when i did mine i had to put grease all over the splines and shaft toget it to slide right in. (ya that sounds dirty lol)
i tried dry and it just wouldnt fully go in and snap... i tried for about an hour on one axle until i greased it up and it snapped in first try... i wouldnt hammer on the axle since you dont want to mess up the joints! so stick with just using your hands.

thats the main thing you wanna be sure about is that it is snapped in! if you can pull it out its not in, might want to check the clip on the end to ensure that its still on the end and not fell off.

 

I'm going to try a new seal from honda on monday when they open up. In the mean time, it will continue to drip in the garage. I'll post results.

 

You can buy one at Autozone. I just replaced my axles and one of the seals. The seal cost around 5 bucks and and the tool to remove the seal cost about 10 bucks. Some people use a screwdriver to pry out the seal, the seal remover tool was a lot easier to use.

 

just stopped it at autozone, their system said NA for it, so i guess they (at least the local one) dont carry it for my model.

what year/model do you have?

 

na for what your tranny seals?
if ya need them i got a pair left over.

 

I have a 97 Civic with a manual transmission. I think it was called as output shaft seals in their computer.

 

Thanks for the offer. I stoped by a mom and pop style auto shop in town that had some in stock. I finally get them in after a few tries.

 

I had the same problem on both halfshafts. Maybe the 97 Civic has tighter holes than other years? LOL You can fruitlessly push all you want against the rubber boots, that is all you have to push against, so you can't use tools or it might cut the rubber boot. Real PITA. I pushed so hard that I sprained my thumb, POS wouldn't budge. Used a different brand on the right side--same thing. Tried putting the old shaft back in--same thing! I think the holes are just tight. I had to wack both of mine on the shaft end at the brake rotor--if it damaged them, at least I have lifetime warranty. My clips were fine, I cleaned and lubed everything, tried oil and grease too, nothing helped. They just refused to go in properly until I wacked the end of the shaft!

 

did ya grease the shaft also? its suposed to be tight precision fit! any slack in either end would just chew up the parts and be a sloppy mess until it just sits and spins freely in the hole...

 

Yes I tried oil, then grease. Lubed shaft from the tip all the way to the big barrel thing that is about 4 inches in diameter. Oiled the hole and seal well too. Even the original half shaft refused to snap into the hole it had just come out of!
--until I hammered the end of the halfshaft, both right and left refused to seat properly. Now they are both in all the way, as before, maybe 1/8 inch gap between barrel thing and differential.