Can't reinstall passenger side axle (1 Viewer)

[High Lander]

Doing an axle rebuild and at the reassembly stage

Driver side axle went in no bother, the long passenger side one will not reinstall. I have cleaned up the splines and all looks good.

This car does have a front diff lock, but it just flashes green at me and would not engage so I worked on it unlocked. Have I screwed up? And how do I fix it please?

Best wishes, Aaron

 

[Grandlooser]

Are you struggling to get the birf in or getting the spline to match up?

 

[High Lander]

I can't get it into the diff. Birf slides into the knuckle okay

 

[High Lander]

Ah well, look like the diff has to come off then. This is becoming a never ending story

 

[clx16]

Search around.... Broomstick is what you might need.

I did mine unlocked too.

If you check the older threads people have used a broomstick to get things lined back up

Why E-Locker Should Be Locked Before Pulling Axle Shafts

I have often read on MUD, and I believe it is recommended in the FSM, that to pull the axles on an E-locked truck the locker should be in the locked position. This is to make it possible to reinsert the axles without difficulty upon reassembly. It is one of those steps that just I did because...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[High Lander]

Thank you for that

I'm completely mystified now. I sited down the hole and I can't see any obstruction. On my RHD car the locker is on the driver side of the diff - the short one, and that goes in no bother. I've been over the splines 3 times with a file and they look perfect, but the shaft doesn't even nearly engage no matter how I align it

Kind of fed up with it. Going to take the knuckle back off tomorrow and see if I can engage it without that on and take it from there. I think the pattern Birf might be a different shape to the original and isn't letting me raise the shaft to the centre position where it wants to be

 

[bicycleagent003]

Something thinner than a broomstick might be easier to use for alignment. Others have used a CB antenna successfully, I used a 1" diameter piece of copper pipe I had lying around.

 

[High Lander]

Something thinner than a broomstick might be easier to use for alignment. Others have used a CB antenna successfully, I used a 1" diameter piece of copper pipe I had lying around.

I can see straight through, there's nothing to align

 

[clx16]

Is it possible that when you twist and turn to get it to go in the splines, it is just turning diff on the other side? not saying it would work but maybe someone hold the driveshaft still and someone hold the other shaft still while you try to get it to slide in by rocking it a little each way?

 

[Grandlooser]

You might be right about the birf not letting you get it levered up to center if its an aftermarket birf or something. You could always try just the shaft and then attempt to drive the birf home onto the shaft while its in the axle. Might be trading one PITA for another but an easy experiment.

 

[jonheld]

On a FACTORY LOCKED 80 Series FRONT axle, the locker should NOT be locked when removing or installing axle shafts.
For the REAR axle, it MUST be locked to prevent the slide collar from dropping out.

This is ONLY an issue on the REAR axle with OEM lockers.

The front long side inner axle shaft can be a PITA to get into the side gears because it falls down inside the housing due to the weight. You need to apply downward force on the birfield joint to force the long axle up to mate with the side gear. The inner axle will pivot on the oil retaining ring just inside the axle seal.

 

[High Lander]

Today, I took the knuckle back off. Axle went straight in. Knuckle fits back on over the Birf "nae bother" as they say round these parts. So problem solved. My repeated attempts to fit have damaged the oil seal, but luckily I have a spare. So I'll fit that and I would expect reassembly to be fairly straight forward now on (famous last words)

I genuinely think this should be the standard approach, particularly with the long axle, and particularly with Chinese Birfs that are a different shape to the Toyota part - there is no downside to assembly in this order

Thanks for all your help guys!

 

[bhsdriller]

On a FACTORY LOCKED 80 Series FRONT axle, the locker should NOT be locked when removing or installing axle shafts.
For the REAR axle, it MUST be locked to prevent the slide collar from dropping out.

This is ONLY an issue on the REAR axle with OEM lockers.

The front long side inner axle shaft can be a PITA to get into the side gears because it falls down inside the housing due to the weight. You need to apply downward force on the birfield joint to force the long axle up to mate with the side gear. The inner axle will pivot on the oil retaining ring just inside the axle seal.

Weird I did my front with the axle locked and the rear with it unlocked lol