CV Axle stuck in trans...

[StraightUpLost]

I decided to put this in the Cars in General portion because the chances of it being viewed are higher. Below is my story...

I have a 2004 Pontiac Sunfire, 2.2L, 4sp Auto, with a 4T40E sealed transmission. The front drivers side half shaft broke (actually the inner cv joint) so I decided to do it myself because it should (key word should) have been a 30 minute swap.

Needless to say its not going so well. I have already replaced the seal and put the new axle in. But... it still leaks (more of a gush). When I start the car, the inner cv joint cup spins and trans fluid gushes out from around the cup.
NOTE: This cup shouldn't spin while in Park...?

So, I decided to take it apart AGAIN, to diagnose where I went wrong. Needless to say I can't get the new axle out of the trans. I have worked my pry bar every which way and screwdrivers have been broke, bent, shattered, etc... the damn circlip won't release from the male spline.

So here are my questions to the wonderful members of AF.

1. Any tips on getting that axle out of the trans?
2. Why does that inner cv joint cup spin while in Park?

Note: When I pushed that new axle in, I pushe dit in until I heard that circlip click. I was then unable to pull it out with my hands so I assumed it was in. However, now that I am looking at it (again) there is a good 1/2" -3/4" gap between the cup and the axle housing on the trans... I am guessing this is where the fluid is coming from. So that leads me to another question.

1. What kind of gap should be between the cup and the housing?
2. Once the axle is in, should I be able to pull it out? (even the slightest bit?)

Any response is appreciated and welcomed as I am driving a gas hog in replacement of this Sunfire and lets just say "gas ain't cheap"...

Thanks in Advance,

Rick

[StraightUpLost]

Update
I am certain that the circlip retaining clip is preventing that axle from coming out... any ideas on how to get it out?

[speediva]

Well, BFH tools are great for removing all kinds of things... but most of the time said item breaks upon removal.

I honestly have 0 expertise on this one, but BTT to see if we can't get you some help!

[oldblu65]

Did you compare your old axle shaft with the new one to see if they were a match ? Could the parts place have given you the wrong axle ? Are the axles left and right the same length ?

[StraightUpLost]

Update
Upon jacking my car up even higher and prying with a newly bought 2ft prybar, I finally got it... one small problem though...the stub-shaft came with it, right out of the differential :S

It's not all bad though, that stub-shaft seal was broke anyways so I guess it was for the best. I returned half of the axle I bought back to AutoZone (half because the inner CV joint housing is still attached the stub-shaft) either way, they returned it as damaged and I upgraded to a brand new CV axle.

Now, with this new axle I cannot compare it to the original because it was already shipped off by the men in red at Autozones...

So as of right now, I have 1 new half shaft and a 1/2 of a semi-new half shaft attached(stuck) to the stub-shaft which is out of the transaxle.

My plan is to get a new stub-shaft, get 2 new circlips (one for each end of the stub-shaft) and put everythign back together comfortably (hopefully)

Below are pictures to look at for your pleasure...

[grider]

if you hav apry bar with a heal or bend near the sharp edge you can hammer the axlw out using the pry bar as a punch from the oposit side you can put the end of rhe pry bar into the groove on the inner cv axle housing and hit it with a large hamer it is posible that you go a rebuild or damaged spline and that is keeping it from going in all the way inspect closly when you get it out good luck

[StraightUpLost]

Originally Posted by grider

if you hav apry bar with a heal or bend near the sharp edge you can hammer the axlw out using the pry bar as a punch from the oposit side you can put the end of rhe pry bar into the groove on the inner cv axle housing and hit it with a large hamer it is posible that you go a rebuild or damaged spline and that is keeping it from going in all the way inspect closly when you get it out good luck

If you read my post above yours, it says that I got the axle out. I am in the process of finding a new stub shaft.... unless someone can tell me that the stub shaft seal is not needed (because mine is broke).

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by StraightUpLost

If you read my post above yours, it says that I got the axle out. I am in the process of finding a new stub shaft.... unless someone can tell me that the stub shaft seal is not needed (because mine is broke).

i'd say yes you need it if it's broke go to autozone.com it will tell you about seal.

[speediva]

Thanks for keeping us updated! Good luck!

[StraightUpLost]

Update
First off, Autozone does not carry (cannot order) stub-shafts, output shafts, shaft clads, etc... basically everything I needed.

So I called a GM dealer this morning to inquire on the price of a new output shaft... $220

Called a local transmission shop, just so happens he just pulled one out of a 2002 Sunfire trans....$10

He even gave me the shaft clad and 2 new circlips (what a nice guy)

I slid the output shaft back through it's housing and the circlip clicked into those spider gears like clock-work. Now, I am to the point where I can't get that shaft clad back on. It slides over the output shaft fine but either:
A) Gets stuck in that trans hole (the hole the output shaft slid through) because the hole is no longer 100% circular. (explained below)

or

B) It's the wrong shaft clad (just a tad too big)


Explanation of A.
Knowing what I know now about the parts I've replaced, I now believe I had a perfectly good half-shaft. What happened (I think) is that circlip somehow allowed that output shaft to slide out of the gears. Hence, slowly pushing that cv axle outwards, causing the seals to push with it, causing the fluid leak. Once this happened that clad was no longer holding that output shaft steady and it was bouncing around that hole, slowly deforming the circular shape to it... (make sense?)


SideNote:
Upon looking at the passenger side of the vehicle (the stub shaft side for my car) I noticed that the shaft clad doesn't go all the way in that trans hole. It sticks about 1/2"-3/4" out and then is held in when the cv axle is pushed onto the output shaft and held there by that circlip... wondeirng if the output shaft and left shaft clad is the same????

I am going to spend the next few hours searching the internet and trying to find a picture of the driver side output shaft seal (which would show me where that clad goes) and update once I decide what to do.

Thanks for sticking with me.


P.S. On a side note, there was a 50/50 chance that this could have turned into a $1400 repair. When that output shaft came out with the cv axle, one of two things could have happened. The circlip easily came out or it broke the gear to come (which would have required a dropped tranny) Thank goodness something went my way

[StraightUpLost]

Update

So I called the transmission shop where I got the output shaft and explained to them the troubles I was having with getting that shaft clad onto the shaft. Turns out there's a tool (thanks for letting me know yesterday)

Needless to say it went right on once I had that handy dandy tool. I was feeling pretty excited when I had put the car back together just to find out that the battery had died whilst sitting. No biggy, whipped the Blazer around the driveway and hooked the jumper cables on and it fired right up..... but it still leaks It's not nearly as bad as it was before but it is still a steady drip (before it was a steady flow)

So it got me thinking, that damn tranmission service technician is trying to get me to come into his shop with my car, and I will explain my reasoning behind this theory.

After spending hours googling output shaft seals and looking at the various models shown to me, it became apparent that the shaft clad goes all the way in to where it's just on top of the output shaft seal. Well, the technician told me to leave it about 1/2" out and not to tap it all the way down to the seal.

Look Below for example:

As you can see, the old shaft clad was way out off the output shaft and the output shaft seal was ripped. I will keep you guys updated as I tear it apart tomorrow and flush those two seals together and hopefully get a leak free automobile...

[StraightUpLost]

Update

So I tore it all apart again. This time I tapped the shaft clad all the way down to the output shaft seal and guess what? It didn't leak anymore.

Put it all back together and took it for a drive around the block going about 30mph to work-in that new axle and output shaft. Everything was going good, the new axle made a whizzing sound at first but went away. Everything was dandy until I took it on the main road, once I hit 50-55 I could feel it leaking (when it leaks the car shakes a small amount)

Pulled it back into my house and let it sit idle for 30 seconds, sure enough there was a small (6" diameter) puddle of tranny fluid sitting under my axle/tranny housing.

Now, this got me thinking, what in the world could I be doing wrong? I have done everything by the book (no such book exists) but I'm still getting a leak.

This is my theory. That output shaft is able to move in and out of that spider gear (not much but move none-the-less) and I think what happened was once I hit high-speed, that output shaft shook off or shook down that clad creating that gap again between the output shaft seal and the output shaft clad. Since, it's a small leak at the moment, I am going to try and limp it over to my brothers house where we have ample tools, lifts, etc...

I am seriously at a loss here. Was there something I am missing? Can anyone help me? I can't be the only one to replace a cv axle before... (maybe on a Sunfire lol but damn the concept is the same)....

[StraightUpLost]

Just wanted to say crvett69 was the most helpful person I have yet to talk to about this... he completely took me through my setup and discussed what was wrong, where to put things and how, and what each thing does to further my knowledge.

Hopefully will have this fixed by tomorrow!

[StraightUpLost]

Replaced the output shaft seal (again) and it still leaks. I did notice something today so I posted a picture of it...

When the car is started before the axle is put in it doesn't leak at all. Once I put that axle on and put it all together, it leaks. I noticed that the output shaft moves (not much but enough) and when it does move (out mostly) it creates a gap between the output shaft seal and the dirt slinger seal...

The picture below is when the output shaft is pulled out, which does happen when the car moves... It doesn't come out much (maybe 1/8")

[speediva]

So it's not just leaking under load, but leaking with just being "put back together"?