I installed a Quaife a while ago in my b-series cable tranny (forget which one, want to say S1, but don't remember for sure). I recently noticed it started grinding a bit going into gears, so I put my car on a lift to check the tranny fluid. What I found was that my passenger side axle was popped out just past the point where the axle seals against the seal, allowing pretty much all of my tranny fluid to drain out. I figured the clip on the end of the axle was possibly worn, as the axle wasn't particularly new, and I'd installed and removed it a number of times from a previous integra I'd had. So I picked up a new one, the clip did seem a bit springier, and installed it, it seemed to stay in. I just checked it today and it's popping out as well. What seems to be the issue is that the splined end of the axle isn't long enough for the clip to reach the groove in the quaife. The axle slides in and out pretty easily now, and doesn't seem to actually clip in. I just checked briefly at autozone and they list the same part number for all integras, 90-01, without abs. I assume the with abs axle just has the necessary abs ring on the outer end. Has anyone else had this issue, or know of an axle that will fit with a longer spline on the inboard end? I'm going to try calling quaife later today to see if they can give me any info on why this keeps happening.

 

The clips don't hold the axles in at all. You can even remove them if you want. I've run axles with no clips before because they don't like sliding in/out of my OBX LSD.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spikius &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What seems to be the issue is that the splined end of the axle isn't long enough for the clip to reach the groove in the quaife. The axle slides in and out pretty easily now, and doesn't seem to actually clip in. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That doesn't matter. The hub is the only thing that holds the axle in. If the axle is popping out, then either you have the wrong axle, or the hub is somehow shifting axially away from the transmission.

 

The hub does hold the axle in, but what i'm talking about is that the axle is sliding just far enough out of the transmission so that the seal doesn't seal, and it's not an issue of the seal being too far in, it's sliding about a 1/4" past, which is further than the seal could ever be. There is that much play typically in a CV joint, at least on the ones I've seen, as they have to be able to pivot freely when turning. I did pull the axle out again tonight, although I was at a friend's shop, and all he had to measure was a crappy tape measure, but it looks like the clip is about 1/16" away from actually clipping into the groove in the differential. I put a little paint on the edge of the differential to see if the stepped section of the axle actually contacts the differential, and it does, so I think that would indicate the differential is not shimmed too far into the tranny. I tried stretching the clip a bit as well to see if maybe it was just too compressed/small to adequately clip into the groove, but that didn't do it either, although it did increase the amount of effort required to slide the axle out by a little bit, but I can still pull it out by hand pretty easily. Anyone have any suggestions as to what to do or run into this problem before? I was thinking of maybe using the temporary green loctite to help hold the axle in, I've seen it used on taper shafts to help with the connection, and since there isn't really much force pulling on the axle, it might hold, and still be removable, anyone ever try anything like that?

 

Eh. I've run without the clips before, no problem. And I believe the aftermarket axle companies (like DSS) don't use the rings at all. Even without the clips, with the wheels fully turned at max suspension travel, the axle shouldn't pop out. That's how they are designed.

Sounds like maybe a diff. problem. If you originally had the bearing clearance set too large, the entire differential assembly would have violently shifted laterally during torque reversals which can pound in the bearing races and/or warp the trans. case. Can you detect any side play in the diff. assembly?