CV Axle Replacement

For this model, the shaft is rather tight and quite often we have difficulty removing the shaft.

Something is not correct and it could be the length of the joint that plugs in.

If your old shaft is still available, compare their length.
Did you compare the length of the complete shaft before installing?

Remoe the central locking nut and push the sgaft as far as it can go in. The tip of the shaft should be almost completely level with the hub flange. If it is going in further than that, the length of the shaft could be too short.

I would be fitting a new "C" retaining clip on the shaft.

Some C-clips are not strong if it is not OEM so I agree with mhpautos about replacing it.

What type of noise are you getting?
When does the noise occur?

Does it occur on straight lines or only when making turns?

Straight line noises are usually caused by axle shafts or wheel bearings.

Are the axle shafts rebuilt or completely new?

If rebuilt, you could have a bad bearing inside the joints.

Have you made absolutely sure that the outer shaft is fully located in the hub and the nut is the correct torque?

The inner CV joint is spring-loaded to hold the housing into the transmission. If it was not fully inserted, you wouldn't have been able to reconnect the lower ball joint. Once everything is assembled, but just before you install the axle nut, press in on the outer CV joint's stub shaft with your thumb. It should take significant effort, but it will move in a good half inch, then it will pop back out under that spring pressure.

The most common mistakes with this job have to do with that axle nut. It must be tightened to specs with a click-type torque wrench, and it absolutely must be tightened before any vehicle weight is set down on the tire. Failure to do either of those will instantly make the wheel bearing noisy. Many do-it-yourselfers set the vehicle on the tire to hold the axle shaft from spinning when they try to tighten the nut. Instead, just drop a punch or screwdriver into one of the cooling slots in the rotor before the wheel is installed, then tighten the nut. The torque spec is 217 foot pounds.

You might find some more information in this article:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-cv-axle

Apart from weak C-clips, the other possibilities are :

1. Incorrect shaft, could be the length of the joint is too short. After pushing in the joint, check if it is easy to get dislodged when you pry at it gently. You should have a feeling of the clip in position.

2. The differential is bad. The housing for the shaft is worn/bad resulting in the C-clip not holding the shaft in position. If the complete shaft is too short, the inner joint would more likely to separate from the shaft rather than the inner joint coming out.

Time to check the inner spline in the trans axle for wear or damage, the only thing that holds the shaft in is the "C" clip, so the problem will be in that end, I would also put the car on a hoist and check for any movement in the position of the shaft end with the steering on full lock, make sure that there is nothing causing the shaft to tension up with an outward tension on lock causing the clip to disengage.