Had an issue with my car a couple of weeks back and wanted to share the story here for a few reasons. One, CV as usual came through above and beyond all expectations. I called him out of the blue when I was scratching my head trying to figure out what the issue might be… from a different state while on a cell phone he diagnosed the car. Not only that but he was at work and took time out to take my call and step outside to chat. One word, awesome.
*This isn’t the first time he came through for me either, I called him with another shit storm situation on a Thursday night at around midnight – guess what, he answered and walked me through 45 minutes of different diagnostic steps. That’s a guy you want on your team.
I can’t thank him enough, he really is a great all around guy and his support is unparalleled as everyone here already knows.
On to the problem I had.
I pulled into a parking spot and heard a thump. That’s it. Didn’t think too much of it so I went inside the place I was at not thinking anything was wrong with my car. Came back out, started the car right up, put in reverse and I couldn’t go anywhere. Eh? Put it in first and tried to pull forward, not moving. Add to this mystery a horrible grinding noise and I’m thinking, “shit, what the hell did I break now?”
I wanted to test the clutch/trans and try and narrow things down. I turned the car off and I could easily row through the gears. Started the car back up and same thing, each gear engages smoothly. My next thought was maybe the drive shaft is sitting on the pavement. I checked, couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I was stumped.
Called CV, this is the convo (almost word for word, it’s been a few weeks.)
Me: Hey, I’m an idiot; do you have a few minutes?
CV: Not really, I’m at work, is it an emergency?
Me: Nah, I’ll get it sorted.
CV: What’s up?
Me: Oh just another shit storm, I can’t move my fucking car forward or backwards (I proceed to tell him everything)
CV: Did you have the car up in the air recently?
Me: yeah (thinking how did he know to ask that?)
CV: Did you just make a sharp left or right turn into a parking spot while in gear and on the brakes at the same time
Me: yeah (again, how the hell did he know to ask this?)
CV: Oh, well it sounds like your half shaft popped out of your CV joint
Me: Really? Is this common? How the hell did you know to ask both of those questions?
CV:[Laughing] I wouldn’t say common but it’s not uncommon either. (Then he proceeds to explain when having the car in the air the tires/wheels are hanging without support which is maximizing the distance between the cv and the trans so there is a slight chance the axle/half shaft has pulled out a bit and that sharp turn may have been the final cause to separate the two.)
Now I’m wondering how it could physically pop out…I found out by taking it apart piece by piece so I could try and determine the cause.
Here is a picture of the tools I used.
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/tools_zps0fd52a26.jpg
The list of tools I used:
17MM allen head socket (1/2”)
10MM triple square (long shaft)
1 Small and one Medium flat head
TQ wrench
Breaker Bar
Half inch ratchet
Clamp tool
Audi Parts:
CV boot kit; New hub bolt, 2 new boot clamps, the boot, the locking clip and a tube of cv joint grease.
I also opted to buy 6 new triple square bolts for the trans side of the axle.
Here is a video of me grabbing the axle and realizing it is definitely separated. (I know it went on for 15 seconds too long, I couldn’t actually see through my camera phone if I was recording the movement from the angle I was at. So I moved it around a bit to make sure I could capture it. Working on ramps with a lowered car sucks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0obmwdvj80&feature=youtu.be
I took my time taking the clamps off first so I could pull the boot back and take a peek at what was going on.
CV joint side pre removal – I popped these clamps loose with a small flathead.
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/Clamps_zps1dae58f1.jpg
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/Clamps1_zpsc556c9d4.jpg
Loosened enough so I could slide the boot back towards the trans enough to look at what was going on.
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/CVbootpulledback_zps6bb11094.jpg
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/smallclamppulledback_zps8d019f0b.jpg
Splines that slide into cv joint at the end of the shaft:
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/CVend_zps35db8eb1.jpg
I discovered something when looking at the splines that told me what might have happened. So I proceeded to pull the entire axle out. Here are some pics of the trans side bolts (triple square) and then the cv assembly, bearings, cage etc.
Triple square bolts:
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/Transside_zps92d1d1d3.jpg
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/10mmtripsq_zps0a2ede62.jpeg
Removed completely, trans side:
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/transsideshaftremoved_zpsfc1be467.jpeg
Removed completely, wheel hub side:
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/cagestillinstalled_zps9cae48b6.jpeg
Close ups of CV joint cage and bearings as I began to clean up the old grease and look for a particular part…:
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/cvcagewithbearings2_zpse174fc3e.jpg
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/cvcagewithbearings1_zpsa8ebb143.jpg
Axle out of the car:
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/halfshaftout_zpsacaf78fd.jpeg
The culprit!
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/closeupofmissingclip_zpsc5a2094f.jpeg
The locking clip was missing. I checked every section very carefully to ensure I didn’t miss it somehow. I cleaned every drop of old grease out and spread it out on newspaper to make sure the missing clip wasn’t in pieces or hidden in the grease somewhere.
Basically, I had a shop do some preventative maintenance for me when I had discovered my inner driver’s side boot was blown. I had them replace all four for me at the same time. They simply forgot to put the locking clip on the passenger side axle, at the wheel hub side.
Here is a diagram from ETKA. The locking clip that was missing is # 6 in the upper right hand corner:
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/etkapage_zps6bed9876.jpg
I worked everything out with the shop and all is good.
Here is a pic of the axle buttoned up with new part ready to go back in.
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/NY07RS4/Random/assembleddone_zps39e0689c.jpg
I know this DIY of sorts isn’t mind bending or terribly difficult, the main two reasons why I shared this are:
1.) I wanted to let people know that having the right people in your corner is huge.
2.) In case anyone experiences this odd situation, they will hopefully remember this thread and not panic like I did at first. Wondering if I had blown my clutch or my trans or something worse. Following the simple steps I did to narrow things down and then inspecting the half shaft will get you 90% of the way there.
If I forgot something or if anyone has questions, ask away.
