[sixfiveone]

Hi,

I am trying to replace my axles and after struggling with taking the axle out, I thought the hardest part was done. But I can't seem to get the axle all the way in because of the little ring. It's not as tight as the original part.

Any ideas what I could do to get it all the way in? If I take the ring off, the axle will go all the way. It's the driver side. I've tried to hammer it because the new axle has some indentations but it won't do it. I got the parts from NAPA.

Thank you for your help!

 

[Protech]

If you look at the ring (which is very necessary, by the way) you see that it has a gap in it so that it can compress when it slides in. Turn the ring until the gap is at the bottom. Then "glue" it in place with grease or Vaseline or such. As long as it is pointed down, it will slide right in with a few love taps. If it is anywhere else, the ring can fall down too far and lock the axle out. Took me a while to figure that out, but it will work every time.

Good luck!

 

[CorollaCharlie]

The above post is true. But what I've found works is taking the input side of the shaft and wiggling it as it goes in. I've had lots of luck with that method.

 

[sixfiveone]

If you look at the ring (which is very necessary, by the way) you see that it has a gap in it so that it can compress when it slides in. Turn the ring until the gap is at the bottom. Then "glue" it in place with grease or Vaseline or such. As long as it is pointed down, it will slide right in with a few love taps. If it is anywhere else, the ring can fall down too far and lock the axle out. Took me a while to figure that out, but it will work every time.

Good luck!

Thanks, I just have one concern..Is it safe to put grease on the axle when it goes in the transmission? The transmission fluid came out when I removed the axle which I know is normal so I am just worried about the two mixing?

Also by the gap do you mean the 'hole' of the ring? Sorry for the dumb question, foreigner here...

The above post is true. But what I've found works is taking the input side of the shaft and wiggling it as it goes in. I've had lots of luck with that method.

Thanks I actually tried that but I feel like it does not work because when I tap it, it gets "killed" by the inner boot who absorb the shock...

 

[CorollaCharlie]

Yeah that's what he means. It's fine if you use just a tiny dab of grease to hold it. The clip is never tight. I broke a clip one time and it fell inside the differential....hope to god its still ok.

 

[Protech]

Well, I think we're all talking about the same thing. The ends of the ring do not meet because the ring is not long enough (deliberately). The distance between the two ends of the ring are what I am calling the "gap." That should be pointed straight down.

If you are concerned about the grease, use petroleum jelly, although there is very little difference. The petroleum jelly will easily melt and mix with the fluid, so you would have about 1/4 of 1 oz mixing with about 7 quarts of ATF. Not enough to matter. As a matter of fact, whenever I assemble an automatic transmission I use PJ on that type of ring, thrust washers, orings, valves in the valve body, etc. There is so little it won't affect anything.

You don't have to use anything, but my experience has been that when you insert the shaft and tap it, the ring immediately slides around to the gap on top position. That allows the ring to hang down far enough that it jams and won't slide in where it needs to go, as you have found. You may need to examine the ring that's on there. If you have hammered on it enough, the ring may be distorted and causing a problem. Make sure that it will seat in the axle's groove all the way around and slide around easily. If it won't, consider putting the old ring on the new axle. When I insert the axle, I hold the stub axle (where it fits through the hub) and push like crazy on it to help compress the inner plunge joint. While pushing, I tap the end with a dead-blow hammer, but a heavy rubber one will do. It will almost always pop right in.

Let us know!

 

[1996ClaretCamry]

Yeah that's what he means. It's fine if you use just a tiny dab of grease to hold it. The clip is never tight. I broke a clip one time and it fell inside the differential....hope to god its still ok.

Silver lining: definitely not rusty!

 

[sixfiveone]

Many many thanks to you guys, Protech and CorollaCharlie. The axle finally got in! I ended up buying some grease to glue the ring and I hammered it from the end and it popped right in. I'll wait a little bit for the other side.. that was enough action for this week.

 

[sixfiveone]

Hi again,

So at first when I drove away the front tire was making some noise and it turned out the "rotors shield" was bent and was touching the rotor when I was driving so I hammered it back into place...But now I have a noise every time I go over a bump (I think a clunking noise). Any ideas what it could be?

Thanks!

 

[CorollaCharlie]

Make sure the axle nut is torqued properly. I don't know the exact torque but it should be near 200 ft. Lbs. You should also check the lug nuts.

 

[Protech]

Charlie is correct. You only had a specific number of bolts/nuts loose. It has to be one of them. Recheck them all, torque wrench is best. If not, err on the side of caution and tight the piddle out of everything with a 1/2" wratchet! I also am not sure of the torque on the axle nut, but I feel sure you can find it. Rent a torque wrench if you have to.

 

[sixfiveone]

Thanks for following-up, I really appreciate it.

So I found out where the noise is coming from. The top part of the front end link that is connected to the strut is loose. The thing is...when I changed the axle I removed way more things that I should have. I took off the whole strut and such. Most of the parts are super rusty since the car lived in Wisconsin. I could not take the top part of the end link off so I took the bottom one out. But turns out, I managed to loosen up the top part as well and did not notice.

Now the sad part is I can't seem to tighten it back because it is so rusty and stripped. Any ideas to tighten it? If it comes to worse, I think I might have to cut it and replace it with a new one. They seem fairly cheap on amazon.(https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-46G0...t_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3NAPXKZHH8WKJ33FSS4T) I would rather tighten the one I have if possible because beside the rusts on the bolt it still works good.

Thanks for any input!

 

[CorollaCharlie]

That's typical. They usually have an female slot for an Allen wrench or hex bit. I've had to cut hundreds of them even when not replacing them. The nut gets seized to the stud and spins the stud. I usually try a pair of vice grips behind the ear where it mounts before cutting. If that fails, the best method that I've found to cut is right down the middle of the nut, splitting it and the stud on half. Then compress the stud back together and push it out. Heck, I've had it happen on cars with zero rust on them even.

I know how you feel with regards to rust. Once I had a focus ZX4 come in with a rear lower control arm snapped in half. The subframe even had holes in it. I had to cut every single bolt out of that car...when I seen it I almost felt like saying I didn't want to touch it. But they got me a whole set of angle grinder blades along with paying me so it was worth it. There are two things that are imperative to have when owning a rusty vehicle. Patience, and money.