so, long story short. how much slop is to be expected after installing a new driver side cv axle? what i mean i guess is, when i have the driver side jacked up with the tire off the ground i can turn the wheel and hear a clunking kinda noise from inside the cvt. now granted, vibration travels and all so it may be the cv, not the trans. if that makes any sense.

how much should the cv axle turn in park, with wheel off the ground after replacing a new one? just the driver wheel off ground, passenger planted. should there be any play at all? just curious cause the car is making a clunking / pop kinda sound around right hand turns. i have jerked on the wheel up and down, side to side with what seems to me like no movement at all.

any thoughts?

2011 nissan rogue-- new tie rods, passenger cv axle, control arms with ball joints,
and wheel bearings replaced about 2 1/2 years ago.

driver cv axle, struts and sway bar end links replaced about 1
month ago.

everything torqued to nissan specs.

145,00 on car and still on OG cvt. i am suprised also, it has been well taken care of and serviced by me. also, FWD S model.

this slop / play has me confused, any thoughts or ideas would be nice.

cheers

On a new axle there should be a minimum to no amount of slop. Where did you get the axle? I’m guessing not a Nissan dealer? Aftermarket axles are mostly chinese or reman’s that are hit and miss as to if they work right or even fit properly. Likewise while they will have little to no impact on your axle problem all the front end parts, ball joints, tie rods, struts, sway links etc. It’s never a good idea to put the cheap CRAP (chinese auto replacement parts) on a vehicle.

The bottom line is after replacing the axle, if while you’re driving you still get, or now have a clunk take the axle back get a refund and visit the Nissan dealer either in person or online and get an OEM axle and see if that solves your problem. I know those box stores offer a lifetime warranty, but that just means you get really good at replacing the axle over and over again.

By the way you will need a new axle nut each time you take it off.

Not so.

Virtually every single CV axle made will rotate some with the wheel in the air and trans in park. It is IMPOSSIBLE not to as you have a stackup of several clearances (at least 6, there are more depending on how the weight of car bears on the other axle.) occurring there to make that slop and it will be there in varying degrees even on brand new cars, you will NEVER find zero movement. The clunk is normal, it will happen if you simply bang the slack out of the axle, every car I have will do it and they are fine.

Up to one inch is OK. I've seen more and car running fine.

Check the service manual for how many times you can use the nut, some can be used more than once, I've done it plenty of times. Depends on the nut configuration.

Go to a parking lot and then make slow tight circles with steering at full lock but not held there hard. Go in both directions. Listen for repetitive click or clunk and if you get that an axle is loose.

ONE clunk while turning may well be a loose ball joint instead, the car shifts the weight at a turn to clunk.

Interesting. On my vehicles when I can turn the axle a full inch I figure I've been asleep at the switch and let the axle wear get by me. If you grip the axle with your hand both wheels on the ground and give it a few twists there should be almost no play. While I've reused axle nuts before I prefer not to.

Nah, you have so many clearances to add up to give slack there you almost cannot count them.

You got going out from the wheel across the entire axle train to other wheel........

slack at the outer CV Rzeppa balls, slack at the inner ball hub splines, slack at the inner CV splined hub, slack at the hub tripod, going into trans now slack at axle splines to spider gear inside diff, slack at side spider to top and bottom spiders, slack at top and bottom to other side spider, THAT spider spline slack, and on out again to the other axle, or 4 more places. The outer differential case merely sits there allowing that or may rock slightly in parking gear slack adding another 2 slack points (spider gear shaft and park link).

Count those, even within tolerance each one they will add up to a whopping amount of slack. The spiders are especially loose even new and they have 5X the slack other points will have there. I'd bet 1/8" rotationally each one.

Why they clunk even when a new car...........normal.

That is one tire free in air ONLY though, if all tires are on the ground then rotating AXLE by hand has you primarily check the outer spline hub and balls only, and then there should be virtually no play at all. Two different checking points there, one goes through the diff which has whopping loosenesses in it as normal. On the ground the outer Rzeppa joint is tight enough to stop you from feeling any of the others.

Why you have to be careful about how you isolate the different parts to not be fooled.