Why won't my axle stay in the front hub?

[Riven]

I can’t get my right front axle to lock in to the front diff.
I have changed the lock ring twice, cleaned both inner & outer splines & the grooves the ring snaps in to & I can still pull the axle out of the bike by hand with no resistance.
Even when fully assembled I can still pull the axle out over 1/2".

What else can I try?

[Rubberdown]

What kind of condition is the groove on the axle, the groove inside the hub, the ring and the spline in, maybe one of these are worn out....

[Riven]

Ring, axle spline & groove look good but cant really see the inner spline. I bet that inner spline pease wont be cheep if thats what i need. Cheeper than a new axle & what evere else it breaks if it comes out on the trail.
The ring is tight to get in the hub. It really takes a lot of force to get it to compress. I have to use a 2.5lb hammer to drive it in. Anything smaller & i just cant get the axle to start past the ring. Once its in it slides easy.

[cd]

so is this just one side doing this? were the splines really rusty at one point? is your axle extending from the outboard joint like it is supposed too?

[Riven]

It was rusted in solid fron new but i changed the axles a few years back & have kept the splines lubed ever since.
Everything is good with the axle i just wont lock in place in the diff.

I plan to wash the diff spline real good tonight & see if their is some little peace of crap stopping it from seating all the way.

[badbearcat]

My bet would be that there is crap in the groove that the lock ring seat's in. Clean that groove out really good and then when you put the axle back in it should lock in like it should.

[duse]

As badbearcat suggested,,,did you check the groove ?
You can take one of those little metal picks and scrape around in there.
I guess you looked in there to see if something is lodged in the back of the gearcase and stopping it from going back all the way.

If that dosent work ,,,pull the other axle and see if that works.
But before you put the other one in there ,compare the measurements of the 2 axles.Like the distance from the end of the shaft to the groove.

[Riven]

I totally cleaned & picked at the spline tonight. It looks good. Their is a minor ding or two on the axle spline where the clip poped off when i was tapping it in to the diff but you cant even feel it. I did file it just to be safe.

It still wont go all the way in. So it looks like im riding it as is for now.

[ccobra70]

I had the same prob, gorilla has a new circlip but its made out of square bar instead of round bar and that fixed my problem

[Riven]

That might be something worth looking into. Thanks ccobra70

[Riven]

I have been having cv boot wear issues for a while now.
I bet the axle pulling out of the diff putting the cv at near max angle has something to do with it.;)

["Bankrupt"]

how big of a clip are you using? as in how much slack does it have once you put it on the axle.

my factory ones were pretty tight. not much play. but when i got my gorilla axles they would almost fall off the axle once you put them on. but they worked great.

if you are buying the C clips try getting a size larger. that will make them expand a bit farther out once the axle is seated all the way in.


but if the axle is not going all the way in, the clip size/diameter wont matter. and from the sounds of it i dont think your axle splines are going all the way into the diff.

[Bigdog800EFI]

I would bet there is mud packed against the center of the diff.Use a long screwdriver and scratch against the plate in the center of the diff.

[Riven]

I have compleetly cleaned the diff splines with a solvent, wire brush & a small dentist type pick. It their is something in their I cant see it.
The clip is fairly tight on the axle. It goes in easy for all but 1/8" & it wont move after that. It sounds like stel hiting steel if i try to drive it in further.

I rode all Saturday with NO issues with the axle but i still plan to tear it back down & go over it all again.

[Riven]

Now im getting concerned.
Bothe sides are not locking in now & the right axle spline can wiggle a bit in the hub. The hub does not move just the spline on the axle looks to have some play.
I just might have to look at getting 2 new inner CV cups.:pout:

I washed bothe inner splines with break cleaner & gave them both a shot of weak locktite. Not the best idea I know, but should get me through the long weekend. Then i can take the time & see what i need to replace.