Okay so im in the middle of doing my clutch and when we popped the transaxles off we removed them at the boot and not at the transmission and then popped the (part thats connected to the transmission) off the tranny. Can i reattach them? Is there anything i need to be mindful of? Thanks...
PS dont do your own clutch without a lift. omfg.

 

By "transaxles", you mean axle shafts, right? The term transaxle generally (when used) refers to the combination of a transmission and differential in a single case, i.e. a transmission and an axle built together.

So it sounds like you took the axle out of the CV joint, and then the CV joint shell off the transmission case? I think you should be able to reassemble the axle shaft proper to the CV joint. You'll have to replace the boot (or at the very least, the boot clamps, but a new boot is cheap enough), and most likely to clean and relubricate it with the proper grease. Absolutely avoid at all costs using a "split boot," which pretty much never works well and wouldn't be any real help to you even if it did since you have the parts off the car and disassembled already.

It might be worth considering at this point simply getting replacement axle shafts, depending on how many miles they have on them and what sort of shape they're in generally. The Fit doesn't seem to wear out CV joints too quickly, though.

 

Kudos on attempting to do the clutch in the drive way.
Yeah, I am also not clear on what the OP is asking. When inserting the axles back into the transmission, the best practice is to install new axle seals. For the very least, make sure the axle surface that goes back into the transmission is surgically clean. Maybe they will not leak then with the old seals (for a while).

How much was the clutch kit. What year Fit do you have?

 

John,
so basically what I'm saying is that when we took the axles out we did it at the boot and not at the part that has the spline that inserts into the transmission if that makes sense? I don't know the exact terminology for it . I am in Pasadena if you have some time this week and want to meet up for a few i can show you what i did and you could tell me if it looks possible to salvage them. I did the job in the driveway out of necessity (basically I'm currently broke as fun) rather than curiosity and never have before so i think its a bit of a hack job at this point and the idea of getting it all back together is rather daunting to say the least so I'm doing a bit every day. Today with the help of the neighbor who's also doing an engine swap on his MR2 i was able to get the pressure plate,clutch and flywheel off..im bringing the flywheel to be resurfaced first thing monday and i have to clean out the bell and install the new bearing and re-grease the grease groove, spline, and ball. I'm literally doing this off of a chilton book and youtube lol. Any help would be extremely appreciated.

 

you would be exactly correct we split the cv joint and then pulled the joint out of the shell and then realized we had to pull the whole shell so then pried that off. the boots i believe are still in fine shape but I'm quite sure i need new boot clamps. Whats the proper grease? What is a split boot? The axle shafts have 200k miles on them but have no issues and i honestly don't think i could afford it at the moment as i already considered this as a worst case scenario. Im definitely open to it as a last resort obviously but would rather not.

 

also its an Exedy kit and 2008

 

OK, so you definitely need clamps. An auto parts store could direct you to appropriate grease and clamps. If the boots are fine, it's obviously not essential to replace them, but I probably still would if I could swing it just because they're pretty cheap and it's a lot of work to replace an inner one should it fail...and you're most of the way there already with the things taken apart.

A split boot is a CV joint boot that gets attached something like a clam shell, rather than from the end over the CV joint, and then is glued together along the split. The basic idea is that you can replace a broken boot without removing the whole assembly. In practice, they rarely work well because installing it requires that you somehow get all the grease for the joint on the inside while getting not a spec on the glue surfaces, and then keep them clean that way while applying cement to glue the halves together. It's a nice idea on paper, but it is pretty nearly impossible to get to work reliably in practice. (It doesn't take too much dirt or water in the CV joint to wear it out in pretty short order.)

New seals for the transmission where the axles fit in are indeed a very good idea. I think that's also generally accepted practice and specified by most shop manuals. The seals are not expensive.

 

ill have to take a look at them when i get home but off the top of your head where do said seals go?

 

Typically, they're pressed into the transmission housing from the outside where the axle shafts fit in. Standard shade tree procedure is to use a socket of an appropriate overall diameter to gently tap it in and keep it square (after removing the old one, of course).

I assume the Fit is typical; I haven't actually checked or done it myself. Something along the lines of Chiltons or Haynes or the Honda shop manual should have all the details.

 

You might not need to even disassemble the axle boot to get it back together. It takes some skill, but you can line everything up by feel and then (holding the axle vertical to the ground), give it a quick bang into the ground/concrete (use towels/rags/cardboard or another means of padding as necessary) and the joint can snap back into place. It's hard to explain, but really primitive and simple if you see it done.

Kudos for doing this job at home. I did it too so I know it's a lot of work.

 

I didn't replace any transmission seals when I replaced the clutch/flywheel. Just be careful not to damage them. The shop manual does call for a new set ring on the innermost end of the axle, but it's fine to re-use the old one and I haven't had any problems.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or issues. I might not be able to go over in person, but I might remember some useful info if you run into any problems.

 

thanks for the kudos its been a big project and its gonna be a week on thursday so I'm trying to go slow and steady and luckily i have another car... the rear main seal and the pilot bearing were giving me the worst time trying to get them out...the seal i can't get out. the bearing wouldn't come out either but after tying the tool thats supposed to actually remove the bearing with no luck i used the bread trick and it worked like a champion. that being said I'm not sure what the inside is supposed to look like to put everything back together ,( a local shop told me to say screw the clamps. clean the area. add grease and zip tie it.. sounds ghetto but so did the bread idea until it was the only thing that worked.... where in socal are you? I'm in pasadena but am willing drive around if i could bring you the axle and you could maybe show me? ill do all the work and buy lunch

 

Hey, I am sorry, I couldn't go help you in person. I am preparing for an exam and im running out of time.
As far as clamping the boot, there are different tools that are needed depending on the type of the clamp.. (here is a google link for pictures)

If you buy the clamp and your axle and boot are ready, I think any shop will do it for you for free (or for 3 bucks if they are greedy).

I wouldn't want to drive around with zip ties around the cv joint boots. Don't listen to them.

Did you buy a clamp? I doubt they would be very expensive even from the dealership. You could easily use universal ones from any auto parts store.

Oh and here are some youtube videos showing how to do the clamps around cv joint boots.
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...cv+joint+clamp

 

I'm in Anaheim so it's not too far really. The only thing is, I only snapped my cv joint in using that method one time. So I can't guarantee that I'll be able to get it in the same if you come down here. But hey, if you're willing to give it a shot, I'm down. It really takes less than 3 minutes to snap it back in so it really isn't too much work.

Yeah the pilot bearing removal tool needs to be shaved/filed down to fit. It was one (of many) pains in the neck when I changed the clutch/flywheel. Glad you got it out with the bread method though haha.

 

no worries good luck on your exam and i will probably order new clips!

 

i actually live in westminster and bought my car at hardin so I'm like 10 min from you. txt me and lets see if we can meet up sometime this week? 951 552 0890

 

s0x, I saw you ask for help on this the other day and just want to wish you good luck man. I've been loving driving my new 6speed Fit, but I shudder to think of having to replace the clutch. I wish you well homie.

Who long did you get out of the original clutch?

 

Thanks man i just need to replace the rear main seal and torque everything up to spec and put that tranny and the motor mounts back on and it should be done. With patience and friends it can take days and can feel really overwhelming but if you just go step by step its not as bad as i thought it was going to be.

as for the stock clutch i commute about 80 miles a day and do about 35k a year probably 80 percent highway and the clutch lasted 210,000 miles lol so not terrible i would say.

 

Nice! You just described my commute as well. 75 miles round trip, all highway. Hopefully I get some of that good luck you had.

Glad the job went well too. May it last another 300 thousand miles!

 

Thanks man!

update for anyone who cares... we cleaned up and reassembled the cv joint. changed the grease and re attached the boots (i used zip ties literally a honda technician told me its fine lol) 3 of us hoisted up the transmission and got it back into place (so frustrating. if you ever do this job yourself be prepared and patient) bolted back and and now we need to torque everything back down and reinstall the hydraulic components.