axle broke inside differential

[abscate]

How are you going to weld onto a piece of oil covered steel buried in the differential?

[jonesg]

How are you going to weld onto a piece of oil covered steel buried in the differential?

same way I welded onto a 10mm bolt that broke below the surface,

spray with brake cleaner to remove oils, weld a puddle on the broken surface and let it cool, weld another pool on top and let cool, keep building it up. hit with chipping hammer to remove flux between each weld.

Flux core wire, no gas cup on the gun nozzle, it is less than 1/4 in diameter.
You could probably weld a new 1/2 inch bolt in there to grab onto.
Grease the splines so if any slag drips onto them it will pop off.

[cn90]

- The circlip has to be removed first, then the broken part will come out.
- Use only GKN axles.

The OLD axles with torn CV boot: if the outer CV joint still good, then clean it, and use new GKN boot.

[vtl]

How are you going to weld onto a piece of oil covered steel buried in the differential?

same way I welded onto a 10mm bolt that broke below the surface,

spray with brake cleaner to remove oils, weld a puddle on the broken surface and let it cool, weld another pool on top and let cool, keep building it up. hit with chipping hammer to remove flux between each weld.

Flux core wire, no gas cup on the gun nozzle, it is less than 1/4 in diameter.

I see a few problems with that.

1. Heat will change metallurgy of the side gear forever. It is extremely hardened, heat will make it soft. Need a replacement differential assembly afterwards.
2. Sputter everywhere. Yes, can spray with anti-spatter, but sputter still will be everywhere.
3. Metal is a very special alloy steel. Welding mild steel to it will cause cracks when the seam will be cooling, which will weaken it and may not provide enough strength to pull the axle remnants out.
4. Differential cap will melt or deform and will causes leaks. Need to take the transmission out, split in halves, take the diff apart and replace the cap.
5. Extreme heat expansion will change differential bearing preload, need to take the transmission apart and adjust the preload, or the bearings will fail (and possible take transmission casing with them).
6. Welding in engine bay of heavily computerized vehicle is always a Russian roulette, unless ALL nearby computers are fully disconnected, which easily is more laborious than taking the transmission out

[jonesg]

I'd give it a shot, freeze spray or wet paper towel around the spline area.

[firstv70volvo]

...
If anybody has the slightest idea or recommendation please comment, I’m truly lost and have 0 clue how to proceed.

There's been a lot of suggestions what to do; drilling, welding, freezing, removing and taking apart transmission... but, before doing anything else try to do everything you can to pry out the circlip first because it will save you a ton of work and headaches if you can do this. I can see the circlip in your photo and although I can't say for sure I'll bet you can get it out. With the circlip out you can get the broken off axle piece out. Have you tried to pry out the circlip yet?

[kallekula]

Yeah the clip is the main problem here. Not sure if there’s any play to get a hold of it with a small pick/hook. Once clip is gone you could super glue something onto the piece left or use a strong magnet maybe.
EDIT: maybe you can use jb weld and “glue” the axle back together again and yank it out??

[850oldschool]

I'm wondering if an old fashioned stick welder with a 1/4" rod might be the right choice. Guided by a piece of ceramic tube to prevent accidental arcing against the splines. Strike the arc, jam it into the fragment and have an assistant cut the power. Then yank it out using the welding rod.

[xHeart]

I would wipe away the grease and thoroughly clean the passage to assess the state of circlip first; take few pix and share with us.

[volvolugnut]

Use great caution to avoid vaporizing chlorinated brake cleaner. It is toxic.
volvolugnut