To make a long story short, friend came over yesterday and helped me swap a broken axle in my CRX. Drive it about 30 miles or so last night ... everything worked fine. This morning, I got in and got less than a quarter mile from the house and the car quit moving again. Pushed it home and got it up on stands to discover that the axle was not in all the way and I left a nice trail of tranny fluid in the road. I could have sworn we got it in all the way last night. Apparently not far enough as it seems to have worked itself loose.

So I loosen everything again so I can apply the necessary straight-line force to push the axle in... and spent a couple of HOURS trying to get it to go in. I simply can't get it to go. I've searched and read several axle-swap writeups but everything (including the factory manual) seems to really gloss over the "Install the new axle into the differential" part. That's about as many words as the Helm manual dedicates to the subject.

Any ideas why I'm having so much trouble? Any tips to get it to seat all the way in?

 

i just grease it up and pop it in
a few times i've had to wiggle it or shake it but it went in
you'll hear kind of a click once it seats right

 

big ******* hammer is sometimes necessary.....

but usually not

 

Did your new axle have an axle clip at the end to lock it into the differential?

 

It did have a clip.... but I can't get it to go in far enough for it to lock in place.

The farthest I've gotten it in, there was still a good inch between the big round body of the inner joint and the transmission casing.

In regards to hitting it with a big expletive hammer, where exactly do you apply the force? On the outer end of the axle? I've only got a basic carpenter hammer... I don't think that qualifies as "big expletive".


EDIT: I'm out of posts for the day... but thanks Joon... I'll try that in the morning. I started to try it once or twice, but got nervous that I would break something.


Modified by JettCRX at 9:17 PM 7/9/2006

 

what i do, is disconnect the spindle and with the spindle hammer the axel in, like pull the spindle out, and push it in continuosly till the axel goes in, works for me all the time

 

if its a rebuilt axle. chances are the splines were fucked up at the factory...
go get another

 

I'd pull it out and try put it back in wiggling and shaking it.. Iwouldnt hammer it in or force it too bad you might mess up the splines

 

Happened to me, It was the refurbished ones from autozone, The splines were all wider than oem. So i had to get a file and thin them out, Autozone didnt have anymore. Never use a hammer

 

Alright... problem resolved. These were also refurbished units from Autozone. The splines didn't look any wider than they should have been, but upon closer inspection, the little spline section on the outside of the retainer clip were slightly offset from the longer section on the inside... they didn't line up right.

The inner teeth were gouged from trying to be forced in. Autozone took one look at it and said "whoa that doesn't look right." No kidding? Pulled a new one down off the shelf and it was much better ... had a beefier retaining clip too... which may be why we managed to get the first one in (somehow) and it popped out? Dunno.

At any rate, it's back together. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

try talking dirty to it.

 

i got an axle from car quest and i couldnt get mine in either. looked at the end that goes into the tranny and it was dented in not allowing the retainer clip to go flush. and there was an X on the end of the axle... so i took it back and got a new one. i think anything that has an X on it is probably a bad part and should have been thrown out or something. did you notice an X on it anywhere?

 

Honestly no... but wasn't really looking for one either.

 

some times its just a bitch to get them in. one time it took five minute or less to get one in and one time it took me an hour on the same axle when I replaced the front right wheel bearing. just keep cursing it will go.