[ChadM1Garand]

Got my old axles out of my 2002 rancher 350, and the new ones just wont go in. I watched videos, read the manual, and all of them look easy. On mine, the splines inside the differential are not damaged, but when i try to push the axles they wont go, and I tried driving them on with a hammer and that just ruined the little round wire clips. Just for fun I tried it without a clip and it still wont go. When pulling the old ones out they were *really* tight and I had to pry hard to get them out . Makes no sense... Anyone else have this issue?

 

[fishfiles]

are you sure you got the right axle for the bike ? ----if you bought them off e-bay that could be the problem ----if they are OEM axles and still don't fit , it would make me thing that the splines are worn out of shape in the differential

 

[KBacon]

I just installed a rear axle in my buddy's Arctic Cat... and had a hell of a time getting it out... and then the new one wouldn't go in... tried the hammer and ended up mushrooming the threads just a tad... even stopped and counted the splines to verify that I had the right axle...

Then I remembered back when I used to work on cars a bit and how we would drop the upper suspension... and leave the lower ball joint attached.. remove the axle... then install the axle into the hub... line up the axle & splines in the trans.. and lever the axle into the transmission... and then reattach the upper suspension...

So I reattached the lower suspension on the Artic Cat... installed the axle into the hub... then lined up the axle in the diff and pushed on the top of the knuckle and levered the axle right into the diff easily... I guess mechanical advantage wins out over brute force!!!

 

[Manny]

take a set of calipers and measure the overall width of the splines compared to the old ones. chances are you got the wrong axles.

 

[ChadM1Garand]

Thanks guys - I got it solved, one of the new axles had incorrect splines, and the other one had a non-Honda clip that was too big. I put the Honda clip on it and it went right in. The moral of the story is, best to spend the money and buy Honda axles.