Driver's side axle replacement - new axle problem

I've been having a mild clunking sound that started a while ago and I think I finally traced to to my driver's side inner CV axle joint. I ended up buying a new axle from the local parts store... (first mistake).

Anyways, I was greasing the the new axle when somehow the cage that holds the balls in the races fell into the boot. Of course, it's not just going so slip back between the inner and outer races... I then proceeded to carefully take the balls out of the cage on my original OE axle and mark it. However, no matter what I do, I cannot get the cage to "fall" off the inner axle race. I would have to completely disassemble it.

Is this possible for a cage to fall into the axle boot? Or is this more of a defect? I looked online and found almost nothing on this topic.

Finally, if I can rebuild my old axle what part would need to be replaced to stop the clunking (assuming this is the issue...)?

TIA!

It is possible, but you have to manipulate that outer race in a certain way to get it to come apart. If everything just fell out of it when you were handling it, take it back. Don't even bother trying to work with it.
It's unusual for an inner joint to go bad but they do. I've found that you can get an OEM inner and put it on a NAPA shaft but there's no way you're going to get an outer CV joint off a NAPA shaft without breaking stuff and even then the splined shaft is much larger than the OEM CV joint. I learned this the hard way.
It might be possible to take off both your axles and swap the joints side to side so they turn the "other" direction and you can get some more life out of them, but IDK how worn yours might be.

Agreed, take the faulty axle back, get your money back, and order a new
axle from Raxles.com. They provide quality rebuilt axles.

This happened to me a few times, after digging into it, the manufacture of those nuts called in a recall for them. they are defective on the self locking specs. Simple solution, blue locktight, fixed the issue. Im talking about box stores. i can not find the OEM manufacturer for a reasonable price. At the time this happened the nuts went missing from all the stores, i asked, thats how i found out.

Thanks, all! Turns out the axle I had purchased was from NAPA! I noticed that axle was quite a bit bigger.

I spent a lot of time trying to see if I could repair the axle. I purchased an axle boot kit just in case. Turns out I didn't need it.

Sooo... their cage designs are very different from what I can tell. The NAPA cage can be dropped into the boot or pulled out with all of the ball bearings removed. I found the OE cage doesn't... you would have to disassemble the end of the axle (usually).

Also, the cage doesn't behave like you might expect. It doesn't like to let you put the last ball in from the top. I found that I could get it in a lot easier from the inside, if that makes sense.

In the end, I got it assembled and it seemed to flex smoothly. I ended up re-using the OE bolts as the NAPA provided bolts are class 8.8 supposedly. But I managed to strip one of them out during re-install (~30 ft lbs), so I removed it and opted for OE.

My OE axle is in good shape. I think it just needs a new cage. Can these be purchased?

"Agreed, take the faulty axle back, get your money back, and order a new
axle from Raxles.com. They provide quality rebuilt axles."-GREAT advice!!!

I just did my second Raxles axle. The process couldn't be easier (no upfront core charge! Just return in original shipped box with included pre-paid shipping label).

Rebuilding an axle is a PITA! Replacing the axle isn't fun (it's not hard, but not fun either). Buy Raxles and you won't regret it.

My Raxles axles even fixed a high end vibration I had that I didn't even know was my CV. The PS axle was bad (according to my German Mechanic), but didn't seem worn to me. So it wasn't that worn yet, and cause vibes and noises when coasting. All better now!

Good luck!

Getting one from the local Pick-n-Pull yard worked for me. Under $30 as I recall.

VincenzaV said:

"Agreed, take the faulty axle back, get your money back, and order a new
axle from Raxles.com. They provide quality rebuilt axles."-GREAT advice!!!
I just did my second Raxles axle. The process couldn't be easier (no upfront core charge! Just return in original shipped box with included pre-paid shipping label).
Rebuilding an axle is a PITA! Replacing the axle isn't fun (it's not hard, but not fun either). Buy Raxles and you won't regret it.
My Raxles axles even fixed a high end vibration I had that I didn't even know was my CV. The PS axle was bad (according to my German Mechanic), but didn't seem worn to me. So it wasn't that worn yet, and cause vibes and noises when coasting. All better now!
Good luck!

Click to expand...

Rebuilding an axle is not that hard. To me, removing the axle is the hardest part of the process.

Inner joints don't require special tools. The outer ones require a special pliers for the clamp if you want to be exact although I have seem where people use alternatives.

Turns out the noise wasn't fixed by replacing the axle... And its getting worse. I am now thinking its the driver's side engine mount... I guess we'll see.