So here's the story. This summer July 24th 2008 I was on an internship in Petersburg VA and I had to have wheel bearing and a axle boot replaced at PEP Boys.. To make a long story short they recommended me replacing the axle so i did. After they installation everything it seemed like it was good. Now on Thursday Dec 4th 2008 @ 5AM I was driving home to help my dad and my car all of a sudden Tacked all the way to 8K and the Speedo went to 140 scared the SH** out of me cause i was only cruising around 65 - 70 MPH. I then pushed the accelerator to proceed to continue down the HWY, and she didn't move. I coasted to a stop and had her flat bedded home. When i got home I took the axle out to find that the end that goes into the Diff looked funny. To my amazement it seems that my axle has sheared off into my Diff and 1/4" of it is still in my transmission and i cant see it. help what do I do has this happened to anyone before and what do i do next. Im fighting Advance Auto Parts cause it seems that they sold me a faulty axle, ( it was a brand new one it wasn't a re manufactured one)

HELP

 

Tach went up to 8 grand? Shouldnt've.

Anyway, you're going to have to try to punch the remaining stub out of the diff. Going to be a PITA because the circlip is still in there as well, most likely.

Have you actually tried to fish anything out yet, or did you just post here first?

 

well the clip was sitting in the hole. the other part is nowhere to be seen. If i give it another try ill post pic of what i see inside the hole. and Yes i tried to feel around with a magnet

 

so the chunk that sheared off is floating around in your tranny? Not good times! you probably arent going to be able to get it out of there without taking the entire tranny apart. you might be able to get it out of the gear position switch hole at the bottom but most likely not.

Does pep boys warranty their work and for how long? pray you are still within the warranty period.

 

So you got the circlip out? Can you see straight through the diff?

The piece of axle really can't go anywhere, unless it's small enough to slip past the pin between the spider gears:


If it did that, then the chances of you ever getting it back with the trans in the car are slim to none. You'll likely have to drop the trans and crack it open to get the piece out.

Luckily, it's only a few bolts to get the front housing off, and the diff is right there. Not difficult to get to, really.

EDIT: I just measured a spare axle, and the end past the circlip is easily small enough to slip past that pin. Looks like you're going to have to pull the trans, but I'd spend a few hours with a magnet first. That will be hard because the entire diff is steel.

 

ok is this something i can do?? do i have to pull the tranny?? if you have some valuable info let me know and ill send you my number so we can talk about what has happened.

 

would this be a Faulty Axle?? Bad Installation?? or just plan Bad Luck??
The car has been fine since they installed it til now and i've put around 8-10K on it since then. so i would rule out back installation right??

 

You're an auto, correct?

Can you see the piece in the diff, or is it lost down in there? Get a good amount of light to look in there, it gets dark in there, hard to make things out.

If it's fallen down, and you can't get it out with a magnet (unlikely that you'd be able to, really, given that everything in that entire area is made out of ferrous material), then you'll have to pull the trans.

That should only take a couple hours your first time, assuming you have the tools to do it (which you should if you've pulled the axle, it really just requires a regular tool set, nothing special. If you have an axle nut socket, you undoubtedly have the tools to pull the trans). After that it's just a few bolts to pop off the front cover, and the diff is right there. Obviously you don't want to drive the car at all, even to move it around until that piece comes out. You'll just have to push it around.

 

man, those wheels.....so freakin heavy the axle cant even spin them without breaking! damn, it was a nice clean cut on that axle too. what did advance say about it? i dont think they can say anything cuz it has a lifetime warranty on it.

 

More than likely it was just a defective part, if it was a bad installation (not getting the circlip fully seated) you'd likely see some wear on the splines of the axle, or some metal shavings, etc. Given that it was seemingly fully seated (and you didn't mention fluid loss, so it had to be), my semi-professional (heh) opinion is a faulty part.

Granted, bad luck is a possibility as well.

 

Heh unless they complain about him not returning all of the axle

 

yeah so i guess i have a project on my hands. thanks man your giving me the courage to proceed. yeah i have the tools i doing a direct motor swap on a 91 camry now just dont have the time. im graduating college this Saturday. ahhhhh. HELP

 

man, ill do it for you. but its gonna cost you a pretty penny, probably near $1k in labor...im tired of messing with cars.

 

well yeah i have replace some axles in my days... LOL just never anything this bad. MaximaSpd85 u gonna help me??

 

Just so that EVERYONE is clear on this:
Kingjames made fun of me ALOT for not succeeding on my engine swap....then the next day he called me telling me about this! i'll just leave it at that.

 

thanks guys ill attempt this and keep everyone posted. anymore valuable info would be greatly appreciated.. (atleast your still moving Maximaspd85)

ALSO HAS ANYONE SEEN THIS BEFORE????

 

Dang that sucks! Hope you can get it back on the road soon. Good luck to you!

 

OUCH!.
Honestly, I can't just see this being a 'defective' part. Something locked up in the diff likely. Even if you could get the piece out, I'd STILL be pulling that thing apart.

Also, a key question that hasn't been asked.. is it a LSD or open diff?

 

Single spline axle, so open diff. You can see it broke cleanly off where the circlip is (past where the second spline would be).



Also given the way the axle sits in the diff, if the diff had locked up (though it didn't because he was able to coast to a stop) it would've stopped the motion of the entire axle, there's actually nothing connected to the stub of axle splines past the circlip.

 

^yeah I suppose you're right. Just seems quite odd to me that it would shear off completely at highway cruising speed unless it received a decent shock load. But like you said, if it locked up he wouldn't have been able to coast to a stop, didn't really factor that in.
Seems very strange, I can't see the axel just shearing for no reason, if you downshifted abrumptly or something like that, maybe.

 

Naw no crazy driving. i might have alot of strain. i have an Eibach drop w/ AGX KYB's and 20" wheels, BBK, and 1/4" spacers.......damn never really listed it out. that might be alot of stuff hanging out there. but on the other hand ive had all of that since 2006 with no probs.

 

UPDATE: still Fu**ed ight for those of you who are more familiar with the tranny. if i remover the pan (i guess) where u drain the fluid is there a chance i can get to where the piece may be. i desperate. Still waiting on advance auto and getting impatient

 

Not a chance. Completely seperate compartments. You'll have to drop the trans.

You can see here, from Aaron's pic:


The only place it can go is down into the bottom of that housing.

 

thanks man.. Project will begin soon will keep posting

 

im going to operate in the morning. im going to remove the tranny and crack it open. does anyone have any words of advise, pointers, and any special tools i might need to get, will springs come flying out??

 

No, once you take out the few bolts holding on the front housing, it'll just come right off. Nothing will come falling out really, just watch out for the diff...damn thing is heavy.

Make sure to remove the torque converter-flexplate bolts, you want to pull the trans and torque converter at the same time, not leave it on. Also while it's down, check the axle seals, now would be the easiest time to replace them.

Oh, and sand the mating surface between the bellhousing and the block, or you'll likely end up having some starting problems later.

 

damn thats a crazy *** story GL fixing it

 

Pictures coming soon i got the thing out just having trouble lining up the tranny to the motor. damn thing is heavy and wiggling it to seat seems to impossible. any pointers??

 

That's pretty much all you can do, is keep on moving it around trying to make it line up.

 

would it be easier to bolt up the torque converter first then put the tranny on?? how do i get the fly to line up with the torque converter?? whats the easiest method?
thank to pmohr you have been alot of help.

 

No, if you do that you'll never get the torque converter fully lined up to the pump, and you'll end up breaking something.

Just throw the trans on there, don't worry about the torque converter or bolting it to the flexplate until you've got a bolt or two in the trans to support it.

 

oh snap, james....i just thought about it. we got the chunk of axle out of there, but we never looked for the actual c-clip or whatever its called.hopefully it fell all the way down to the pan.

 

the retaining clip I got out already it was in the hole when i pulled the axle. But thanks for realizing now

 

after a few days of BlOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS i finally got everything back together. put in 6 qt and it still wants more . but now i have a code p1136 which wasn't there before and the car wont tack over 3K i thought it was my MAF until i pulled the code. any suggestions?? HAVING STARTING ISSUES AS WELL...

uPdaTE just pulled the plug wires one at a time and was able to come to the conclusion they all are functioning properly

 

Now I have code p0340... if anyone has some insight pm me and ill send you my cell #. this thing is getting out of hand

 

I don't know much about automatics but I did an auto swap, on a 1990 ford ranger, and when was doing the swap the guys on the forum warned me to make sure the tq converter was seated properly before re installing or it could cause problems like you are describing. Like I said I am not familiar with how auto trannys work, I am just throwing this out there.

 

cam shaft position sensor is what that points to.

 

I hope it is seated properly... DAMN cause i can hear a whirling typr noise coming from the tranny side

 

If the trans bolted up all the way, and the torque converter is bolted to the flexplate, and everything looks normal you should be fine. If the wheels move without a problem, same thing, should be fine.

 

yeah it does the car move and everything. everything is bolted up just gettin that code and i cant tack over 3K