[stretch]

Last night I replaced a stripped camber bolt (note: either 127ft-lbs is a bit ambitious for the factory camber bolt, or I need a new torque wrench), and upon finishing I noticed a puddle of oil under the car.

This morning, when daylight presented itself again, I found the passenger's side CV joint pulled out of the front differential, exposing part of the axle I don't think I should be seeing. No oil has leaked since putting the strut back together last night, so either I lost that much oil (I'd estimate a cup, or 1/4 quart) or the thing is sealed again. The driver's side is fine.

I've never done any tranny work before, it's supposed to rain in a few hours, and it's freakin' cold outside. Is there a quick way to fix this? Am I missing a part that keeps the assembly held together?

Thanks for any quick help, guys. I'm about to begin exploring the service manual, but they can be a bit obtuse at times.

[stretch]

This is the best instruction I have found so far in the service manual, and it's not very helpful.

[nhsilversti]

grab it and give it a quick hard shove back in there, check that the c-clip is engauged by then pulling on the cv joint by hand. if it does not come out, it is locked in and if it does repeat the above process

ted

[stretch]

I just got back inside from doing just that. Pushing on it just seemed so... simple.

I couldn't pull it back out again easily, but then again I needed the leverage of pushing on the brake rotor to push it in. I don't see a C-clip- should I? (I can't see one on either side of the car, so I'm guessing it is hidden.)

I completely unmounted the strut top and bottom to make sure I could give it a good shove without it impeding my range of motion.

Anyway, is that it? I guess it's time to change the tranny fluid. Thanks for your help!

[nhsilversti]

the c-clip is at the end of the axle, middle of the front diff, you wont be able to see it.

usually you have to use a quick sharp movement to lock it in. im willing to bet it is not locked in by the way you described it. even with the strut removed the rotor will not move enough to lock it in, unless you also released the lower ball joint.

[stretch]

If it is pressed in all the way, would it not have to be locked? I can't press it in any further.

I guess I'll take a closer look. Thanks again.

[AndrewSS]

Hehe, my axle pulled out once when my struts were pulled for camber plates, the problem with my strano bar is that it tensioned the hub so much that it flew outward pretty bad, what we didnt know is it pulled the axle out.

My friend just shoved it back in place and it was all good, except the huge mess of trans fluid all over the place (I lost more than 1/4qt, cause I backed it onto an incline before we knew what happened.

Anyway, I guess you sorted it out?

[ilami01]

Waranty!!!!!!!!! Dont Touch It......

[stretch]

Originally Posted by AndrewSS

Hehe, my axle pulled out once when my struts were pulled for camber plates, the problem with my strano bar is that it tensioned the hub so much that it flew outward pretty bad, what we didnt know is it pulled the axle out.

My friend just shoved it back in place and it was all good, except the huge mess of trans fluid all over the place (I lost more than 1/4qt, cause I backed it onto an incline before we knew what happened.

Anyway, I guess you sorted it out?

Same thing here, except it was the Whiteline bar! I had both sides jacked up, then I lowered the other side again so I could break the lug nuts (forgot to to that before jacking).

I'm still waiting for dry weather so I can finish. It's been pouring since yesterday. Right now the car sits half way through a tranny oil change- that's where I was when the rain hit. I wish I had a garage!

nhsilversti has me worried that I don't have the axle locked into place yet- it's in all the way, but I didn't feel it snap into place.

Edit: it's not in all the way. Damn.

[nhsilversti]

like i had said, you need a FIRM QUICK SHOVE to get it to lock in. pushing on the rotor will not do it. you will not "feel" the snap either. do what post 3 says.

[o2sys]

STI axels have spring pins? like in post 2?

[lackskill]

I had this same thing happen to me on my old crx, going downhill on a sheet of ice. It takes a pretty good shove to get those clips to engage...

[Splash]

Yeah, I'm the one who re-engaged andrew's axle... I figured a quick snap is what unseated it, that's what it would take to re-seat it.

So that's what I did, pull back a little, shove in as quickly as possible, and that seemed to do the trick. I couldn't pull it back out after that so I figured it was ok.

Now, cleaning up 2 quarts of gear oil that ran down a 12-degree driveway wasn't near as simple... <grin>

[AndrewSS]

^ hehe, gracias... yeah about that oil!!! :eek!:

[rmo55c]

on a similar note, I had my front driver axle pop loose when I was doing my coilover install and didn't notice until I had already pulled the car onto the street and heard some f*d up noises. Drove back to the garage - a pool of fluid. Had the dealership push it back in, but they tried to tell me the loose axle destroyed my center diff and I needed to replace it (a pretty penny I might add). Declined that work and still haven't noticed a problem after almost two years - is there even a potential for a problem after driving with a loose axle for about five miles?