I am replacing all of the struts on my 2004 Toyota Corolla with new quick-struts.
I already did the passenger side, which was not too difficult, and cleaned up the rotor with a sanding block and fine-grit sandpaper, and replaced the brake pads.
Today, I pulled the driver side strut, and even though I put something under the control arm to prop it up, the drive shaft pulled out of the transmission. I see a lot of grease where it came out, so I don’t know if something is leaking.
I need to know what I should do in order to ensure that the transmission will work properly and not leak transmission fluid, which it never did before. The car currently has about 150,000 to 160,000 miles on it.
If there isn’t one you need to get one. If there is, it’s weak and needs to be replaced.
When the shaft comes out there’s going to some fluid loss. Normal
When reinstalling the shaft, make sure not to drag the splines on the end of the shaft over the seal in the transmission. That’s how the seal gets cut and leaks.
Some clarity would help. Did the splined inner CV shaft pull out of the transmission? )See the pic from Tester). If so, then it didn’t leak grease, but transmission fluid, which will be a tiny amount. And you’ll want a new c-clip as Tester’s post said. (And you might think about about replacing the shaft seal while you’re in there).
OR…
did the inner CV joint separate? In that case you’d get grease. And in that case, I’d just get a whole new half-shaft. Otherwise, it’s take the whole thing out and learn how to clean and re-pack, and re-boot a CV half-shaft.
Well, upon closer inspection, the CV boot on the transmission side is torn. A small part of it is still clamped to the drive shaft. And the stuff in it looks like gray grease, though it may be transmission fluid mixed with dirt.
Well the 1st 2 show nothing that you are concerned about…
The 3rd shows an inner boot that needs replacing, but I would just replace the whole axle… But I don’t think you pulled it apart or out of the transmission, just the boot didn’t stretch cause it is junk now…
Yes, the entire drive shaft pulled out of the transmission. I assume I should replace the entire drive shaft and the shaft seal in the transmission. Should I do that on both sides? Any other parts needed? Should I go with remanufactured OEM, which is actually more expensive, or new aftermarket?
If you are competent in replacing seals then go for it, they are cheap… But we can not say for sure it needs replacing cause we don’t know if you damaged it or not… New axle…
If no issues with the other side, leave it alone…
Might want to replace the sway bar end links while you are at it… lol
I did not realize this. It might have moved about an inch, which made me believe that it completely disengaged. I take it you believe the movement is normal? When I replaced the strut on the passenger side, the drive shaft did not move at all.
Yes the cv axle has to be able to collapse and expand as the suspension moves up and down going over bumps and stuff all while being able to turn from lock to lock while the suspension is doing it’s thing, if not then it would jam into the transmission case and damage it
Good catch. That’s the stock AM/FM/cassette player from my 1995 Caravan, which I upgraded to the official Chrysler AM/FM/CD/cassette stereo from a junkyard. If I ever get the P-Body running again, I’ll put the same type of stereo in it.
