Just one more inch ...

Am I supposed to be able to get the axles back into the diff by hand? Or am I going to have to disassemble the axles and then hit them with a hammer? So far they don't want to go by hand.

 

Bang the **** out of them or possibly tap with a deadblow.

 

okay, where? They are fully assembled, hubs and everything. Will the cv joints survive if I bang on the wheel studs to seat the axle?

 

Insert them into the hubs and use the hub to bang them in. If you hit the boot you'll tear them.

 

A little grease on the clip helps too. I have stub axles though, so I'm not much help. Those are easy.

 

Steps:
1- Center pin on shaft
2- Slide axle in
3- Drink Can-O-Manup
4- Lean into it and shove it in like you're not going to call it in the morning.
5- If you feel it pop in Yay
6- If you don't, drink more Manup

Mine took what feels like more than it should. Using the hubs to whack with a deadblow works too. Some cars they just slip in like a well worn woman, others take some anger.

 

I drilled a hole in a 2x4 slightly bigger than the axle threads, then sitting on a small chair, rammed it forward with my knees 'til it popped in. The wood is soft enough to not screw up threads or splines. The 2x4 really only needs to be long enough to fit both your knees on either side of the axle but small enough to fit comfortably in the wheel well. Sounds weird, but worked well.
Here's a pic:

 

Not a bad idea. Don't copyright it, might use it

 

I unbolted the upright from the bottom, separated it from the control arm and used the brake rotor for leverage to push it in (after making sure the splines were partially seated). Worked like a champ and took minimal effort.

 

Please do!

 

Keep an eye out in the for sale thread. Going to hire the Chinese to make crappy versions.

 

With the upper control arm detached, I used a small sledge with a piece of 2x4 on the hub to pop them in. Curly stopped by to lend a hand and check things out and he was pushing on the hub to take up the "slack" in the cv joints.

I had no Cans-O-Manup lying around (one of the dangers of being married - your various Manup powerups tend to disappear), so Curly and I substituted Pints of Manup from my Beer Fridge of Automotive Enhancement. I recommend the three beer lunch. It makes the day better.

 

Mobius' house and garage are interesting. Everywhere you look screams "I have kids!"

Look past the toys though, and you start to see top of the line miata parts tucked in everywhere. There's 949's big grip package, his 2001 bumper, TSE's brake ducts, 11.75" rotors, and book club passable muffler hidden in there. Unfortunately I realized that yes, he could out run me while I carried 4 AST coil overs.

P.S. To clarify, he's not messy. His 1914 house is just skimpy on storage.

 

Yes, it is true, my house and what passes for my garage (while it still stands and does not leak (much)) is filled with toys. The only difference being the intended age bracket of said toys.

 

def. easier with the control arm detached.