Need help asap! I'm working my sis's Camry. Don't know how the hell she broke this but somehow the driver side axle broke right off of the drive flange that's on the auto transmission. Don't know what that piece is called but the 6 studs broke off into that flange and now I can't get them out so I can put a new axle back on. How can I get this flange out? Does it just pop out like an axle? There is this piece that the flange is inside of that seems to bolt out. I took off the bolts but it won't come out. It just spins. I think it's the side seal or something but I just need to get that flange out somehow. Then I can at least try to take them studs out. Help!

 

hit it with a hammer real hard!

jk, i dont really know, but it might work!

 

I'm not sure what happened or what you're trying to do. Got pics? Is the end of the axle with the snap ring still in the differential? Are they studs or bolts? I think they are bolts. I think that flange is a bearing retainer and don't understand how it could shear the bolts off. I think you have bigger problems that would mean removing the differential. Did she have a leak in the axle shaft seals that would have caused the diff. fluid to go below safe level?

 

Yes the end is in the diff. It has a flange that the axle bolts to. Well I called them studs because on the axle side, there was nuts on a stud. I know there should be a bolt head. Someone must have used studs and nuts in the past. Don't know about it being a bearing retainter but the studs did break off and now the other half is in the six bolt holes in the flange. All my sis said was that she was reversing and then it just didn't go. I think she reversed then went into drive while still rolling back and snapped off all the studs.

 

Here's the flange. You can see the studs still in the bolt holes. I even had a screw extractor in the top right hole but it won't come out. The circle that the flange is inside of is coming out but it won't come all the way out. It just turns.

 

Now I see which part you are talking about. My FSM does not do a good job of showing this or describing what it is or how to remove it. It may be the part the snap ring snaps into and so removing it may allow you to get the broken axle stub out. I would go to a Toyo dealer and have the parts dept. print off an exploded view of the area this part is in and see if that gives you a clue toremoving it. The fact that the axle snapped is not good and I think points to more trouble than just this part.

 

Here is the tool I had to make to pull the flange out. A 3 jaw puller. I designed it just for what I need to do. Other jaw pullers would not have worked.


A picture of the flange out and how the jaw grabs onto it.


A picture showing the backside of the flange. They were studs that were pressed in from the backside. I though it was threaded. No wonder I couldn't take them out with my screw extractors.


Here's the flange with all the studs out. I had to drill them and I punched them out.


I'm getting some bolts ready. They are M8 1.25 thread pitch and 35mm long.


Bolts in.


Put some tack welds on the bolts to flange so they don't move.


Flange now in place.


Axles in and bolted down.

 

Great Job! I never regetted buying a little mig welder its gotten me out of a few trouble spots as well. I now see why my manual didn't show this and why I could not quite understand the problem, the design for 92+ was changed and improved.It looks like the center bolt of the puller had to go right through the shaft stub to the differencial gear?? I hope you installed a new axle seal.

 

The Camry works now. Thanks for replies Pedro. I wrote in four different forums and you were the only one out of all that was trying to help. About the puller, it didn't go to thedifferencial gear or anything. If you look at the pic with the flange inside the circle, the flange is actually down inside the circle like maybe half an inch. What I needed to do was place something very strong across the circle on the outside. The center bolt will push against it pulling the flange out of the hole. I bent 2 tools while it was placed across the circle. Then finally I grabbed a pipe wrench and used it to place across the circle. It didn't bend and the flange pulled out. The thing that took me so long to do this was that I wasn't sure if that flange came out without doing something else. Didn't want to break it. I called many tranmission shops then call a Toyota dealer. They all said it should just pop out like an axle does.

I think the flange was alluminum because I couldn't really weld it. I could weld the bolts but the flange just wouldn't stick. The weld would splatter away when it touches the flange. But i was able to get some to stick enough to keep bolts in place.

 

I doubt the flange was aluminum as it would not stand up to the forces put on the axle shaft. It was probably hardened steel (magnetic?) which is quite hard to weld with a little mig welder. It still appears you used grade 5 bolts to hold the flange and axle together. If so I would be easy on the driving because I don't think those bolts will hold up.