Can't fit new axles in

[Mustachio]

I just replaced both axles on my car with GKNs in May. They both fit into the hub no problem on the first try, all I had to do was put a little wheel bearing grease on the splines to help them slide. However, one axle came with a normal OE style 22mm nut, and the other came with a 12pt nut, and a very fine thread on the splined end. I can't remember if it was 24 or 22mm Even though it didn't matter, the difference between sides killed my OCD. The CV ends on the 12pt nut axle were also painted black, whereas the normal axle was electroplated metal (like OEM). I ended up paining the bare metal axle black to match. About 2k miles later, the alien 12pt axle started to click on the outer CV, so I exchanged it for a new one (FCP Euro FTW) and they sent me... a normal 22mm nut axle with electroplated ends!! Not sure if I just got a bad axle or if the 12pt nut end had something to do with it. My local friends who have used GKNs also said they've never seen that style before. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Thanks for sharing the info, every bit helps. This is now my personal curiosity taking hold of me as I really want to find out what in the f... is happening with these things.

So both of mine are 12 point nuts, no pun intended, and look cheap and brittle. The threaded tips have cutouts for a nut to be deformed and bent into those cutouts to stop them from spinning off. Both of the axles were painted completely, even the boots were sprayed. So I actually had to remove paint from the splines so it didn't cause binding. Also, there are absolutely no markings or any numbers ANYWHERE on the axles, that's very puzzling to me as you have absolutely no way to check or reference who, where or what...

[Mustachio]

OP, if you look at others experiences with rear axle fit, you'll soon discover that some slide right in, some are a bit tight,
and others are so tight that they take almost extraordinary force to install and remove. It's manufacturing tolerances
in a part that's not trivial to get exactly right,

First, measure the thing to make sure you have the right part. GKN's manufacturing is still very good, but it's not unheard of to get the wrong part,
either from them directly or the parts chain.

Secondly, GKN has changed styles recently in several other applications (E46 front axles, e.g.) so it's possible they've changed the thread
OR redesigned the whole thing. Again, the measuring, as the E46 part is now visually different but still works.
See 15MJ's post, above- we may be looking at the end of supply for these things...

I have not used the above referenced puller, but there IS enough room to get a thin threaded sleeve around the threads, and then pull the
axle into place. I made one on a lathe with a used nut, but I DO recommend the rental idea, as it takes a while... ;)
If the puller doesn't do the job pretty easily, something's wrong. If there isn't room around the threads, something's wrong.

As to why you can't get a new part for a 30 year old car that works right the first time, just be glad you CAN get a new part.
Mass production and Crapitalisim being what they are, we're not really a very lucrative market for budding venture Crapitalists...

t
not sold

"Extraordinary force" is what seems to be the case here, as I've tried hammering them in from the inner CV side, just got fed up. The axles did not go in even a millimetre. All I could see was where the splines from the hub were trying to cut a wider track into the GKN splines (quite visible in the pictures above). The diameter of the GKN splines was also 0.3 mm bigger than my existing ones. Now it's quite possible that my axles are just that worn out and perhaps made from a softer metal, but now it seems that I have to tediously "wear" in GKN's with a thin file to make the V groove slightly wider.

Anyways, thanks for replying, makes me feel like I'm not completely shafted, pun intended this time haha

[Vincenze]

Both of the axles were painted completely, even the boots were sprayed.

If the boots are painted, the axles are refurbished.

Compare them to the original axles.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...m3-33211226901
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-gkn-driv...211226901~gkn/

[ForcedFirebird]

Sounds like you have an e36 axle. The e30 uses 22mmx1.5 threads and uses a six pointed nut and the little "cage" for anti-rotation. The e36 uses a 27mmx1.5 nut (requires a larger socket), and the nut has a thin edge that gets staked into notches on the axle end.

Axles will slide in and out with minimal force once the splines are cleaned as mentioned above. If you have to pound your axles in, I hate to be the one that ends up pulling them back out.