I recently had a wheel lug stud snap off ( torque wrench was set a 100 lbs ) I removed the left rear wheel bearing, drove out the broken stud and pressed in a new one. During reassembly, I discovered that if I rotate the axle shaft, the shaft does not rotate at the differential, and the inboard boot twists. The axle assembly seems to be elongated, and the folds of the inboard boot are far apart in comparrison to the right side. Do I have a broken axle? If I pull the axle out of the differential, will fluid leak out? I am not one to force parts, so I have used an easy hand with this repair. This is in regards to a 2017 Stingray A8.

brassbender43

P.S. I have discovered, through research, that the axle shaft has splines that engage at the inboard assembly. I assume that the shaft has pulled out of the inboard assembly and must be reengaged. How do I do that?

 

Moved to C7 Tech for some discussion.

 

You can certainly remove the axle without fluid coming out. Can you post a pic as a visual?

we broke an axle on an 06 and it was similar (broken in the brake side), but I don’t see that happening here if you were driving fine before this started. I’d pull that bearing again and reinstall making sure all is aligned. Sounds like when you put it back the axle was t aligned.

 

If you eventually find that you need an axle, they are not that expensive at Rockauto.
Dan

 

Not sure how you are using the car but when running on track the rule of thumb is if one wheel stud or bolt (some brands use wheel bolts) breaks then replace all of them on that wheel. This past season I had one break after 7 seasons so I replaced all of the studs at all 4 wheels as I figured that was just the weakest link and the others would soon follow.

Bill

 

I haven't touched a Corvette axle but have touched plenty of other brands. I am pretty sure that, as you removed the bearing, you inadvertently pulled the axle far enough that it slipped apart. I'd look on the web for pictures. Maybe search for replacing the rubber boots. Once you can see how the end parts fit together I bet you can get it to slip back in w/o a complete disassembly. Worst case, buy two new boot clamps, cut the old ones off, and slide the boot toward the rotor until you can see the splines. It might be a good idea to have extra grease on hand because you will inevitably loose some.

 

I do not race this car, I am a very conservative driver. I did not have any problems with the rear axle. There may be some confusion about where the problem exists. The interal shaft splines have dissengaged at the assembly closest to the differential. The inner boot is elongated. If I rotate the shaft, I can see a twist on the inner boot. I can get the splines to align, but I cannot get the shaft to seat all the way. Do I drive the the shaft? I'll try to get some pictures to make this clearer. The problem is not the splines at the bearing. Problem is engaging the splines on the inboard side of the axle.

 

After looking at many youtube videos, I was sucessful in getting the inner splines to engage. Aligning the entire axle shaft , in a straight line, was the key. many thanks.

Brassbender43

 

I did check Rockauto for prices on a complete rear axle assembly and was surprised that the cost, and shipping were very reasonable. I did finally have success in getting the inner splines to engage. Thanks for replying to my call for help

Brassbender43

 

Your suggestion about looking up diagrams and repair processess was spot on. I was successful in getting the inboard shaft splines to engage. The elasticity of the boot keept pulling the splines out of the inner cv joint. I eventually discovered that I had to push the axle shaft towards the differential and hold it in place , while I used the other hand to engage the outboard splines into the wheel bearing. I really needed three hands, but there was no one who could help me. I was eventually successful. Many thanks for your reply to my original call for help.

Brassbender43