Axle seems stuck?, In-out play is reduced Options

[HectortheRican]

So just finished installing the front LCAs with poly bushes and everything is going fine, until I try to reinstall the driver side upright. It seems like the in-and-out play of the axle is vastly reduced, like something is obstructing movement within the boot.
This issue is not letting me reinstall the upright because I cannot get it to reach the installation points. Either I bolt it to the strut knuckle and I can't swing it into the ball joint mount, or I bolt up the ball joint and I can't get it to the strut knuckle. The passenger side went in just fine.
Any ideas?

[HectortheRican]

Here's a picture of the driver side axle when I had first removed the upright.



Now here's a picture of it currently - that's the farthest back it goes now.


The axle is butting right up against the oil seal on the tranny side, so something is for sure blocking the tripod from going in its slot within the inner CV boot. Is there anything I can do to get it in there, or am I going to have to remove it all? I just don't understand what happened - I was very careful about not over-extending the axle while I worked.


Bonus pic, here is the pass. side axle - totally normal.


This post has been edited by HectortheRican: Oct 22, 2016 - 5:04 PM

[slavie]

If you over-extended the outer joint and it slipped out of the cup, you should be able to slide it back in. When you rotate the cup, does it firmly rotate the shaft? Also, when you slide the cup back and forth along the shaft, it should feel like it's sliding in tracks (which it does normally). What I'm trying to say is, you should be able to easily tell whether your rollers are in the cup or not, and there's a firm stop when you fully compress the boot and butt against the end of it.

Don't forget to check the tranny side joint as well.

Finally, make sure that the shaft goes all the way into the hub - sometimes with enough rust you may have to pull it in with the axle nut to seat it all the way.

Hope this helps!

[HectortheRican]

If you over-extended the outer joint and it slipped out of the cup, you should be able to slide it back in. When you rotate the cup, does it firmly rotate the shaft? Also, when you slide the cup back and forth along the shaft, it should feel like it's sliding in tracks (which it does normally). What I'm trying to say is, you should be able to easily tell whether your rollers are in the cup or not, and there's a firm stop when you fully compress the boot and butt against the end of it.

Don't forget to check the tranny side joint as well.

Finally, make sure that the shaft goes all the way into the hub - sometimes with enough rust you may have to pull it in with the axle nut to seat it all the way.

Hope this helps!

I'm trying to feel for the tripod's channels, but I can't really find them.
If I rotate the shaft, the entire axle rotates firmly, but I haven't tried rotating from the cup.

When I compress the shaft, it feels like there's an obstruction at the cup face which isn't letting the tripod rollers in. The firm stop comes sooner than it should. The passenger side axle feels 100% normal when I compress - the tripod is definitely in its tracks.

Everything is fine on the tranny side - the axle sits firmly and solidly against the tranny and the oil seal. So nothing wrong there, presumably.

The shaft goes all the way into the hub - I had the axle nut tightened to the hub face, but not torqued to spec yet.

[Bitter]

If the inner joint was over extended and it dropped one of the bearings it could jam it from going back in all the way, may need to open the boot and take a look inside. The outer joint only moves around in a circle, not in and out like the inner one, so the issue is likely the inner joint.

This post has been edited by Bitter: Oct 22, 2016 - 9:31 PM

[slavie]

I'm trying to feel for the tripod's channels, but I can't really find them.
If I rotate the shaft, the entire axle rotates firmly, but I haven't tried rotating from the cup.

When I compress the shaft, it feels like there's an obstruction at the cup face which isn't letting the tripod rollers in. The firm stop comes sooner than it should. The passenger side axle feels 100% normal when I compress - the tripod is definitely in its tracks.

Everything is fine on the tranny side - the axle sits firmly and solidly against the tranny and the oil seal. So nothing wrong there, presumably.

The shaft goes all the way into the hub - I had the axle nut tightened to the hub face, but not torqued to spec yet.

It should go in freely. Maybe you already over extended it and then put it back in the "wrong" channel? It should go in either way, but maybe an odd wear pattern has developed and the axle will only slide back into the cup the same way it was originally? Just a thought. Mark your current location on boot and shaft, and see if you can rotate the cup and insert the shaft in a different position.
Unless your CV axle is toast, nothing would come apart just from over extending it, as all the rollers inside are held with snap rings.

[HectortheRican]

The same thing happened to my pass. side axle, but I was able to slip the tripod back into the inner races with zero issues. So now I'm even more of a loss as to why the driver side axle is giving me such a hard time. I absolutely cannot get it to slide back in.
I think I may just have to remove the axle completely and get a boot replacement so I can actually see what's going on inside. This is too aggravating

[HectortheRican]

I've got the inner CV joint apart right now and everything looks healthy. Nothing broken and no blockages. YET the tripod still will not slide into the tulip!! There is nothing in the way...
If I can't figure this out soon, I may just buy a new LH axle. This is ridiculous.
Each bearing is seated perfectly on the tripod, all snap rings are in place, and nothing is blocking the channels within the tulip. This is truly a mystery.

[slavie]

So what you're saying is that the axle will not slide into the tulip no matter how you rotate then one to the other? That is strange indeed.

I have an axle with a torn boot (spare one, of course) and I can insert it into the tulip no problem.

I guess if you're ready to write it off and get a new one, try to take apart the one you have and rebuild it to spec - maybe you'll find whatever popped out or something.

That axle grease is nasty stuff....

[HectortheRican]

Yeah, unfortunately. I went out again today to clean all the grease off completely and start measuring to see if there are any discrepancies. I could not find a single one. Theoretically it should fit... but it doesn't. I am so confused. I'm torn between trying to rebuild it or just buying a new axle. I'd love an OEM qxle, but I don't have $450 to blow right now.

This post has been edited by HectortheRican: Oct 25, 2016 - 5:44 PM

[SwissFerdi]

Have you compared it side-by-side with the old axle? I had problems getting a good one, only NAPA through Carquest had the right one.

[HectortheRican]

I tried one last time to try and get the **** thing to go into the tulip, and voila - I found the magic angle.
Me being the masochistic monkey that I am, I removed it again to try and figure out why that was the only possible angle for entry. I got my calipers out again and found out that one of the tripod bearings is slightly larger in radius than the others. Is this normal?

Anyway, since I already had a feel for how it went in last time ( )... I was able to put it back in the tulip with only a little bit of jostling this time. And that's that. That was the only thing keeping me from finishing, so she's on all fours again and I've got an alignment scheduled for tomorrow! I did my best to have the new outer tie rods at the same length and that saved the alignment a little bit, I think. But with a lifetime alignment at Firestone, I'm just gonna go be done with it.

Thanks for all the troubleshooting and help, guys!