hans.pcguy

I was working on my front end on 99 Civic LX. I used an impact wrench to loosen the spindle nut while the car was off the ground (both sides) in park. No brakes applied. I had most of the suspension disconnected. The impact wrench started spinning the axle. I think I broke something inside the transmission. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

ezone

Was the trans in neutral when you did this?

What happens when you put the trans in 1st gear and then turn the same axle? (Or PARK if this has an automatic trans)

hans.pcguy

The car was in park on jack stands. The Drivers side spindle was off so the drivers side drive shaft was just laying there but in. I undid the spindle nut on the passenger side with everything else disassembled. The car was in park. The strut was out and the drive shaft could slide in and out a ways. I went in the car after it happened and tried to put it into a different gear but it wouldn't come out of park. (I had the brake calipers disconnected and couldn't apply the brakes to get it out of park. I tried pushing the axle in and trying to turn it and it seems to turn but click. When I turn one side the other side turns also. Don't know if they reverse direction of spin. Just know when I turn one side the other turns also. I am hoping the drive shaft just slipped out. There used to be a (park pin) in old auto trans cars that could be sheared off. Are they still made that way?

hans.pcguy

on another note: the reason I am doing this is because it needs lower ball joints along with tie rod ends and struts. I found that the one I have has integral lower ball joints. They don't press out of the spindle. They are actually part of the spindle. Has anyone ever heard of that before. Lower ball joints built in to the spindle? The car had bad front end wreck when it was new and they must have used some pretty dicey aftermarket spindles that had the ball joints built in them. What a job this is turning out to be.

ezone

Good.
Opposite direction when trans is in PARK.


Sounds like you did not pull the inboard joints out of the trans, and you did not pull the shaft far enough out of the inboard CV cup to separate the joint (if you did, that might be trouble), so.....

Sounds like everything is as it should be.
The answer to why the axles turn lies in understanding how a differential works and understanding where the park pawl is (which part it acts upon) inside the trans.



HTH

ezone

I've never heard of that?

hans.pcguy

Thanks so much. What a relief. I have spent about $600 on this job so far (with tools etc) and I can't afford a new car so this one has to be fixed. By the way. This is by far the best car I have ever had. Bought it new in 99. Put 220K miles on it and only routine maintenance so far. And really easy to work on. Love the Civic.