Transmission damage after installing new axles

Waleed94

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A neighbor helped me install my new axles yesterday. The driver side has a small chunk missing and possibly a hairline crack from a chisel. Should I leave it asis or get it tig welded or use some steel epoxy?


Honda Civic 10th gen Transmission damage after installing new axles 20210624_211358


Honda Civic 10th gen Transmission damage after installing new axles 20210625_094735


Honda Civic 10th gen Transmission damage after installing new axles 20210624_192716
 
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Lurkingg

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My advice, if it doesn't leak and the seal is fine don't touch it. That case is thick, and likely not affected structurally.

Wowee though, someone's really careless. I've changed tons of axles and I've never had to beat one like that except the fords with the axles that stick to the intermediate shafts. Not only do they make tools to remove axles, but a pry bar and a few wiggles usually frees them up. Might want to keep that neighbor far away from your car.
 
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Waleed94

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My advice, if it doesn't leak and the seal is fine don't touch it. That case is thick, and likely not affected structurally.

Wowee though, someone's really careless. I've changed tons of axles and I've never had to beat one like that except the fords with the axles that stick to the intermediate shafts. Not only do they make tools to remove axles, but a pry bar and a few wiggles usually frees them up. Might want to keep that neighbor far away from your car.

Yea I figured. I just didn't want it to get bigger. I cleaned it up nice and used some permatex cold weld to cover it up.

Honda Civic 10th gen Transmission damage after installing new axles 20210626_090510


Honda Civic 10th gen Transmission damage after installing new axles 20210626_102434
 

17RGuy

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DO NOT weld cast aluminum or steel without an understanding of preheating or proper weld procedure.

My goodness whoever the hell your neighbor is, have him buy you a new transmission case at the very least. I have never in my 20+ years of wrenching seen something so careless done during an axle removal or installation. If you do not have any leaking, take this as a hell of a lesson to trust whomever wrenches on your vehicle. I’m racking my damn brain trying to figure out why you even have that much damage… from a chisel? Sheesh.
 

TriangleHeat

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What you did was good enough, never let that dude near your car again LOL.

The most important part is whether the oil seal leaks. If it doesn't, I don't believe there's anything structural to worry about because the vertical load bearing on the front-end of the car is done on the struts and control arms first, the insides (the balls and raceways) of the CV joint and splines on the axle second, the actual housing of the transmission (especially that lip) is not load bearing for the weight of the front-end.

If it doesn't leak, count your blessings it could have been far worse. If he did that, I imagine he could have gone further into where the oil seal rides or he could have punched a hole right into the case and you would have been screwed at that point rofl.
 


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Waleed94

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DO NOT weld cast aluminum or steel without an understanding of preheating or proper weld procedure.

My goodness whoever the hell your neighbor is, have him buy you a new transmission case at the very least. I have never in my 20+ years of wrenching seen something so careless done during an axle removal or installation. If you do not have any leaking, take this as a hell of a lesson to trust whomever wrenches on your vehicle. I’m racking my damn brain trying to figure out why you even have that much damage… from a chisel? Sheesh.

No leaks so far. I asked two mechanics opinion. I just use a metal epoxy to go over the cracked area.
 
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Waleed94

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What you did was good enough, never let that dude near your car again LOL.

The most important part is whether the oil seal leaks. If it doesn't, I don't believe there's anything structural to worry about because the vertical load bearing on the front-end of the car is done on the struts and control arms first, the insides (the balls and raceways) of the CV joint and splines on the axle second, the actual housing of the transmission (especially that lip) is not load bearing for the weight of the front-end.

If it doesn't leak, count your blessings it could have been far worse. If he did that, I imagine he could have gone further into where the oil seal rides or he could have punched a hole right into the case and you would have been screwed at that point rofl.

I feel like there are tiny hairline cracks all over these transmissions. But how about the other side? I didn't see any chisel marks but the flange looks like it has cracks too if u zoom in

Honda Civic 10th gen Transmission damage after installing new axles 20210624_223807
 
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Waleed94

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Update.

It's been over 42k and it still hasn't leaked. I did have to replace the axle again and seal on the other side. I'm always worried one day it still might fail. It looks worse in the picture than in real life

i talked to a mechanic I know, and he told me he knows a good welder who can tig cast aluminum. I don't know if it will help me in my situation. It may just be easier to replace the trans with a used one, rather than rip it apart to fix the case at a trans shop.
 

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I've seen far worse than that and still worked fine. It's a bit of a bodge job but as you've discovered, it won't affect the functionality.
 
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Waleed94

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So far it's been just over 80000km and it's still fine. Some of the epoxy is starting to peel back at the bottom because it wasn't properly cleaned. My inner boot on the aftermarket axle is almost cracked through. I got a quote from a rebuilder who charges $110 each to fix the old ones. I want to return these axles and go back to OEM, but I'm scared of taking the axle out and having it leak on the other side. I wonder if I can get a slide hammer to take it off without putting much pressure on the damaged flanged
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