I believe I have accidentally pulled the passenger side axle out of the transmission.  I was doing a ball joint replacement, and jacked the brake rotor up to try to align the control arm with the steering knuckle.  I believe the axle slipped out when I went to turn the wheel in an attempt to align the two parts.  Any rate the first clue is that I can not get the steering knuckle within a inch of the LCA, and the plane of the rotor does not jibe with the driver side wheel direction.

 

Questions:  can the axle be pushed back in with out removing first?  I think this car had the drive pin at the axle to trans connection.  Could the pin shear?  How much space should there be between the axle hub and the transmission when properly installed?

Yes,

 

Check the spring pin on the end and the seal in the transmission.

If they both look in good condition, put the shaft into the transmission the then use the strut/brake mass to push the shaft back in until the sap-ring seats.

 

The other way to do it, would be to pull the spring pin out of the inner half shaft, remove the axle stub shaft, seat it in the trans with a dead blow hammer, make sure it does not pull out and then put the half shaft back on the stub axle and install the roll pin.

What year is it? Auto or manual?

2003, auto

Ok, on the auto trans it is possible for the stub shaft to pull out of the trans. If it has done this you should be able to see that the inner axle joint on the affected side is pulled away from the transmission about 3/4" or maybe more.

 

Usually you can swing the knuckle out an inch or so, then shove it back in toward the trans to basically hammer the stub back into place. Done right, it will pop back in and you can reassemble.

If that doesn't work, you may need to remove the axle from the car, remove the stub shaft from the axle and pop the stub back in with a hammer like Lmdew said.

 

If the stub hasn't pulled out, the inner axle joint may just be jammed slightly and is not sliding the way it's supposed to. If it's jammed, rotating the axle by hand while pushing inwards on it will usually get it to pop back into place.

problem fixed, pulled axle and reinstalled,  Btw ball joints can be some tough MFs