CV Axle acceptable gap to Transmission
 

Removed the Right CV joint in order to replace the clutch. I was able to remove the joint without taking off the rotor by just removing the lower ball joint.

Before reinstalling I replaced the transmission oil seal and the snap ring at the end of the splined joint as recommended by Honda. I was then able to insert the joint to where it is shown in the attachment by rotating and using gentle persuasion with a piece of wood on the outside of the collar. Not able to apply force straight on because the rotor is still in place.

Is the gap shown in the picture correct or does it need to go in further? Should there be no gap? Unfortunately I don't remember how it looked before it was removed because a good bit of time has passed. At this point I don't want to force it so I would probably remove and try again if it is not correct. Are there any other tips for installation?

Difficult to tell from a photo but gap looks excessive to me. If you never got a firm click when installing, time to back up and do necessary work to install correctly.

A small amount of grease on the snap ring may help. If it refuses to install, then rotate the shaft to a new engagement and try again.

good luck

I'm not sure that I heard a firm click, but I was tapping on the wood block for the install and may no have noticed. When I redo will make sure to be aware.

I did try to back it out after I thought that it was seated but it did not move much and I did not apply much force until I was sure that I needed to remove. Is it Ok to pry from one side and what is a reasonable amount of force to use. I will rotate and try different spots, but are there any other tricks to removing?

What are thoughts on reusing the snap rings? The ones I removed looked to be in serviceable shape even though I am reinstalling with new. Maybe the new ones have a tighter fit which is why it took some effort to install.

I use a large screwdriver to pry. It can take a bit of force. Again rotating will sometimes help. I have also used hammer to drive screwdriver as a wedge to force axle out.

I have reused snap rings when new ring resulted in failure to snap in place. Old ring worked fine.

good luck

The pic looks okay to me. There has to be enough space in there for you to stick aa screwdriver to pop the shaft out to begin with.

If the snap ring isn't seated then you should be able to move the shaft away from the transmission body by hand ... try yanking it back and forth with your hands to see if you can move it at all. If it doesn't budge then I'll bet it's seated.

Regarding reuse of snap rings, I read on another thread that it was recommended to reuse the OEM snap ring because they were more precisely sized than the aftermarket ones.