This is my first time doing cv axle.

I bought on ebay and they were marked as pass side and driver side so I thought they were different but when they got delivered both boxes had the same part number so I thought they were the same. After a 3 hour battle with the pinch bolt I finally got the pass side in and took for a test drive. The first block or so was fine but then I started hearing this loud kinda clunking sound every time the wheel turned ( not the clicking sound the cv makes when it's going bad).


I have now found out they are different and I put the driver side on the pass side and it's 7/8" shorter than the one I should have put in. The guy I bought from shipped both of them in boxes for drivers side for different model car, I guess the were just extra boxes he had laying around.

Did I kill my new cv by driving it this way for a few blocks?

What kind of damage could I have done to cv by using one that's 7/8" too short?

I think I have 7 days to return to the ebay seller but I don't have time to put both in, test, and take back out to return ship in the 7 day time frame -it's day 5 now.


Thanks guys

 

next time lay both new and used parts out side by side before you install the new one and look at them. obviously dont drive the car any more. how did you get the axel to fit between the wheel and transmission if it was almost an inch too short?

 

Thanks for the reply.

I did put them side by side and they looked the same but I didn't think to stretch them as far as they could go first.

It still fits between the wheel and the trans I think it just doesn't sit as far in the hub as it should.

Do you think I should return it or try to install it?

Thanks

 

It sat fully in the hub if it was bolted to the diff and the axle bolt was tight. The problem is that you stretched the CV joint (likely the inner), and it's very likely that it's ruined. Search my recent posts (from my member page) for CV axle related posts - I put up a fairly long post about the issues my buddy went through with his Passat axles, and the symptoms and diagnosis were spot-on with what you saw. Bottom line - you're most likely gonna need another axle, or at least a rebuild (I'd opt for the rebuild kit, even though it costs more - it reuses your OEM axle and is a breeze to install). Seems that Empi axles in particular have been problematic lately for being manufactured short.