So I decided to pull the axles and replace them today. The drivers side removal was easy. Putting in the new one..not so easy. It's inserted and appears to be lined up, however the last inch it simply will not go in. I've tried just about everything but it's simply not budging and I'm not looking to actually trash any of the teeth by accident. Anyone have a clue what the issue might be? I've begun the passenger side, but that appears to be a bit of a cluster %$#% as well. I broke a 1/2 inch breaker bar and rounded out a 6 point socket on that side alone, but finally got the bolt off. The 3 bolts securing the axle were easy enough but prying it out simply isn't working. The two sections look fused and are quite rusty. I think I might end up having to remove the support bracket and separate them off the car. god willing i won't have the same issue reinserting the passenger side axle when it comes time. I stopped to watch the superbowl and will take another crack at it after work tomorrow. If anyone's got an tips/hints please let me know!

 

Make sure the little c-clip on the axle is lined up properly. If that doesnt work, get a flash light and look into were the axle goes and visually look and see if everything looks okay in there. I had a problem similar to this awhile ago, but yours wont even go in with the passenger side axle out.

A good tip, if you still have the original axles, measure the splined section on both and compare your findings. If they are the same size, try putting your old ones back in, if they go in, then try the new ones, if they dont, then return them.

About the bearing support bracket be careful i cracked mine when getting it out and didnt notice, then it broke when i was driving the car, and well im sure you know where it went after that. If you remove the whole bracket you can seperate it easier and you can visually inspect it of any cracks or anything that would jepordize the structural integrity.

 

good luck, i ran into the same thing...and got a shop to do it. anyhow, try this...put grease on the c-clip to center it and have the open side facing down and try to put it in.

 

Actually i heven't even gotten the passenger side out yet. I was hungry and decided to call it quits when it wasn't separating easily ( it's nice to have 2 cars, less pressure). cool, I'll try measuring the splines tomorrow. And just so i'm clear, the c-clip on the end of the shaft should match up with the area on the inside of the tranny that is essentially splineless right?

 

I did the drivers side axle in my car about two weeks ago I thought I had the same problem, what i found out is the axle will not butt up too close to the transmission, when it is all the way in you will still be easily able to put a finger in between the axle housing and the transmission, so about 1/2'' to 3/4'' of space in between. just check it if your not sure see if your wheel turns when your in gear, if you hear noise shut it off and hammer that crap.

 

hnmmm, ok, that makes sense I'll check that as well, but I believe i had a good 1/2 inch of room betwenn the brass seal on the shaft and the rubber seal on the transmission. At this point i'm thinking i must have the wrong axle or the axle was misaligned. I will definitely keep in mind that the shaft/and tranny don't buty up against each other. This almost makes me wish I'd just hit up Stephenmax to do the work.

 

well, im not sure if the length of the splined section is different between LSD and non LSD axles. but if you got a LSD axle for your non lsd tranny it might be hitting the passenger side axle causing it to not go in.

I had that problem. except when i did my axles i broke the bracket, and i didnt know the brackets for the auto/manuals were different, the auto bracket makes the passengerside axle sit in the tranny further. So when i replaced the tranny, my drivers side axle wouldnt seat correctly. I first assumed there was soemthing wrong with the axle, as when i first did it they sent me the wrong one mutiple times. So i got another axle did the same thing, so i swapped passenger side axle with another one i had lying around and it did the same thing, but when i removed the axle with the bracket i noticed it had an A on it. So i went out and bought myself a used oem axle with bracket, and it had a M on it. Put it in, and voila it worked.

Id advise against hammering the crap out of it. If shouldnt take more then a couple hits with a hammer to get it in, if you need to wail on it then there is something wrong. To quickly verify the axle is seated in, you shouldnt be able to pull it out by hand, you should need a pry bar and gently pry it out.

good luck man, you learn from experiences like this. I know i did.

 

On the driver side push/wriggle it in until the axle won't turn/spin. Then put the old spindle nut on it. Use about half of the spindle nut's threads. Hold up the axle as straight as possible then use a 3lb plus hammer and give it a good whack or two. If it doesn't go in after 1 or 2 whack then stop. Something is not lining up.

On the passenger side use a sharp flat tip screwdriver as a chisel and try to hammer (small hammer this time) the seams between the axle and the brace. Try to chisel at multiple points instead of one. I just did mine when I changed the clutch. That thing was rusted frozen. Took me about 20 minutes as I was being gentle and hoping not to damage anything. After it was out I had to use sandpaper on the brace and the axle to get all the rust out.

 

sounds good, thanks for the tip, hopefully I can get both axles done tonight. I miss my car, haven't driven it in to long...course i need to install my shifter as well though...

 

sounds exactly what happened when i tried to put a non LSD axle into my LSD tranny. Might wanna check that.

 

so does anyone know exactly how to tell the difference between the vlsd and non vlsd axle? I would hope Raxle didn't screw up and send me the wrong one. Just looking at the two axles side by side everything looked kosher. The only difference i saw was the lubricating grooves but that's nowhere near the splines.

 

raxle most likely won't screw up. I did BOTH the passenger and the driver. The passenger, yea, i had to take the mounting bracket off. Don't try to pull it off while its on the car. Its physically impossible as it was almost impossible while it was OFF the car.

As far as the driver side, i had the same problem. I put the old nut on, twisted, n used a hammer didn't work. Later on what i did was i didn't try to center the the circlip with WHITE grease. and then i used like a lil 2x4, placed it in the middle of my palm, n basically did a bruce lee thing to the axle. It miraculously worked. That worked for me...so.......u can try that

 

First, make sure the ring is not damaged. When you center it in the groove, you should see exactly half of its thickness hanging out all around. Gunk heavy grease all around the ring groove.

Now insert the axle and slide it in smoothly until you feel the ring stop it. Pull it back a bit and give it a good pop forward. If it doesn't go in, slide it in to recenter the ring and try again.

Dave

 

if you have a LSD (if u dont know try this) go put the car in Neutral, go over and twist the passenger side wheel, then go try to insert the drivers side axle...worked for me after a few tries

 

thanks for all the info fellas, the driver's side is installed now, the passenger side...not even removed. That damn support is absolutely fused with the axle. So i put on some penetrating lube the brace and the 3 bolts holding the brace in and I'm leaving it over night. Hopefuly when i get home tomorrow I'll be able to get one or the other off.

 

Get a chisel and a dremel with cutting disk. Use the dremel to cut a very shallow (1/16" deep) slit about as wide as the chisel, right along the seam. Now drive the hell out of it with the chisel and watch them come apart.

Dave

 

yeah that's something i was thinking about but was hoping to avoid that. The rust has actually eaten a good chunk of the axle section..the support oddly enough looks to not be so affected. I was hammering it fairly hard and the axle side support was just getting chewed up. It's a further pain because there is a bunch of oil fittings there in the way so that's what has me hesitating with the dremel.

 

To get the pass side axle out, I sharpened a chisel and started pecking it in a little between the two parts. I then moved it a little and did it again. Once I got it to seperate some, I used a bigger chisel, trying to not get it in too much of a bind. It will come out this way.

 

I mechanic friend of mine just did my axles between Christmas and New Years. Had a problem with my drivers side also . . . passenger side snapped right in, but the C-clip on the drivers side would not click, and we were able to pull it out easily. We double checked part numbers, and it was defiitely the correct axle, as I have non-VLSD and no ABS. Tried using the old c-clip and still a no go. After 20 minutes of tinkering, I figured it would be good enough. It was for 3 weeks, then one day as I was exiting the highway, it slipped out and I was stuck on the side of the road. I was able to pop it back in so I coukld get to work. We (my friend and I work together at a shop, so it worked out for us) took it apart, and measured the lenght of the splines, and the groove for the c-clip on the new one was milled about a half millimeter too short, which is why it wouldn't snap in. It was just a manufacturing defect. We brought it back and got a new one, same part number and everything, and the new one went in and "clicked" like it was supposed to.

 

If that's the case, then it shouldn't have slid in without the circlip. If you suspect the splines are an issue, take off the circlip and see if it fits.

I also learned once that you MUST have it clicked in. It might look like it won't come out, but it will. I got around the block and when I bumped the apron of my driveway it popped out. Nice 2qt streak of fresh expensive tranny oil on my driveway and garage floor. Make sure it's snapped in.

Dave

 

I have a similar problem my drivers side axel doesn't sit flush with the trans housing. There is about a 1/4 inch gap between axel and trans. I can see the oil seal. Is this normal. Or do I have the wrong axel. Don't have the old one to compare. Thanks

 

If it's clicked in, it's the wrong axle. I'm guessing you don't have it clicked in yet.

 

agreed, the driver's side, getting it in the last 1/2 inch are so can be hard. it doesn't slide right in. i got a deadblow hammer , screwed the nut on the end and simply tapped it in till i felt it click which took a couple min since I didn't want to bang on it to hard and i wanted to feel the click of the clip

 

Thanks guys, They sold me the wrong axel, exchanged it, all is well.

 

while on the topic of axles... where do you guys recomend i buy replacements? I know for my 1gen mx6, the autozone axles have a habbit of getting stuck in our tranny. - thanks.

 

sorry for the impatient bump - i need to know if its worth the extra $120 for a pair of napa axles vs. autozone axles. BTW - how much are Raxles?

 

Most people here same to go with Raxles it's what i did. If you've had trouble with autozone then don't go with them. I got them for 1 of my cars in the past and they didn't last very long, boots tore again within a year.

 

how much do the Raxles go for?

 

how do you know your axles are going bad ?? I got a clicking noise when I turn but the car still runs the only thing is tht when i drive the car i press the gas sometimes and the car doesnt move then it catches after does it have anything to do with the tranny how do you know if the tranny is going in a manual transmission car

 

thats sounds pretty bad - but maybe your axles are so far gone that they have developed slack. How long does it take till it catches?

btw - i just started my axle project and pretty much screwed up the first step. I broke the switch that you pull out to drain the tranny fluid. The plastic was so brittle that it just snaped as soon as i tried to pry it out.
Anyone know what the real name for it is b/c it looks like another trip to the parts store is going to be required...

 

wiggle it an jam it in it will go in u wont break it dont worry

 

??? I broke it taking it out - the sensor on the tranny.

 

I'm trying to avoid an awshucks. Raxles assures me I have the correct driveshaft for my 99 SE ltd (AT). I compared measurements with them over the phone (they have my core) it seems to check out. Pictured here is the current seating of the driver side shaft to the tranny. I removed the retention clip and could not get the shaft to move any deeper. It takes a good couple of tugs to get the driveshaft to release. The black body of the cv joint is about 1/4" from the tranny, while the silver flange covers the oil seal flange that protrudes from the tranny. I whacked the shaft to the point I am bottoming out on something (pinion shaft?).

Does this look correct?

 

its hard to tell - i want to say that it should be in further, but i do remember thinking to myself that "i think it should go in further." The only thing i can tell you is try to pull it out, if you can pull it out by hand, its prob not in.

I have a question of my own - after changing my axles i started leaking fluid from the passenger side of the tranny. I figured i damaged the seal while trying to put the new axle in since there is no way to support it while sliding it in, so i took the axle out and removed the bar that goes from the shifter to the side of the tranny (not the linkage but the 'stiffener' i guess you could call it). I manage to get the seal out and then replace it with one from napa ($17 b/c the dealer was out of them). Putting the seal in took nearly 30min b/c i had to slowly push it in from the other side of the exhaust(where the ring that holds the axle is), going around the seal many times to get it in evenly. I assemble it, this time being careful to slide the axle in nicely, and it still leaks

any ideas? Is the seal supposed to slide in till it stops? B/c i stopped tapping it in once the seal was flush with the case.

 

RKStan,
I've done the axles on two of my Maximas and I believe there was about a 1'4 inch of play in and out. As long as the snap ring is in you should be fine.
For those that are having a hard time getting the passenger side axle to fit into the bracket, try grinding a bit of material of the hanger with a dremel tool and make sure you grease that thing up good, use some No Seeze!!

 

Does this look correct?

Yes.