Driveaxles suck. Help needed

[mechanicguy]

Everybody helped me out by getting my driveaxle out but now I can't get the darn thing back in. I know it's freakin ridiculous. The driver side driveaxle, the one giving me the hard time coming out is the one giving me the hard time going in. I've tried hammering it with a 3lb sledge, heating it up and just basically beating the snot out of it but nothing is working. If I take the circlip off of the driveaxle it slides right in but put the circlip on and its back to dameon axle. I live in Michigan and I have been riding my 1989 gs500 motorcycle to and from work/school. Its freezing out and I'm about sick of it. Any help would be great.

[Gforcefd]

heres a trick, grease it up around the circle clip, make sure you haven't damaged the clip by hitting it with that hammer, and hold the clip in with two finger while you slid the axle, you might have to wiggle the axle back and for just a bit rotationally to get the splines to match up. It should slip in.

Now did you get the right axle for your car, because the automatic axles are larger then the standards. I accidentally got a automatic for my standard, and didn;t realize that was the reason the axle wouldn't go in

[Festy46]

What Gforcefd said plus take the circlip off and squeeze it closed just a little bit. Before you try to install it, take a close look with a bright light at the lip of the axle seal. With all the beating in and out you may have damaged it and even if you get the axle in, you will be taking it back out to fix a leaking axle seal. When you install the shaft make sure the circlip open part faces down and push the clip into the slot so that it sticks up as little as possible. Stick the axle in the transmission and turn it a little until you are sure the splines are lined up and give it a good whack.

[mechanicguy]

Ok, so I called Murray's and read them the code number and they said it definitely was a manual trans drive axle. I aligned the the splines and hit the crap out of the end of this drive axle, to the point were the end of it has mushroomed out and the hub nut will not even fit on the damn thing. Does anybody have any other suggestions for getting this drive axle in?

[Deathshead]

somthing is wrong in that picture, they shouldnt be that hard to get in, getting out is another story somtimes, did you pull both axles at the same time?

[Gforcefd]

ya ruined a good axle by the sound of it :-) Yeah if you did remove both axles at the same time, there is a good chance the spider gear dropped, and your ruined the tranny

[Festy46]

Stick your finger in the transmission axle hole and feel around. You should be able to feel the internal splines on the spider gear. If you don't feel any splines (I'm talking about the splines that would match the axle, not the spider gear teeth), then you're screwed. Your spider gear has dropped down into the bottom of the transmission and the only solution is the removal of the transmission and take it apart. If you can feel the axle splines check them all the way around for any sharp edges or damage. Check the end of your axle for any damage. Make sure the circlip slot hasn't been pinched shut so the circlip can't get into the slot. Take the circlip off and see if it will go in the transmission. When you think you have it in, compare the distance from the seal to the big part of the CV hub to the other side of the transmission. If the other side is installed correctly, both sides should look identical in their distance from seal to hub. If everything looks good, put the circlip back on and have someone try to hold the CV hub square with the hole in the transmission while you hit the end of the axle. The only thing I can think of if all of the above is good is that you are getting the axle started crooked and it is binding in the hole.

[Kraig]

I recently had mine out to change a CV joint boot. It was a little difficult to remove. I greased the splines and circlip and it popped back in by hand. Hammering on yours probably brinelled the bearings. The Ford service manual tells you to use a special tool (dummy shaft) to hold the gears in place upon axle removal ( I didn't and didn't have any trouble, I did stick my finger in there to make sure the gear was still there prior to reassembly). If something is that hard to reassemble something is wrong. The "get a bigger hammer" approach usually leads to bigger troubles.

[Tom]

See how far you can throw that hammer. A master mechanic told me almost 50 years ago that if it isn't working something is wrong and it almost always is, a soft gentle blunt tap occasionally(not enough to crack a walnut)at most is all you want to use, I had the same problem with the distributor yesterday, turns out it was turned exactly opposite, there is a little notch in the one side, when turned it slipped right in, those axles often fight a little, a tree pound hammer will break that motor and transfer case right in half, brains is the biggest best hammer you will ever find and breaks nothing.

[Guest]

Yeah, there's much to be said for a large rubber mallet..

[freshtiva]

Kraig wrote
"The Ford service manual tells you to use a special tool (dummy shaft) to hold the gears in place upon axle removal ( I didn't and didn't have any trouble

That's the differential plugs T87C-7025-C

I use two pieces of 3/4 inch wooden dowel rod about four inches long.

[69shelby]

go new axle shafts from murrys the other day, but on of them had the wrong clip on it, wen back and got the old clip, and if went in with no issue, maybe you dad the wrong clip also, it is too big.

[yvanlavoie20]

clip

never use a new clip, use old one except if it is freeze in the diff...

i change many axle on aspire and i always reuse the first one ( i remove tranny 9 time LOL ) and replace 3 axles...

yvan

[mechanicguy]

Ok, I'm going to give it one more try tonight after I get home from school and hopefully I can jam this wanker home. I felt around inside the tranny and the splines and everything else seem to be fine. Just got a new trans driveaxle seal. I can insert the driveaxle easily without the circlip so we will see when I shrink that circlip if it will go in. If it doesn't I will probably swear quite a bit and then I will think about blowing it up but I will just shrug and try again.

[mechanicguy]

I got it . As you all read I hit the last driveaxle till the end of it mushroomed out. I had a lifetime warranty on it so I took it back to the auto store and they gave a new one. I took it home and greased it up and I litteraly tapped it and it slid right into place. The driveaxle must have been poopy. Thank you, everybody who gave me suggestions.