Volvo 850's Avoid axle nightmare: bad aftermarket circlips

[JimBee]

This post borrows from the Axle Nightmare post where I included this comment.
I ran into a problem with the design of the circlip of an aftermarket axle. I've changed several Volvo brand axles and they've all released and inserted quite easily.
Recently, I changed out an aftermarket axle (that was in the car when I bought it) only because the boot was torn. I have boots but there was no circlip visible to disassemble the cv joint to replace the boot so I got a reman axle from O'reilly.

I noticed that the circlip was quite loose—loose enough that you could grab it with finger and thumb—but the vendor assured me it would compress. I was skeptical but tried and I could hear the circlip hitting solid steel, the rim of the receiving part in the transmission. That receiving part is not tapered, so for the circlip to insert, it needs to be a)rounded on its edge, and b) not extend outside of the diameter of the axle.
I took the axle to the shop on the corner and the manager told me to wail it in with a heavy hammer. He said, "we do it all the time." I didn't wail on it, but I did tap it with a heavy hammer and it got stuck but didn't go in. It absolutely did not feel right. I had to buy a long pry bar to pop it out. I'm really glad I didn't try to drive it in, especially after reading this post.

I returned that axle to O'reilly, went to Autozone and their brand was made the same way, with a loose circlip.
I was almost ready to go for a Volvo brand axle from the local dealership when I tried NAPA. They had the right one, the circlip fits more tightly in the groove at the end of the axle—just loose enough to snap into a receiving groove the depth of the splines. It slid in without force, locked in place and has been trouble free. And if I need to get it out some day I'm pretty sure it will release without much force.

[scot850]

Thanks for the observations. Great input!

Neil.

[matthew1]

3rd-party remanufactured axles are a crapshoot. I got burned a few years ago.

[JimBee]

A couple of other things I noticed. The axle that I replaced because the boot was shredded but otherwise had no signs of wear, had no circlip to take it apart to replace the boot. I walked it to the corner shop to ask, they couldn't find a way to get it apart either. Whatever held it together must have been hidden in the cv with the intention of making it unrepairable.

The axle I ended up with from NAPA was definitely beefier than my core or the other two remans I looked at (that had loose circlips). When I had checked with Volvo, they asked if was for an automatic or manual trans. I thought they were the same, but the parts guy thought the axle for the manual trans was a little stronger to withstand hard shifting. Aftermarket units don't specify a difference. The NAPA remans must opt for the stronger, or maybe that one just happened to be a beefier core, had a larger end nut, too.

My thought about the loose fitting circlip for inside the trans is a supplier for that part used poor quality spring steel, so when they're expanded to fit over the axle into the groove they don't regain their original diameter and instead are a floppy fit. I can see how if a tech wails on one of those to get it in, you've got a mangled circlip that's mooshed into the splines and will be a bear to get out. It's not obvious, though, why that doesn't break something inside the transmission.

[BEJinFbk]

Raxles FTW!

[chrafael]

The differences I noticed between my Volvo axle and an Advance aftermarket item: The Volvo shafts were lighter, thinner, and had more generous stress risers on the radii. I could hold the Volvo axle by one end, tap it with a wrench and it would ring like a bell while the other sounded with a clunk. My conclusion was that higher strength steel doesn't require as much weight or thickness. Just an opinion.

[shiloh51933]

Napa sold me two CV axles for my 96 850glt and the outer boots ripped on both sides within a couple of months!!