andoneA32

Hey guys, I have a 99 ES 5spd.

I was on the highway going about 120kmh when i lost power, almost like my clutch doesn't engage anymore. I can still limp at about 5km/h though, and i can shift thru my gears fine. When I was at the side of the road, I was losing a lot of gear oil, which is why I don't think it's the clutch. I did have a slow leak before, but this was 10x worse. I also keep slipping to an absolute minimum, and it wasn't slipping before it happened, so I don't think I burned the clutch. Could an axle popping out/failing do this? Could diff bearing failure cause this? I towed it to work but I haven't gotten a chance to look at it because the shop is closed today. I also go to school so I need it for that.

tl;dr - loss of gear oil, loss of power. Can still shift. Clutch? Diff bearing/transmission?

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

sounds like a leak somewhere obviously and the clutch could have crapped out. you would have to see where the trans is leaking, look at the axle seals

Derpington

Check the trans case halves, mine leaked after a rebuild causing similar symptoms. Difference was i could only shift into 5th and reverse and when i let the clutch out with the shifter in gear or in neutral the car would lurch forward as if i stalled it.


Best of luck.

andoneA32

The leak is coming from my passenger side axle. I think its popped out. Idk what would cause that though. Is there a carrier missing? The problem being the axle explains why I can still hear the gears moving in reverse even though the speedo goes up and I go nowhere. If it was a clutch, the power wouldn't get to the tranny in the first place.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

possibly the wrong axle was installed. one time i replaced a transmission on a I30T, someone months beforehand installed the incorrect axle and it completely chewed up the splines on the transmission and the car wouldnt move

andoneA32

looking more and more into it, I don't even think i need the whole axle. I tried moving the axle in+out and couldnt. my boots arent torn or anything. I might just get the inner joint assembly (39126). I'm just wondering what would cause it to pop out. I've had the car for 7 months and never had an axle issue. Axle nut/cotter pin is fine, just randomly disconnected itself from the diff side. Just hoping that a bracket of some sort holding it to the diff came loose/failed and that's it. Hopefully its nothing internal to the trans.
Has this happened to anyone else?

jholley

iTrader: (13)

As earlier stated you probably inserted the wrong axle. The passenger side axles for LSD trans are 1" longer than the axles for non LSD trans. Living in Canada you most likely have a MT with LSD

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

this guys got it. LSD were more common here, any 4th or 5th gens we order axles for at work its usually a nightmare getting one the correct length. probably half the time the axle pops out from being incorrect

andoneA32

Didn't know the passenger side axles were different. I was under the impression that only the drivers was a little bigger in diameter. Yes I have LSD seeing as its an ES, and the plate on my firewall says rs5f50v. Maybe I need the whole axle after all. Just find it wierd that it would take this long to pop out if it was the wrong one.

jholley

iTrader: (13)

If you have the PN of the current axle you can verify if it was a LSD or a shorter non-LSD axle.

When inserting a new axle don't forget to replace the inner seal. A worn seal will cause slow leaking.

andoneA32

Pulling the trigger on a new shaft + seal. I'm hoping that's all it was. Should be in tomorrow.

CS_AR

Are you going to Do It Yourself?

andoneA32

With some help from a friend yes. I don't have the tools lol

CS_AR

I borrow an axle socket set from Advance Auto when I do the job. Over three 4th gens, I've replaced five axles so far.

There are two ways to remove the US passenger side axle. One is to remove the carrier bracket from the side of the engine, the other is to remove/release the axle from the carrier bracket. On my first axle job, it was on my 95 Maxima that was an Ohio car with a reasonable about of rust. On that car I had to soak the area in PBlaster and use a chisel to separate the axle from the carrier bracket. Let me see if I have some pictures so you size up the effort associated with the passenger side.

Here's a slideshow from my first replacement job on the 95 model where I removed the axle from the carrier bracket.

I've done the axle job both ways.. I guess it depends on the car as the way I would approach it if I need to do it again. You might use the slide show to decide which approach is best for you.

http://s286.photobucket.com/user/Rid...e_Shaft?sort=9

:
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andoneA32

Those are gold man, thanks. Having already done a drivers, this seems pretty straight forward, only thing different being the carrier.

yellow_cake

Are you getting an axle through the dealer? New or refurbished? How much?
Sorry, I'm asking as I too have a 5MT VLSD with a torn boot on the axle since I got the car.

jholley

iTrader: (13)

Having already installed that wrong sized axle then separating that axle from the bracket should be easy.

When I replaced my OEM passenger axle after 90,000 miles I had to chisel it with great force after soaking it with PB blaster for days. Installing my 2nd aftermarket passenger axle last summer was much easier.

andoneA32

Getting a new one thru Napa for $80.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

make sure you get the right one from them, we use alot of Napa stuff at work and 4th/5th gen axles are a nightmare to get the proper ones sometimes

andoneA32

Yeah we use their parts too. Only reason I'm going thru them is cause I get their parts at cost. Made sure to specify 99 m/t LSD abs so we'll see...
I'm already mad seeing as I ordered it on Monday and its not coming in till today even though he said Tuesday.

Nealoc187

iTrader: (23)

there is no difference in passenger side axles between VLSD and open diff transmissions. the difference is driver's side only.

Wolcottmax1

When I was losing alot of gear oil it was due to the cv axel slipping out of the transmission. The drive axel was not ble to click in due to the spine being worn down and the clip on the axel not having anything to click on to. When I had the cltch replaced, I had the tranny rebuilt at the same time to fix that issue.

andoneA32

Got this somewhat sorted out now. My axle came out cause my bracket bearing snapped off the block, thus letting the axle sag and fall out. Bought the bracket at the dealer. Don't want to tell you how much I paid for it. Coming in Monday. Gonna keep the new axle in case I need it, if not it's getting returned. I just hope the tranny splines aren't toast or I'm done with this car.

JoshG

tell us prices, it helps.

andoneA32

$179 + tx

yellow_cake

If you do install the Napa axle, do tell us if it works fine (ie, no vibrations).

It's probably too late to say this but limping the car with the one axle popped out is not a good idea, mostly because it will ruin your VLSD as it's basically trying to power the car through one wheel.

andoneA32

My vlsd already doesn't work. I also haven't limped it anywhere. It was towed to work where it has sat for the past week and a half.