Cardone axles from Rock Auto for about $45 each.

Make sure the axles are seated in all the way. Takes a good bit of force.

Make sure it has the correct intermediate shaft. There are two versions, the SK7 and SH3 which is stamped on the part that bolts to the block. I believe you should have the SK7. Can't remember which one is shorter.

Otherwise, depending how bad the mounts are, if the engine is moving around enough it could put added stress on the axles. Or possibly the diff is bad.

Sunkenkarma

Weirdly enough, it seemed like the DA axle was a tad too short, felt like I didnt have much space to tighten the axle nut, but its on good. I havent been under it yet and itll be raining the next few days. I for sure seated it right, it clicked in and wouldnt come out easy when I pulled on it. The mounts are just dumb solid, the motor doesnt go anywhere If I try to move it. Could be the trans mount, but who knows. Im going to O'Reily's today and getting another, I got an autozone one at first, and now I cant trust it! I have high hopes that its just the dust sheild on the back of the knuckle that I need to remove, I can pray =D.

Sunkenkarma

I'm guessing this is the root of all my problems? 4 driver's side axles later. This is the trans mount. Any clue how to fix this? Take it to a shop and get them to weld it? Would this be the cause of all my problems?