can't find definitive info in my helms

before putting the axles back in do you need to clean the splines with solvent to make sure they are clean or do you need to put a little grease on them ?

i had my axles out of the car for awhile so i put some motor oil on the splines and covered them up with a plastic bag (supposedly the appropriate way to store) so now I'm wondering if i have to clean the hell out of them before popping them in.

helms is quite confusing with regards to explaining this...bad diagrams

 

I haven't ever cleaned my real seriously before putting them back in, but I've only had mine out for less than 3 days before. It seems like I've heard before to grease them and then re-install them. I don't know that cleaning them is necessary.

 

anyone know for sure ?

 

ive only ever cleaned them off with a rag... never with solvent.

 

i replaced my axles the other day and didnt clean them

 

Well I just clean the end of the axles that goes into the trany with solvent or brake cleaner and dry it and then with your fingers use some new trany fluid and lube the splines and and snap ring and then I always clean the other end of the axle that goes in the wheel hubs, and then put a light coat of grease in the splines of the wheel hub and that should be good so no rusting takes place.

 

alright cool, looks like im going to clean them and then mainly follow haccords method just to be safe...kind of tedious but prob worth it

thanks everyone

 

I had an axle laying around for a month before I put it back in the car. Never bothered cleaning it or lubing it. Just make sure that you don't pour water all over them or get them dirty.

 

I would clean them and grease them a little before putting them back into the hub. This would make it easier to take out next time, esp. if you live somewhere where rust is a problem.

 

fwiw i finally found this in helms, it says to lightly grease the splines and then clean out every 3rd spline to allow air to escape if necessary

 

lube it up, itll be easier to put in/out without alot of hassle.

 

lubing is an ok idea if you plan on removing them, but I didn't put anything on them, just wiped them off.

If you're installing new axles then you may want a little of the fluid (AT or MT, per tranny) on there before the install.