Please forgive me if my terminology is a bit off, I'm posting this as I uncover this problem, and my FSM was foolishly wiped with the rest of my computers memory.

 

I took my Z on a drive today, but didn't get far until I heard some evil coming from the rear end. It turns out that my passenger side half shaft (I can never remember if they are technically CV or half shafts) has dislodged itself quite a bit from where it seats in to the differential.

 

I pulled it out. There appears to be no damage, but the question remains... How did this happen? Is there supposed to be some sort of circlip at the end of the spline assembly, in the notched groove?

 

I've never removed the spline from the differential, however about a year or so ago I replaced the half shafts with some that had less miles on them. I thought the original ones were clicking, but it turns out that noise was from the rear brake pad pins not being installed properly. I still have my original half shafts.

 

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

The car is a stock 1980 ZX. R180.

 

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@wheee! I believe he was referring to the shafts that go in the differential, having a right and left of different lengths. 

Just to be specific, I'm talking about the half-shaft, not the spline/axle that should require a great amount of force to remove. 

Pretty sure he meant the half shafts.

The half shafts from another car appear to be the same size. However, they don't extend all the way. The ones that were in the car when I got it extend further. I believe this means something is wrong with the half shafts I installed last summer. I've never removed either spline until yesterday when I discovered the right side dislodged/coming out.

I don't remember what I could've done wrong that day. Surely something. I probably have no business working on this thing myself haha. My memory is turning to mush.

Anyway, it's back to its original state now, and soon I will investigate how to get the circlip out and install new ones.

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3 hours ago, Reptoid Overlords said:

I have a beer drinking buffoon of a friend who was present that day. 

Dude - I swear on the Bible I have never been to Seattle or helped you in person.... oh wait, you must be talking about someone else... ?

Over time the half shafts can seem to have less range of motion due to the packing of the grease in the shafts.
I documented the disassembly and the myth busting of various sized half shafts. They are all the same. Take them apart, clean them and reassemble. Very straightforward.

Many thanks..  I remember following that thread, don't know why i didn't access it earlier.  I'm going to get started after I help the kid with her homework.  Sunday is my Saturday.

17 minutes ago, Reptoid Overlords said:

Many thanks..  I remember following that thread, don't know why i didn't access it earlier.  I'm going to get started after I help the kid with her homework.  Sunday is my Saturday.

The grease inside the half shafts can contain lead, so be mindful. Especially if you have little ones around!

It didn’t taste like lead...

Do these halfshafts make a clicking noise at low speeds when driving straight when they are starting to fail?  I have installed my spare diff('82 R180).   Earlier I stated that it was missing a circlip, but I was mistaken.  Both axles took a tremendous effort to remove.  So much that I ended up taking it to a local shop to have them removed.   Installed new ones and re-sealed.  Also I've just replaced the front and rear shocks along with Eibach lowering springs from motorsport(a major improvement in handling) I have replaced both inner/outer tire rod ends w/new adjustment sleeves, although highly unlikely to be the cause, but worth mentioning.  Rear wheel bearings replaced about 3 years ago.  No noticeable groan or dragging noises typically associated with wheel bearings.  Still need to have it aligned, so I haven't taken it on any long drives, just around a bit to test.  The clicking seems to occur after having been driven for roughly 15-30 minutes, and only noticeable at around 5-10 MPH.  I verified that other noises simply weren't  drowning out the noise at speed by running various speeds on a nearly empty road with minimal traffic noise.  Exhaust is not loud.  Cannot reproduce the noise with the rear jacked up, either with only one side jacked up, or the entire rear jacked up.    This problem existed before all of the above mentioned work was done, and the current halfshafts in the car now are what were installed when I got the car..possibly original.   A similar, but unrelated noise was found to be brake pad pins not seated/installed properly by me from years ago. 

What type of brake rotors are on the car? I have found that drilled or sometimes even slotted rotors can make sounds like this at low speeds.

Does the clicking frequency increase with vehicle speed? Does the noise go away if you turn going 10-15 MPH or does the noise change when you tap the brakes? (Thanks Charles)

11 minutes ago, Patcon said:

What type of brake rotors are on the car? I have found that drilled or sometimes even slotted rotors can make sounds like this at low speeds.

OEM style Raybestos brand rotors with metallic pads.