I'm in a quandary... I was attempting to change my ball joints and when I went to put the axle shaft back in, it wouldn't go. I looked inside and it's full of mud. I don't want to force it. What are my options?

 

If it's dry, maybe the easiest way would be to use a shop vac with a narrow nozzle to clean out the axle tube. You may have to work at it a bit though. The alternative would involve major disassembly.

 

I'm sorry...are you saying your axle tube is full of mud? And you're trying to get the axle back in and are having problems? ....well, if you do manage to get it back in, be wary of axle seal failure from the debris and man handling of axle with debris through it.
It's tough to tell the extent of what you're describing over the internet. If it was really caked in there...and it were my axle...I'd likely be stripping the damn thing clean pumpkin and all, thorough deap cleaning it, installing new seals and reassembling...but that's me. These axle seals have a hard enough time maintaining a seal as is...jam some mud and crap through them with and axle and see how well they hold up

 

Man that sounds like a real booger......unfortunately, if it were me, i would think that tearing it down would be the safest course of action. Sorry

look on the bright side....you can replace your seals while your in there.

 

I agree with clean / rebuild as well. It is the only way not to have issues in the future. I guess you played hard with your Jep in the mud, now she is playing with you.IT IS A JEEP THANG .lol

SLIM_SNOOPY

 

Pardon the novice stupid question here, but how do I do it? Is there a write up somewhere? A how to on how to completely disassemble it? Do I need to take it off the jeep? What do I clean it with? Etc etc. I'm not a mechanic, but I'm not afraid to get in there and try as long as I have some idea what I'm supposed to do. Again thanks for humoring a newb.

 

Hmm, I'd pull the axles, pull the carrier and use a hand pump and flush it with diesel

 

sounds like a good fix to me.

 

I ordered the new seals today. Also got a set of axle tube seals to prevent this from happening again. WTF was jeep thinking having open ended axle tubes on vehicles that are intended for off road use? My axle tubes were caked with mud, and while that little plastic guard may have kept the bigger stuff out, I can't see that it served any real useful purpose. Grrrrrr.