Transmission noise after left drive axle CV boot replacement

No, the sound started after my work. I am highly tuned-in to expensive noises. I wonder if is possible to damage that bearing doing a drive axle R&R?

Did not start the car until I was done and the car was back on the ground. Did not drain the tranny because I was not trying to remove the axle. If it slipped out it was only because of a ham-fisted accident on my part disassembling and reassembling the CV joint on-car.

Sounds obvious when put that way! I have rebuilt engines, but transmission internals were never my area of expertise, least of all manual transmissions.

No oil leaked out, looked under the car every day now and saw nothing. In fairness, I believe from other sources on the internet that draining the transmission is not a requirement for axle R&R (at least on a

5-speed) so it's possible fluid doesn't come out. I know, it sounds strange to me, too.

I haven't done anything to the car since Saturday night. Have an idea...

I tried to drive the car just now, but I let the clutch out in drive and reverse and got the same noise as before. Furthermore THE CAR DIDN'T MOVE. Couldn't go. However the speedometer showed I was moving after I let the clutch out in gear! I tried up to about 10MPH.

I guess now that the axle must be not engaged into the transmission at all and I must have an open diff. Saturday I am going to try to remove and reinstall that axle, see what happens. I really messed up the threads for the axle nut by hammering and the CV joint was kind of ugly and greaseless so I'll just get a new axle (they are under $100) and try again.

I have scoured the internet and cannot get good info on this problem. Axle removals/installs are common but not my exact problem.

I will post back this weekend if it doesn't snow and I can work on the car. I will check this NG daily. Thanks for the input!

BTW, I cannot see the post from David Geesman, only the part quoted by Codifus. Don't have any explanation for that unless David's posts don't get to Verizon's news server.

George, I am bout to do the boot replacement myself using a totally different procedure (I bought a set of Millennium CV-joint boot that is supposedly very stretchable that it can be slipped over the outer joint without taking the joint apart! However, I am interested to hear if you have trouble removing the LEFT joint. When I tried to replace my 2000 Max right CV assembly, I had trouble accessing the center bearing mount bracket because of clearance accessing the two bolts attached to the engine. I ended up putting everything back and paid a mechanic to do it.

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That is some stretch! The small end opening is about an inch wide and must stretch over the big CV end at about three inches! If it goes well your job is easy once you access the axle end. I used a boot kit from Nissan which came with the metal bands and grease: 5 oz of ZF100. I suggest that you have a "real" boot kit on hand (you can always return it) in case the millennium boot doesn't work as advertised. If it does work please post your experience with it!

I had no trouble during disassembly of left outer joint on car. I ended up disconnecting the tie-rod and strut and removing the ABS sensor and disconnecting the brake caliper clip from the strut, leaving the ball-joint completely alone and the caliper on the disc. Then there was plenty of clearance to slide the axle out of the knuckle. There are other methods talked about around the 'net.

If you intend to remove the steering knuckle completely, of course the caliper and ball joint have to be removed.

However, I must have screwed my current project up in a bizarre way, possibly by hitting the back of the outer joint to hard and pulling the axle out of the tranny by accident, and I didn't get it in right or not at all. This is to be corrected this weekend, weather permitting.

Same happened to me trying to do the passenger side 2 years ago. I actually got the bolts out but could not remove the axle nut! I gave up and took it to a mechanic. The mechanic I went to showed me how change the passenger side without involving the center bearing at all (which is only present on the passenger side anyway). He did not remove the axle which the shop manual calls for, but disassembled the right outer CV joint on-car to do the boot replacement.

The procedure, though, should work on either the driver *and* passenger side on a Maxima, if the only CV joint you are concerned with is the outer one. BTW, I have *seen* this done to both sides since, on the Maxima and to other cars, so I know that it is possible.

Final disposition: fixed.

It turns out that I did not reassemble the outer CV joint correctly, which increased its overall length. When I put the knuckle back together, the drive axle was pushing into the transmission with a lot of tension. Possibly straining against the input shaft somehow? I'll leave the why to the trans experts.

Anyway, the outer CV wasn't even engaging. This is why the car would not move, the inner shaft was turning but the outer was not.

For anyone contemplating doing a CV boot replacement, I would just buy a new axle and go for it. My replacement axle was rebuilt from *all new parts* (not reground) and was only about $110 from nissanpartswholesale.com. Replacing just one boot for $50+ doesn't make good sense, it takes just as long and it gets really messy packing the grease in there. BTW the Nissan stealership wanted $600 for the same axle!

Replacing the axle seal in the transmission hole is pretty easy and could be done at the same time, and the 36mm axle nut socket makes the perfect seal driver. I went ahead and did it, it costs $7.

NOTE: various sources on the 'net give different information on how much tranny fluid comes out after pulling the shaft out of the transmission. Well, it was 2 quarts for me. According the shop manual the open-differential transmission (RS5F50A) holds 4.5 to 4.8 liters of API GL-4, Viscosity SAE 75W-90. So less than half my oil came out, which I caught in a milk jug and poured back in after everything was back together. I used a squirt water bottle but a flexible neck funnel would have been better.

Thanks for the input!

I had the same issue with my 01 eclipse and it was my differential. The speed was going up but the car wouldnt move.