Hello Everybody! Alright, heres my problem. I am replacing my right front cv shaft on my 1984 wagon, 1.8 with the 4 speed. I finally got the old shaft out (someone please tell me this gets quicker the more you do it!), and I started to put the new shaft back in. Until I hit this speed bump: I cannot get the roll pin back in on the transaxle side of the shaft! It pounded out okay, but I just cant get the darn thing back in! I tried a little grease on it, I have tried cleaning it out, and I have even tried to squeze it in using a c-clamp. :-\ No luck on anything so far. Any tips or advice? Do I need to put in a new roll pin? Do I even need the roll pin? Thanks for any advice, Kurt

Ahhh... It only goes in one way. Spin the spline part 180° and try again.

yep, the CV has a big hole and a small hole, also make sure the end of the pin isn't a hammered up.

 

Gary

AH-HA! The cloud of ignorance has been lifted! I feel like a new man! I'm off to the garage to show that roll pin whos boss! thanks a ton, everyone!

sounds like you're doing good so far, gotten this far with no questions. it does get faster with time. if you have good tools to break the axle nut loose, this job can be very quick. best to use a new pin, that's what's always suggested though i've never heard of one breaking or coming loose and i wouldn't ever grease the roll pin. be sure you didn't mash one end of it out of round, that will prevent it from easily entering the *second* hole that you're trying to line up. the hole in the axle has to line up with the hole in the stubby shaft underneath. any lip or deformation on the pin can keep it from going smoothly. if tapping it doesn't work, then it's not lined up correctly. crawl under there with a flashlight and leave the axle pin and hammer alone for a minute. look through the holes and get them to line up by hand, until you can see through it, get an idea of where it should be.

I had the same problem the first time I did an axle shaft.I actually got it started in the wrong way.I had over 3/4 of the roll pin sticking out of the axle.It was a real pain to get out the rest of the way.Dave.

The time I replaced mine on my 81, it took me a long time to get the pin back in and I had it in the big hole and lined up. I found that laying on my back under the car on jackstands just didn't give me enough room to really get behind the hammer, and there wasn't enough room to even move the hammer from above. It was tough, but I finally managed to get it all the way in.