Good Evening Gentlemen.

I've made another mistake doing a fairly simple job.

Changing front dampers, which I've done succesfully in the past...I managed to pull the knuckle down and out too far and I found that after offering up the new damper, the top of the control arm was not anywhere near the top ball joint bolt.....discovered I'd managed to pull the axle out Inner CV end! Don't know if this is a common error...i did panic however because I have no experience whatsoever with the driveshafts.

So the axle felt like its been dislocated....tried best to slide back in.. but no luck,
the Inner Cv was still attached, but it felt wrong.

So i came online, basically I read the only way to get it back in is to remove Inner CV Boot, so I cut it off....

Axle then pulled out with the Spider on the end, with the rollers attached to the spinder legs....

along with all the ectoplasm

So... I tried to offer everything back up..hoping it would all slide back in...
its too hard.....
I'm trying to line up all 3 rollers into their grooves in the Inner Cv Joint Housing attached to the spider which is still attached to the axle... its not going in (axle still attached to hub.. don't want to try and pull outer end appart too)

So what do i do?

Would you remove the spider from the axle, put the rollers and spider into the joint housing on their own.. and then slide the axle through the spider??

I'm going to need a new CV Boot.....

I'll probably get the garage to do that...

I just need to get the car there.. ( about 5 miles )

What are the best steps to get the axle back in there
and what can i do to keep dirt out whilst i drive the car there....

if i can't get the bloody axle in...... I've got to try and get it tow'd by a low loader or something......its such a horrible feeling when things go bad..
I've made a lot of errors working on my car, due to the fact of my inexperience/lack of tools/lack of knowledge or help... does everyone start off this poor??! I am really grateful for this forum being here.

Please can you help?

Thanks Chaps

Laurence

 

I just did that to both of my axles yesterday. When I pulled out my old motor, someone separated the axles at the CV's instead of just pulling them out of the tranny.

Get a can of axle grease, a full box of rubber gloves, many many cans of brake cleaner, some safety glasses, a new CV boot, a CV boot strap kit, some needle-nose pliers to pull the CV strap with, and a few beers.

*This list is assuming the rollers got dirty. If they did not get any dirt or dust on them, and were stored out of dust's way, then forget about the brake cleaner, and maybe the grease.*

- Take all of the rollers off and start cleaning everything w/ the brake cleaner. Spray it all down, using the little straw attachment to get all the grease off. Clean out the axle ends and make sure everything's clean and gone.

- Allow everything to dry

- Regrease the rollers and work the grease into the little ball bearing things in the center. Sit them somewhere clean, and regrease the inside of the CV joint and axle ends w/ some grease.

- Put the rollers on one of the spiders, and stand that part of the axle straight up w/ the spider at the top. Position the rollers so the angled edge of them are pointing up and down. Sit the top of the other axle piece on top and set the rollers in the grooves where they will go. Just get them started into the grooves, b/c they aren't going to go straight in. Push the bottom of the rollers out, so that the top of them pushes in. Do each one and they will eventually pop into the joint half. Make sure the axle halves are lined straight up! When the rollers get into the axle, sit it down on its side and pack the bearing w/ grease. Then slide the new boot onto the end, tighten up the straps and set them, and you're done!

EDIT - I forgot that you had to cut your boot off. Without seeing an axle, I can't really say how the small end of the boot goes back on....

 

Hey fella...
ok... i can't understand the assembly bit...

the part that the spider slots into ( the cup.. or the "Inner CV Joint Housing " is still actually attached to the tranny....
the axle with the spider and rollers on the end is free that end..
but it is still attached to the steering knuckle/hub

attached wheelside, detaged transmission side.

For now thankyou mate, I think my friend OTT is going to send me a walkthru on this...
i'll be back as soon as i mess something else up...
i promise..

thanks for taking the time out to try and help me though pal.. appreciate it greatly.. i'll try my best to get it all clean before i put it back together.

CHEERS
LAURENCE

 

Well in that case, pry the axle halves out of the tranny and out of the hub assembly, because you'll have one HELL of a time trying to get it all done w/ everything still in the car!

 

A new axle is like $65 at most, and you get lifetime warranty from like autozone or Oreilys. Its worth the $65. Ive done this with both my axles when changing the clutch and once more just recently broke one and all you do is take it in and get a new one. Pretty slick.

 

True, they're like $65 each w/ core charge, but you have to wait a few days for them to get them in. THEN you still have to remove the old halves to get the new one in.The only thing he's not having to do is clean and regrease the ends and reattaching it all. So if he's willing to spend $100 more just to save 30 min's of time and $15 in parts, then let him go ahead!

This is where you learn more about your car and save money by doing the work yourself.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92LudeSI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">A new axle is like $65 at most, and you get lifetime warranty from like autozone or Oreilys. Its worth the $65. Ive done this with both my axles when changing the clutch and once more just recently broke one and all you do is take it in and get a new one. Pretty slick. </TD></TR></TABLE>

i did that with advance auto parts, but broke several of them in the same month and two in one weekend! advance didn't like me after that.

i went ahead and got an old axle from a junkyard, works like a charm now.