for the diyers who have done this before.. how do you get the axles back in all the way? do you use a mallet on it? or will that mess up the boot? what's the safest way to get these thing back in there?

 

ok, when i did this i had some major problems trying to get my passenger side axle in. After hours of F**king with it, I realized that the little metal clip near the end of the axles splines was not letting the axles go all the way in. I had to take it off and replaced it with a new one. You might be able to just re bend the metal clip but i don't know if thats the best way. Hope this helps

 

It is a little tough to get in. On the driver side all I did was make sure it was perfectly straight going in and it slip on pretty easy with a rubber mallet. The passenger side was more difficult. Again I just made sure it was very straight going in and used a rubber mallet on it. If its lined up straight it should go in.

 

If you HAVE to hit the Shaft, only hit it next to the tranny... Not the end all the way at the place where it plugs into the wheel hub. Take your time and be carefull

 

still unable to get this thing in all the way.

it lined up with the shaft but it won't slide in all the way (just 5/8 of the way). i kinda knew it wouldn't because when i took it out i used a chisel/hammer combo to pop it out. I can't push it in any farther and there is no where i can hammer it safely. by the way this is the atts side. the other side went in alright though.

 

hey lude97dude, you get it in yet?

 

nope

 

give it one hard smack, you won't break anything.

 

put some oil on the bastard then smack it in. it can take a while. but it will go in. that little clip is a bastard but very useful. good luck.

 

Grease the side of your axle, or the inside of your differential. Make sure you have the "teeth" lined up properly with the "teeth" of the differential. Do not go banging it like crazy with a iron hammer, use a rubber mallet. Another thing that is helpful is to grab the outer part of the hub and kind of pull it a bit then jam it forward... but not too hard, you dont want to **** your hub or boot up.

 

I used a plastic mallet that I got from the auto store. It worked much better than the rubber mallet.

 

I was always under the impression its always safer when you use a rubber

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GudeH23a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was always under the impression its always safer when you use a rubber </TD></TR></TABLE>
The helm's said to use a plastic one, so I went out and got one. The plastic mallet actually was damaged as I used it. The thing even started smoking. The splines didn't get scarred at all from the hammer and I only hammered in a way that compacted the joints.
The car has ran fine for several thousand miles and has been through some street racing as well, so I guess the axles are fine.

 

the reason its hard to push in is the snap ring that on the end of the shaft...the easiest way to do this is silde the axle in as far as you can, then pull out on the outer portion, you can see how far it will let you go, then push it back, the bearings inside will slide out, then when you push forward they slam against the back, thus pushing the axle in...ive replaced a ton of these and thats the easiest way, the very first time i tried to put on in my god it pissed me off, use the outside part, it will give you all the leverage you need, and i try to stay away from hitting anything with a hammer unless it pisses me off to the point where i dont care, which has only happened once so far, btw that was trying to get my cat off my original downpipe, after getting very irritated, i took it out into the front yard and beat it unmercifully with a sledge hammer until that bolt broke, incidentally thats the same cat thats still on the car to this day, lol..good luck

 

I agree with PreludeRacer023. Whenever I install axels, the knuckle is usually separated at the lower ball joint. I get the inner axel joint started, then put the outer joint through the knuckle, then just slide the knuckle back a little and give the knuckle a firm shove. The inner joint will collapse and the momentum of the knuckle will push it into the tranny/half-shaft when it bottoms out. Works like a charm for me.

 

someone should put pics up so we can actually see

 

still unable to push this thing in all the way. what a major pain! i'm beginning to think it's gone in as far as it could. seem too easy though and the gap looks clean not dirty like if it was exposed all the time. i've provided a picture below (and link if the picture doesn't work) for those of you who might be able to identify whether it's good or should be pushed in more. thanks again guys..

http://www.rookieyear.com/images/axle.jpg

 

You just have to kind of move it around slowly until it does fall in all the way. Mine would do this sometimes, but it just took time for the groves to match up and fall into place....