I got to work on my drive side axle today i started at about 4:30-5 by 5:30 the axle was out and installed the new seal no biggie(who ever did those axles the last time did not torque down the axle nut correctly, it was rather "lose" compared to that pass. side), i had changed the pass. one about a week earlier it was no problem only some rusted bolts. from about 5:30 till about 9 ive been trying to slide this thing back in and i cant get this POS to go in, rubber mallet and piece of wood isnt working, rage hasnt helped either. what to do?

this is a 5spd with a VLSD

 

there is ring on the end of the axle, make sure its not blocking it from going back in.

 

Did you dab some grease on the circlip to hold it centered on the axle? That usually helps while reinserting the axle into the tranny. Is the clip still round and not bent?

 

lemme go out and check the ring, i didnt put any grease on it. i was expecting it to be just as easy as the pass. side.

 

just make sure that thing is good and seated in there, otherwise it will pop out when you're not expecting it.

 

it was that damn ring on the axle, i had to take the strut off to get the axle in, thanks for the help

 

You didn't remove the circlip, did you?

 

man dont tell me i have to pull this axle off again

 

You can't just remove bits and expect things to work as intended. Given that the one and only purpose of that circlip is to retain the axle in the diff, and that without it you will end up trashing the axle splines (and as a result, most likely the diff from metal debris)...

Whether or not you deem it necessary to correct is up to you. For the sake of future repair costs, I'd highly suggest it.

 

why would you take that circlip off??!!!!????!!!! hopefully you still have that circlip or you didn't destroy that circlip when you took it off. The driver side is a ***** to get it on somethings. But like people said. Make sure the circlip is in the center as much as possible. It wouldn't go in for me either, so i used a small 2x4, put it in the palm of my hands and just hit it as hard as i could. But you NEED that circlip.

 

****! I hate this ****en car. i still have the one of the old clip thats undestroyed, ****

 

where did you buy that axle???? was it at napa or autozone or pepyboys or what not??? if so, take it off, and bring it back to them saing that there is no circlip and you just found that out after you tried putting it on and get a new axle. Or go buy the circlip.

 

I realize this like like beating a dead horse (queue graphic ), but that circlip is what keeps your axle inside your differential. I got an axle where the snap ring was too small and it wasn't staying. Long story short, a few months later after it had worn the teeth on the final drive nice a smooth, it wouldn't stay in anymore and I spent 1200 dollars getting the final drive unit replaced. So yeah, up to you... put that clip back on, or pay 1k+ later. If it's that terrible, take it to a shop.

 

I never found it that hard to squeeze the clip a bit before putting the axle in. That almost sounds sexual. Must have weak hands from all that office work :P I would just try and press the clip in as good as a can and someone above said to put a little grease on there to help it. No need for too much force unless she likes it.

 

looks like i have another axle project for next weekend.

 

The circlip has always driven me nuts. This is the technique that finally got it working for me:
grease the circlip well. Center it on the groove in the axle. Slide the axle in slowly until it stops. Then pull back a bit and slam it forward hard. (No hammers, just by hand). If all goes well it will pop in and lock. If not, pull it out and reset the circlip again.

Dave

 

Wow, i feel like this was everyones weekend to work on an axle. This is like the 3rd thread I have seen. I Worked on mine today and gave up after 5 hours of impossibly rusted bolts. Buying an air compressor and new tools tomorrow ftw.

 

did mine last weekend! had my friend/mechanic do it for a 12 pack of beer after

 

So, Crusher, did you get it fixed?

 

yea the axle went in the next morning, had to remove the strut to get more room to push it in. the boot tore thou so im going to take it out clean&regrease it and get a new(hopefully stronger) boot on their. hopefully it doesnt take me 2 days like the last time lol

 

passenger side does not have a ring. Use some needle nose pliers and squeeze the circlip as tight as you can around the axle it should go in.

 

yea i was doing the driver side, just like the title says lol

 

i did mine yesterday...the strut has plenty of play ...you can pull most of it back ...its easier with two people though...one to pull the strut back and the other to slide it in