I am in the process of replacing the left front axle shaft in my daughters '99 Grand Am and I am stumped. I got the old one off with no problems and am in the process of putting the new one on. I cannot get the inner splines to lock the retainer ring on the differential side gear. My Haynes manual says 'seat the inner CV joint in the differential side gear by positioning the end of a large screwdriver in the groove in the CV joint housing and tapping into position with a hammer'. Sounds simple enough. The problem is that I don't see any groove in the CV joint housing. It is smooth and the only real edge is inside of the CV boot.
I've got it on the splines, but when I pull back it slides off so it obviously has not engaged the retaining ring. Anyone have any experience with this? I have tried just pushing it by gripping the inner CV housing, but I cannot get enough force on it to engage the retaining ring.
I've got it on the splines, but when I pull back it slides off so it obviously has not engaged the retaining ring. Anyone have any experience with this? I have tried just pushing it by gripping the inner CV housing, but I cannot get enough force on it to engage the retaining ring.