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Possibly....but a new one would be less likely to break. And this could have created a very dangerous situation for the OP.
Like the guy that just happens to forget to tighten all the lug nuts on someone's front wheel...it's only a mistake and we all make 'em, but people's lives sometimes hang in the balance too.
Possibly....but a new one would be less likely to break. And this could have created a very dangerous situation for the OP.
If the old clip appears to be ok it's normal practice to re-use it. If you have to install a new clip that's where you run into possibly distorting it when installing it on the axle, then you may end up like the OP did.
I don't know how many axles I've had to R&R over the years but I feel safe to say it's in the hundreds and I've had this problem happen maybe twice. Did I do anything different those two times? No. But it happened anyway. Sometimes it just happens.
He's talking about crown nut that holds hub bearing in non front wheel drive cars. He does not know FWD cars do not have crown nuts.
Also, half shaft is secured in place by entire wheel suspension geometry. It's not that easy to pop it out.
I did not see anything "popped" in pictures. My wild guess is, dealer pulled half shaft out to replace boots (OP< why, or why? How much did you pay? You know new with warranty half shaft for Civics is about 80 bucks?) and then when they slid shaft back into the differential/transmission, spring lock on the input shaft did not engage well enough.
It's very minute clearance and is sometimes hard to notice. Also, takes quite a good aim and whack to cram splines back into transmission.
But if you do not have it done right, this is what happens next: input shaft seal gets busted and ATF leaks out. With consecutive transmission gone, using OP's term, SOUTH.
Either way, no good news, OP. Sorry.
He's talking about crown nut that holds hub bearing in non front wheel drive cars. He does not know FWD cars do not have crown nuts.
Also, half shaft is secured in place by entire wheel suspension geometry. It's not that easy to pop it out.
More than likely the half-shaft popped out partially because the mechanic failed to press it into the transfer case during the installation. The inner end of the half-shaft is held in place in the transfer case by a circular spring ( looks like a washer or clip but with a gap in between) that's located in front of the spline. When properly pressed into the transfer case (some force is needed to accomplish this), one can feel and hear the noise it makes when it locks in place. When pressed-in firmly, the washer contracts and pops into a groove, in which it expands to normal size again.
If not installed properly, transfer case oil leaks out between the dust/oil seal and the half-shaft, and of course, the shaft pops out enough for the spline to disengage. The outer end of the half-shaft at the wheel is held in place by a spindle nut that's is installed over a large washer. The last I remember, on the '81 Civic it took 150-LBS of force to torque the nut, at which point a very narrow portion the outer edge of the nut was hammered down into a groove on the half shaft with the use of a dull chisel, thus preventing the spindle nut from becoming loose.
I have done this work myself numerous times on different Japanese vehicles (Civic, Sidekick, Accord, etc.), and never had such problems.
I cannot remember what exactly was fixed, since it was over two years ago. I think a shaft or something like that was repaired, not the transmission. The problem occurred after my car was being serviced for CV boot replacements, and also an oil change I think. Again, it was some time ago so I cannot recall the exact details.
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