Hi All
I am new to this forum, but hoping I can get some help. I have recently taken on the task of replacing the inner tie rod, outer tie rod the upper and lower control arm the sway bar link and the front axle on both passenger side and driver side, I was able to get everything out and back together but when I went to test driver it it felt like the passenger side axle was popped out of place but when I jacked it up it appears to be in place, But something isn't right. Any suggestions as to what I did wrong would be appreciated

Car is a 2008 Infiniti G35x awd sedan

 

Is it sitting flush against the transfer case?

 

I have attached some pics

 

Is the axle nut tightened down? Also have you checked everything else for tightness? Was there a clicking noise? That usually indicates an axle issue in most cases
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I used a cordless Milwaukee impact wrench to tighten it down

 

A cordless impact is not a torque wrench, axle nut torque is 92 ft/lbs.

I suspect the problem is with the tie rod ends, did you count thread engagement from the existing rod ends?

Either way it needs to get aligned and you're probably feeling alignment issues, if it was something actually LOOSE there is typically a noise associated with it.

Get the front supported on a lift or stands, grab the top of the tire and aggressively pull/push and see if there is any play, next do the same thing from the front edge of the tire. Helps if you have someone hold the steering wheel steady but if it's just you then you can use a ratchet strap to tie the steering wheel to the brake pedal (just snug it down good, obviously you can break components by going gorilla on that strap). That will keep the wheel from turning while you are pulling on the tire.

 

I was just heading out to pickup a torque wrench, thanks for the advice. I did count the turns on the outer tie rods, but knew I would need an alignment once I was done. I did here some grinding noise when I took it out for a test drive. In fact I didn't make it off my block before I heard the noise and headed back to the garage.

As for the noise, I backed out of the driveway turn the wheels and pit it in drive. I felt like a pop or a thump going forward at about 5 mph and then I hear a grinding. This happened twice, the first time I pulled it back to the garage and looked at the passenger side cv axle and I could see that it had popped out or that I hadn't seated it correctly. So I reseated the axle and tried another test drive. Same thing happened again so I pulled it back into the garage and checked the axle, but it hadn't popped out so now I'm thinking I must have forgotten something, but I can't figure out what it is.

Thanks again for taking the time to help me out.

 

Was the lock ring on the end of the old axle when you pulled it out?

 

No lock ring found

 

Ok then the snap ring must be retained inside the differential, as long as you cannot pull the axle back out by hand then it's locked into place.

If you CAN pull the axle back out by hand then the snap ring probably got pushed back farther into the diff.

 

So I notices that I have side to side play in both front wheels it seems like the cv shaft is moving