Axle Removal with a F@@ked c clip

[bmxicansd]

DAMN. I've had a hard time getting them out before but the engine was still in the car. You have that shit sitting on the ground and can pry away at it and it won't come out?!? I honestly don't know other than manhandling it.

Yeah its a pain trying to hold that shit on the concrete. I've popped out plenty of axles, this one is my worst nightmare..

To me it looks like the tranny is in gear and not netrual so that could be it. I'm just htrowing it out ther I havent seen a fwd tranny in 2 1/2 years.

Yeah my friend said it doesn't matter if its in gear, thanks for your input though.

From the driver side of tranny, can you use a flat-head screwdriver and pry through this side of tranny and pop the snap-ring up and pull on pssgr CV shaft at same time? Basically, try to bend the snap-ring back to size it should be, while pulling out?

I will try that. Its a junk axles so hopefully it doesn't mess my diff up..

if that doesn't work then get a long but strong bar to lengthen the pry bar. That will increase the effectiveness of the force you're applying.

Thanks man.. Might have to try this.

Something tells me the theory of being in gear is what's causing it. Even that clip should release with as much pressure as you'd get with the pry bar in that picture.

I dont think that matters, we shall see.

i had this happen to me and it didn't matter if it was in neutral or in gear.

to tell if it is in gear the lever will click into a gear and not move any way. if it is in neutral it will move back and forth from the front of the engine bay to the back( i know it's not in the car but u can figure out front from back)

put a pry bar on the top of the axle and put one on the bottom of the axle or as close to the opposite side as possible then pry evenly on both sides and it should pop out. every time i take off the passenger side i have to do this.

thanks man..

use the beefy arms you got.lol use that pry bar and a smal hammer and tap it out kind of reminds me of that pin we could remove lol good times. and good luck.

Thanks Gabe.. Geralds car was interesting. haha

what about using a pickle fork? the ones you get the balljoints out with? would that fit in there?

I think that would mess my tranny case up.. Good thought though..

no

itll come out, just take a good/newer pry bar like a automotive crowbar with a nice sharp tip and put it in between the transaxle and the axle and pry it out like a MF. the transmission can take it, it can take some force but itll take the abuse.

Will do..

It makes no difference if the tranny is in gear or not.

I suspect the main issue is because the tranny is on its own on the floor, So every time you lever on the CV the trans moves.
Normally the CV joint is popped out when the engine and trans are still in the car so you have something to lever against.

Best bet is to strap the trans to something solid then try.
If it still won't come I would suspect the C clip has expanded too far and is catching.
The only thing to do then is force it out and then look for internal damage.

Yeah im going to strap that shit down. Basically what you described is what im experiencing. I will update this when i work on it Saturday..


Thanks again everyone for their input..

[d112crzy]

Try rotating the axle(what's left of it) and prying out at the same time.

[batever]

Will a two or three jaw puller fit on it, with something like maybe a small block of wood stuffed into the bearing race so the screw press can press up against it?

oops edit, that def. won't work.

strap it down and if it still doesn't come out with the bar, put a small block of wood against the tranny case where the back of the prybar presses against the case to distribute the stess, then , put the prybar in, and use a big hammer to impact the prybar (looks like you are using a fairly inflexible crowbar so it won't bend and waste your energy too much).

I happen to use the end of my pickle fork as a prybar on the axle, it seems to do a good job because the thick shoulder of the pickle fork end sets up a nice leverage point for the prying action. and it's rigid as heck. If you use a pickle fork as a prybar, the shaft of it is straight so you can slip a big cheater bar over it.

Personally I don't know much about trannies but I'd think it's better to have it in neutral--easier to slide the axle out and no danger of messing up the output gear inside the tranny that way. But I defer to those more experienced.

Another idea: cut a wooden wedge and drive it in. Maybe put some scrap aluminum or something on the outside of the wedge to help it slide and protect it from the tranny case and the steel bearing race of the cv joint. That will apply equal force against the tranny and the axle so will avoid the issue of the tranny moving around.

Finally of course you could bolt that thing back on the engine and pry from there.

[PhatAccord]

w/ a flashlight, look through the other opening and use a thin long slotted srewdriver and re-align the c-clip to center. spin the axle slowly to see the clip rotate...once you have that c-clip center you should be able to pry the axle out...it helps if you have someone hold the trans down while you pry. its very common on odysseys and 01 and up v6 accords...
if that dont work..you gonna have to he-man it...use a big chisel between the trans and axle and hammer it down..it'll come out. most likey damage the axle joint, but thats your last resort..good luck

[bcjammerx]

x2 on the strapping it down idea...plus use two pry bars one on either side, be more of a straight pull

You'll prolly have to come at it from the other side though if that doesn't work.

[texasvtak]

Leverage. Different directions for the force youre applying.

These are what you need.

This post = this thread in cliffnotes.

[Karl]

one pry bar alone will often cause the axle end to become misaligned. you should use two bars 180* apart.

what lsd do you have? I have heard horror storied of transmissions with the obx unit that needed to be disassembled to remove the axles.

[Bboy_Trevstuh]

It really doesn't matter on if the tranny is strapped down as I had welded ball joints, tie rods, and most of the front end, most of the dfw tx peeps remember, and my axles would be all messed up and just like yours.

One day while trying to get the half axles to come out I used a long wedge and pushed forward while tapping the handle and it slowy came out, and another time the tranny was in gear and wouldn't allow the axle to spin. I still say being in gear will cause it not to come out, as to every 3 months I was swapping in a new motor.

[batever]

one pry bar alone will often cause the axle end to become misaligned. you should use two bars 180* apart.
.

that's why i think the pickle fork is good to use as a pry bar here, because of the thick shoulder on it (at least on my car) you can adjust it so the prying force is straight out, not at an angle at all.

That tip PhatAccord wrote about looking thru the other side of the tranny and rotating the axle until the c clip is centered sounded interesting/promising.

[HondaFan81]

w/ a flashlight, look through the other opening and use a thin long slotted srewdriver and re-align the c-clip to center. spin the axle slowly to see the clip rotate...once you have that c-clip center you should be able to pry the axle out...it helps if you have someone hold the trans down while you pry. its very common on odysseys and 01 and up v6 accords...
if that dont work..you gonna have to he-man it...use a big chisel between the trans and axle and hammer it down..it'll come out. most likey damage the axle joint, but thats your last resort..good luck

Very nice advice.

Any update on this issue?

[bmxicansd]

Try rotating the axle(what's left of it) and prying out at the same time.

Thanks Jose.. I tried this but the stupid c clip is being a biatch..

Will a two or three jaw puller fit on it, with something like maybe a small block of wood stuffed into the bearing race so the screw press can press up against it?

oops edit, that def. won't work.

strap it down and if it still doesn't come out with the bar, put a small block of wood against the tranny case where the back of the prybar presses against the case to distribute the stess, then , put the prybar in, and use a big hammer to impact the prybar (looks like you are using a fairly inflexible crowbar so it won't bend and waste your energy too much).

I happen to use the end of my pickle fork as a prybar on the axle, it seems to do a good job because the thick shoulder of the pickle fork end sets up a nice leverage point for the prying action. and it's rigid as heck. If you use a pickle fork as a prybar, the shaft of it is straight so you can slip a big cheater bar over it.

Personally I don't know much about trannies but I'd think it's better to have it in neutral--easier to slide the axle out and no danger of messing up the output gear inside the tranny that way. But I defer to those more experienced.

Another idea: cut a wooden wedge and drive it in. Maybe put some scrap aluminum or something on the outside of the wedge to help it slide and protect it from the tranny case and the steel bearing race of the cv joint. That will apply equal force against the tranny and the axle so will avoid the issue of the tranny moving around.

Finally of course you could bolt that thing back on the engine and pry from there.

Yeah i thought about throwing it back on the engine, but wasn't up to bench pressing the mighty ole h tranny.

w/ a flashlight, look through the other opening and use a thin long slotted srewdriver and re-align the c-clip to center. spin the axle slowly to see the clip rotate...once you have that c-clip center you should be able to pry the axle out...it helps if you have someone hold the trans down while you pry. its very common on odysseys and 01 and up v6 accords...
if that dont work..you gonna have to he-man it...use a big chisel between the trans and axle and hammer it down..it'll come out. most likey damage the axle joint, but thats your last resort..good luck

Thanks Phat Accord.. I tried this, and ended up having to He Man it out. Thanks for your advice though..

x2 on the strapping it down idea...plus use two pry bars one on either side, be more of a straight pull

You'll prolly have to come at it from the other side though if that doesn't work.

yes i tried two bars, and got the same results. thanks for your input though

[bmxicansd]

Leverage. Different directions for the force youre applying.
These are what you need.

This post = this thread in cliffnotes.

Yes thank you everyone for the suggestions aka Cliffnotes.

one pry bar alone will often cause the axle end to become misaligned. you should use two bars 180* apart.

what lsd do you have? I have heard horror storied of transmissions with the obx unit that needed to be disassembled to remove the axles.

Its a stock Euro R Tranny I had for ahile just sitting in my Garage. So its the Stock Helical LSD..

It really doesn't matter on if the tranny is strapped down as I had welded ball joints, tie rods, and most of the front end, most of the dfw tx peeps remember, and my axles would be all messed up and just like yours.

One day while trying to get the half axles to come out I used a long wedge and pushed forward while tapping the handle and it slowy came out, and another time the tranny was in gear and wouldn't allow the axle to spin. I still say being in gear will cause it not to come out, as to every 3 months I was swapping in a new motor.

Yeah this is the first time i've encountered this problem. Can we say axle from Hell..

that's why i think the pickle fork is good to use as a pry bar here, because of the thick shoulder on it (at least on my car) you can adjust it so the prying force is straight out, not at an angle at all.

That tip PhatAccord wrote about looking thru the other side of the tranny and rotating the axle until the c clip is centered sounded interesting/promising.

Yes Thank you again Phat Accord, I wish the C clip tip you gave worked..

Very nice advice.

Any update on this issue?

Well I tried everything, prying, strapping it down, I ended up using sliding a breaker bar in the other end, and lightly tapped it with a dead blow hammer. Well this finally got the axle out, but fucked up the c clip and spline on the axle. It didnt mess up the splines in the Tranny so I could care less about the spline damage on the axle since it was junk to begin with..

Thanks everyone for their suggestions, Now i can finally put my cb back together..

One quick question though.. There is a washer in the picture, that was on the axle spline, any idea what that washer is for????

[PhatAccord]

glad to hear you got that sucker out
as far as that washer on the axle spline, i wish i knew what its for, i've never seen it before... you said its a euro r tranny, and i've never delt w/ any euro transmissions before, so no clue...

[batever]

Wow, that's some serious axle abuse!

I dont know anything about the washer though.

Congrats on getting that thing out.

[AAPOQ]

I know this is an old thread but I need advise. My passenger side axle will not pop out. Is there a way to pop it out without damaging the tranny? If I get super forceful is it possible to do damage the internals?