Help, Please! How much of the CV Axle sticks out of tranny?

[springoflife]

I just changed the Right-Front CV axle half-shaft on my 2000 Venture. It's a 3.4L, non-AWD unit.

The new (not rebuilt) unit was difficult to press into the transmission. I never heard it "pop" into place like it should. There was about 5/8" of polished shaft exposed between the transmission's endseal and the inboard CV joint. With the original shaft, there was "some" distance, but I didn't observe just how much before I removed it.

I took the van for a drive, did some hard cornering, and hard acceleration up steep hills. Everything seemed fine, until I returned home. I noticed some tranny fluid leaking out of the endseal. So to keep the axle and CV joints as straight as possible, I drove the van onto ramps; I removed the large spindle nut, and gave the end of the shaft a few whacks. It seemed to move the polished shaft deeper inside the tranny, but still not enough. So then I went underneath the van, gripped the driveshaft, and used it like a slide hammer. Again, that seemed to help a little more.

So now there is about 3/16" (just under 1/4") of polished shaft exposed between the transmission's endseal and the inboard CV joint. I can wiggle the inboard CV joint, and it doesn't seem to leak. But I still don't know for sure if the shaft is "seated" inside the tranny. My fear is that it may pop out enough to strip the splines.


Can someone please look under their van and let me know how much of a gap there is on the RH side? A photo would be even better.
Thank you.

[springoflife]

NE1?

My wife and toddler children are due to take an out-of-state trip tomorrow, and I don't want anything bad to happen.

[dewaynep]

I don't have the specific answer you are looking for and it may be too late anyway. The shaft should push in about 1" after you first contact the split ring that holds the shaft in. You should be able to yank as hard as you can by hand and not pull the half shaft out of the tranny (I have had to use a pry bar or slide hammer adapter to pull them out). I don't believe the shaft will come out far enough to strip the splines, but I don't know for sure.