Driver side CV Axle stuck half way in to transfer case.

Sorry about double posting but my post in the sticky thread doesn't seem to be getting any readers.

Replaced the passenger side Axle with no real issues.

Got the drivers side axle out with no real issues.

First time that I tried putting new cardone drivers side axle in to the transfer case it would not go in all the way. Pulled it back out and it appeared that it went in to the point that the snap ring made contact.

Figured that gravity was making the snap ring hang out on the bottom and catch. So I tried again with the snap ring opening towards the bottom. Got to the same point and then used a little more force. I grabbed the axle in past of the outer CV (didn't want to stress the outer CV Joint) and use it as slide hammer to hopefully get the snap ring to compress and the axle to go in further.

The axle did go in further but I thought that is should have gotten easier after the snap ring compressed, but since it was not getting easier I stopped.Tried to pull it back out to check what was going on, but it would not come back out.

I noticed that if I turn the axle the drive shaft turns with it (other wheel off ground) so the splined shaft has to at least have started.

So now with the Axle stuck half way in I went ahead and disconnected the tie rod, shock, and link so that the lower control arm would drop further and I could get everything out of the way.

axle appears to have started straight.

I'm torn now, should I use more force to try and fully seat the axle, or should I use more force to try and pull it back out and see what is going on?

Has anyone else dealt with this before, does the snap ring make it difficult to insert the axle even after the ring is compresses?

Any chance that the snap ring is mangled in there and the whole thing should come out?

Anyone had any luck with a slide hammer to get a stuck axle out?

Thanks
Steve

Use a large pry bar in between the shaft and the diff. Pry the shaft back out and look at the splines. If they look good(i.e. like it went in correctly) then try again with the front drive shaft locked so it can't turn. That way you can rotate the shaft back and forth to seat the shaft right. Also when you pry the shaft out don't pry on the seal, make sure the bar is on the housing. Mine took a considerable amount of force to seat it so unless you're beating on the shaft with a hammer you are not going to hurt it.

Thanks for the reply, I would think that with the shaft free to spin that the splines should have lined up by themselves, wished that I would have checked that.

Could be that everything is fine and that I just need to use more force to seat it. If I could get it to come back out I could check it quickly and then put it back together again.

I'm thinking about trying to use a slide hammer to pull it back out with so that I don't get it ****ed using a pry bar (I did try a prybar before I took it all apart and couldn't get much leverage).

Has anyone used a slide hammer and with the front CV adapter to pull one of these?

Has anyone else had to use a lot of force to seat the shaft into the transfer case?

I did both my CV axles about 3 months ago and did new seals at the same time. The passengers side was cake. The drivers side is a little more difficult. You need to lay on your back underneath the truck and whack the cv with a rubber mallet on the collar of the CV where it sits flush with the Differential. It will come loose. When I reinstalled I had the same issue. I sat the ring on th tip of the CV as flush as possible and it got stuck. I straightened the CV out and took my rubber dead blow and hit it into the differential. The important thing is to hit the CV straight on. It doesn't require a trememdous amount of force.

Ok got the "new" axle back out with the aid of a slide hammer. Upon inspection it appeared that just the snap ring had not compressed correctly and was bent. I pulled the snap ring off and attempted to reshape it. While I had the snap ring off I tried putting the "new" axle back into the transfer case. It still would not go. So I tried the old axle and I've now had it back in and out three times with no difficulty. Once the snap ring compresses on it, it slides right in. Looking at the spines on the new shaft it appears that there is some slight damage near the end from the snap ring. It doesn't look that bad but evidently it is keeping the axle from going in. I'm never going to be able to clean those splines up enough to get them to work so I guess I'm going to be stuck buying another axle - seem like a big waste. Time to start shopping for another one, I won't be getting a cardone again.

sehaare said:

Ok got the "new" axle back out with the aid of a slide hammer. Upon inspection it appeared that just the snap ring had not compressed correctly and was bent. I pulled the snap ring off and attempted to reshape it. While I had the snap ring off I tried putting the "new" axle back into the transfer case. It still would not go. So I tried the old axle and I've now had it back in and out three times with no difficulty. Once the snap ring compresses on it, it slides right in. Looking at the spines on the new shaft it appears that there is some slight damage near the end from the snap ring. It doesn't look that bad but evidently it is keeping the axle from going in. I'm never going to be able to clean those splines up enough to get them to work so I guess I'm going to be stuck buying another axle - seem like a big waste. Time to start shopping for another one, I won't be getting a cardone again.

Click to expand...

return the axle, 99.99999% its a reman axle. while they might put new joints, etc in, they reuse old hard parts, they also dont check this stuff.

i got a reman axle one time, where the area where nut goes, had no threads.

After going through several re-manufactured CV axles on another car, I will no longer use them (even with a lifetime warranty you still have to crawl under the car to replace the broke reman) - so these were New cardone's.

Now for the good news, after I sat in the AC tonight I decided to take another look at the splines and I notice that all of the damage was done on the short section past the snap ring. This part of the axle doesn't even make contact once the axle is snapped into place. So I got out my mini files and cleaned up that sections of the splines and with the snap ring off I got the axle to full seat into the transfer case.

So I used some channel locks to reshape the snap ring so that it would fit tighter to the axle and used some grease to hold it centered around the axle. I gave it a try and it initially stopped when the snap ring made contact but then I used the axle as a slide hammer and gave it one tap (remember that is got me in trouble in the first place) and it slid right in and Snapped into position!!!!

SO LESSONS LEARNED:

1) Several people have had issues with the snap rings, so make sure yours is as tight as possible on the axle and centered before you try pushing it into the transfer case.

2) If the axle is going in correctly, once you get past the point where the snap ring makes contact and is compressed it should not take much force to get it to go the rest of the way.

GOOD LUCK TO THE NEXT GUY

More on CV's and re-installation

Too bad all the video is on Gen I! Those were bolt ons . . .

I had the same issues with the drivers side circlip. I have a Ford dealership close so I went and talked to the service manager. He said the best way to do this is to get the outboard shaft seated as well and throw some weight behind the control arm to seat the whole unit when it is straight. I could not seat the outboard shaft so I arranged the arm in a holding position so the cv shaft was straight and tapped gently on the end with a 10lb hammer. Success! No issues.

I think for a do it yourself project this one has a few tools and some techniques that may be up the scale from normal. I was sure cautious about getting the transfer case seated without using too much force, as were you.

Just thought I would add this to your thread for anyone else who is in the same boat.