zenofchaos Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 (edited) Ok, I'm going to try and explain this to the best of my ability. I'm at the moment. First, basic info. I have an '88 GL wagon 5SP Dual range 4x4. Last Friday my axle broke in my driveway. Turned out that the wheel bearings grenaded, and ended up taking out my new cv axle. I got a mobile mechanic to do the replacement, as I don't have the tools or the time at the moment because of work to fix it. After getting the new bearings in place, the mechanic "reassembled" my car. When I got home, I drove 30 feet, and the axle fell off from the transmission. The mechanic is tied up until Sunday, and I'm still without a vehicle. So the pin is still in the axle, but obviously it still fell off. Does anyone know if a *&^ up in the reassembly procedure can cause this? I'm kinda hoping to fix it by myself at this point. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated as I am out of money for car repairs (bearings, axle, and paying the id10t to take it out in the first place) Thank you in advance for your help:dead: Edited November 14, 2009 by zenofchaos Update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 if you're desperate, just remove the axle leaving the joints in place to hold the bearings and run it 4WD until you have the time/patience/parts/tools/money to fix this right. doesn't sound like you'll be keeping the axle anyway, just just remove it for now. you'll have to let us know exactly what you mean by "fell off the transmission". the trans stub sheared off or probably the joint of the axle blew apart? sounds like that's the case since you mentioned the "pin" still being in. in that case i'd get another axle to fix it and replace the entire thing. without knowing full details i don't know that i'd blame him. there's no telling what happened if the bearings, or whatever problems were had, were left to go on so long that they started damaging other parts. and i'm guessing you weren't asking him to be throwing all sorts of parts and money at it - sounds like the opposite. maybe the axle is hosed, should rebuild the entire thing. maybe the front differential is hosed from all this too - better rebuild that. he may have honestly fixed what he thought was the problem and hoped for the best, knowing you weren't out to spend much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 i don't think the pin is in the axle , ( unless u mean the cotter pin at the end )there is a roll pin at the transmission connection , that almost cannot be there , it may be in the axle , in which case the mechanic didn't get the axle all the way "home" before reinstalling the roll pin - i could see that happening . sloppy work by the guy with tools who worked on your car ( can't really call him a mechanic ) . good luck , hope thats all it is , get the pin out , get the axle back in place , all the way home , install the pin . keep on rock-in' ! later:headbang: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenofchaos Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 It was the roll pin, not the cotter pin. Come to think of it, he did say that he had to beat the old one out for quite a while, but the new one went on pretty easily. Sounds like maybe he didn't cinch it up...... Also, I don't think I mentioned it, I picked up a new axle because the old one sheared apart (looked like someone grabbed the axle right along the outside boot and twisted until it snapped) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Sounds like there's a possibility you were given a turbo axle (25 spline) for your 23 spline application. That would cause the roll pin to shear away - which usually takes less than 50 feet. They usually don't fall off the transmission though so that sounds a bit fishy.... GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenofchaos Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Damn, I double checked the box part number online, but never actually verified that the axle in the box was correct. I'll check for grindage On a side note, it was a cardone reman. Before everyone starts yelling (and I KNOW it will happen) it was all I could find at a moment's notice. I will definately be returning it and getting a proper one, like the new GCK's I put on it 4 months ago. I'll just have to wait for Napa.... I was hoping for a quick fix, and should have known better.:-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Sounds like there's a possibility you were given a turbo axle (25 spline) for your 23 spline application. That would cause the roll pin to shear away - which usually takes less than 50 feet. They usually don't fall off the transmission though so that sounds a bit fishy.... GD GD has the right idea on this. Count the splines and either they packed a turbo axle in a non-turbo box; or the reman company put the wrong DOJ on the shaft. I've seen it happen (not to me, but someone else helping my son work on his). Generally no damage to either the tranny or the axle; just the roll pin is toast....and an embarassed mechanic. GD is also right about the axle falling off the transmission; that shouldn't happen if the axle was properly installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 i've seen wrong parts in boxes before as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenofchaos Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 So, the "mechanic" tore himself away from the other project he was working on. We jacked the subie up, and he checked the roll pin. Upon touching it we realized it was only a 1/4" of pin, the rest of it is gone. the "mechanic" told me that he had a bit of resistance getting the pin in, so he was "pretty damn sure" the axle was on all the way, and that he didn't come up short So, if I were an optimistic person I would think it would be case closed, new roll pin, but I have a suspicion something's toasted that caused it. So, stupid question, where do I procure a new roll pin? Do they differ all that much? Am I just wasting my time, and should pull the whole damn thing apart again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 nah you're not wasting your time if everything else looks good. install a new pin and move on. i just got a car this year with some questionable maintenance done to it, i won't begin to list the absurdity. anyway one item was the roll pins were non-existent or sticking out. for the life of me I can't picture why that would happen, wondered if something was 'causing it' but now i figure the person doing the job did it. i reinstalled them properly and haven't had a problem with them. let's hope you have similar luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 So did you check the spline count? GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenofchaos Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 Nah, I'm gonna get a roll pin tomorrow, and attempt to hook up the axle, and see if the broken pin makes a difference, or even if the axle was completely on in the first place. For now I'm going to work on the clutch slave cylinder in my Fiero. I think it's closer to being on the road then the subie at this point. Thank you everyone for your help, and I'll let you know how it goes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 The thing is, the roll pin hardly does anything. On my cars at least, the axle won't slide out enough to slide off the transmission stub unless you Really flex the suspension. I've used zip ties in place of the roll pin for a little while. So... roll pin or not, if it fell off, sounds like something else is wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 If the axle did come off the trans, sounds to me like you were given an axle for an EA-81 instaed of an EA-82. The EA-81's are shorter, and may be short enough to drop off the trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Yikes, bad enough that the DOJ was a turbo version, but to have the EA81 shaft too is rediculous. I think Tom may have the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 There is no such thing as an EA81 turbo axle. They were 23 spline just like the N/A versions. So being the roll pin was sheared away..... I don't know. Generally if you can even get the EA81 axle on the car then it will pull the joint apart rather than pull the end off the transmission. This is pure speculation though. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 People, quit... first, bad mouthing a mechanic before you find out the true problem is plain stupid! A part failure is not his fault. If he did install it wrong then it is. When did you get your crystal balls back from the shop? The "guesses" are just that. Do not discount anyone's "opinion" as there is not enough information to do so. Some of you are getting way too big for your britches! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Zen, I got a call from Caboob. He's out of town and cant log in here, but said he can help out when he gets back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenofchaos Posted October 27, 2009 Author Share Posted October 27, 2009 That's great. Caboo's already pulled my subie from the fire a few times in the past. I haven't had time to really get to the axle because of the weather here. Also, I ran into some issues finding the correct roll pin. I found one slightly larger, and one slightly smaller as far as the diameter goes. The slightly smaller one lengthwise is slightly too big. Will this cause an issue? I know that people have held the axle on with finishing nails, wire coathangers, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 get the right roll pin - all subaru's have been the same for like 3 decades, should be really easy to get one. get a used one if you have to, i always reuse them. anything consider temporary until you get the right thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOOBOUTLAW Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 If the axle is 180* off, the pin holes won't line up right. It may look like they do, but they only line up one way. The resistance the mech felt may be the misalignment of the holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 So what was the final fix for this? Or is it still waiting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenofchaos Posted November 14, 2009 Author Share Posted November 14, 2009 Ok, got an update. It's been a while since I could work on the Subie between the weather, and then coming down with the swine flu. I took a good look at the shaft coming out of the tranny that the axle mounts up to, and noticed that a couple of the splines are pushed into the other splines. I'm thinking that maybe the mechanic did get the axle together, but the mangled splines caused it to slip? Am I going to need a new tranny now? I'm gonna grab some batteries for my digi, and upload a pic of the damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenofchaos Posted November 14, 2009 Author Share Posted November 14, 2009 OK, here's the pic. You can see the damaged area, and where it looks like a line was taken out toward the bottom..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breeke Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I personally think you'll be ok.... looks to me like the axle was not on all the way and it slipped or something. I would toss the axle back on and make sure it is "home", install proper pin and engage driving!. ..but disregard me, i'm no mechanic. -Caleb I'm interested to what you find out for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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