The splines are worn on my left drive axle shaft assemble, which means the hub could be warn as well. Here is where it gets good. Advance Auto parts sold me an axle shaft that is for a vehicle with limited slip differential. My car (does not) have limited slip. They said they will still warranty the part. My question is #1: is it even possible to install an axle shaft for non-slip onto a vehicle with slip differential. And #2: if that is possible, what sort of adverse effects could that have other than the part wearing out faster as far as the transmission is concerned?
2001 Nissan Sentra SE 2.0
- Thread starter Mark72
- Start date
- Status
Mark, I could be wrong but I believe all those 2.0 SR20DE engines vehicles were limited slip. Not mechanical, it was the fluid type (viscous). Were all of the SE's 5 speeds? I can see where the shafts would differ from auto to manual obviously. The right side shafts on those cars can be problemmatic as the manual ones have a chintzy little carrier roller bearing about halfway between the trans and hub. I will look further. For now I would just be sure of all the correct part numbers. There were so few of the SE's that I always fear some parts number consolidations in various databases may have occurred.
So I called Nissan, gave them my VIN, and it turned up a code they believe indicates it does NOT have limited slip differential... So now I'm concerned. And no one seems that they can tell me definitively which is concerning. This particular vehicle is Automatic
Last edited:
Nissan was correct that your car does not have a limited slip differential.
It is NOT possible to use an LSD axle (Left or Right) in a non-lsd transmission or vice versa.
The left LSD axle has much longer splines on the transmission side so it wouldn't even fit in the differential.
The right LSD axle will physically fit into the diff, but the carrier bearing is in different locations on the shaft for LSD and Non-LSD.
The "chintzy little carrier roller bearing" that DeepFriar mentioned is used on the auto and manual transmission to keep the length and angle of the axles the same to prevent pulling and torque steer on the longer axle.
I would avoid aftermarket axles like the plague and get your current OEM axles rebuilt/rebooted.
It is NOT possible to use an LSD axle (Left or Right) in a non-lsd transmission or vice versa.
The left LSD axle has much longer splines on the transmission side so it wouldn't even fit in the differential.
The right LSD axle will physically fit into the diff, but the carrier bearing is in different locations on the shaft for LSD and Non-LSD.
The "chintzy little carrier roller bearing" that DeepFriar mentioned is used on the auto and manual transmission to keep the length and angle of the axles the same to prevent pulling and torque steer on the longer axle.
I would avoid aftermarket axles like the plague and get your current OEM axles rebuilt/rebooted.
Originally Posted By: bblackmon19
Nissan was correct that your car does not have a limited slip differential.
It is NOT possible to use an LSD axle (Left or Right) in a non-lsd transmission or vice versa.
The left LSD axle has much longer splines on the transmission side so it wouldn't even fit in the differential.
The right LSD axle will physically fit into the diff, but the carrier bearing is in different locations on the shaft for LSD and Non-LSD.
The "chintzy little carrier roller bearing" that DeepFriar mentioned is used on the auto and manual transmission to keep the length and angle of the axles the same to prevent pulling and torque steer on the longer axle.
I would avoid aftermarket axles like the plague and get your current OEM axles rebuilt/rebooted.
Good data and thank you. My B13 knowledge base doesn't translate through the 2000-2001 apparently. I have had to replace two right side axles due to the "chintzy" carrier bearing. When it fails there is a vibration under load. It hangs out there in the open and collects dirt. It can't be pressed off or otherwise economically fixed. I talked to Marty at Raxles the last time this happened on the SE-R and he said he was having trouble coming up with shafts for mine so I wish you better luck. Marty is the only guy I woul trust outside of the dealer's parts counter. All his critical stuff is new and the German, I think, boots he uses are superior. I haven't had a boot failure in 15 years of abuse. He also uses a synthetic grease that contributes to longer joint life in my opinion.I
One more thing, I have had four sets of axles and even Marty can occasionally ship the wrong one. I've struggled with the barely one inch too long left auto shaft shipped in error.
Nissan was correct that your car does not have a limited slip differential.
It is NOT possible to use an LSD axle (Left or Right) in a non-lsd transmission or vice versa.
The left LSD axle has much longer splines on the transmission side so it wouldn't even fit in the differential.
The right LSD axle will physically fit into the diff, but the carrier bearing is in different locations on the shaft for LSD and Non-LSD.
The "chintzy little carrier roller bearing" that DeepFriar mentioned is used on the auto and manual transmission to keep the length and angle of the axles the same to prevent pulling and torque steer on the longer axle.
I would avoid aftermarket axles like the plague and get your current OEM axles rebuilt/rebooted.
Good data and thank you. My B13 knowledge base doesn't translate through the 2000-2001 apparently. I have had to replace two right side axles due to the "chintzy" carrier bearing. When it fails there is a vibration under load. It hangs out there in the open and collects dirt. It can't be pressed off or otherwise economically fixed. I talked to Marty at Raxles the last time this happened on the SE-R and he said he was having trouble coming up with shafts for mine so I wish you better luck. Marty is the only guy I woul trust outside of the dealer's parts counter. All his critical stuff is new and the German, I think, boots he uses are superior. I haven't had a boot failure in 15 years of abuse. He also uses a synthetic grease that contributes to longer joint life in my opinion.I
One more thing, I have had four sets of axles and even Marty can occasionally ship the wrong one. I've struggled with the barely one inch too long left auto shaft shipped in error.
Last edited:
sucksNew Axle shaft is in...Will be installed end of this week. I have huge doubts that thump noise will go away. But since the part is under warranty, I'm going for it. My gut tells me its the other end of that axle shaft inside the tranny where the splines are. I'm s c r e w e d if that's what it is and guess I'll just be driving this thing until it takes a dump and I tow it to the junk yard.
Last edited:
First off I want to thank all of you who have provided the best educated opinions you can without actually diagnosing it yourself. I’m have the new axle shaft installed today which is under warranty. A few days ago I had a transmission shop look at it and they advised that the axle shaft is going out, but also noted that the transmission has some wear on the clutch splines. This is an automatic transmission and would cost 2-3 thousand to fix (not worth it). So, if any of you have had experience with this sort of wear on the clutch where you get that thump as the car is gearing back down when stopping, have you seen cars keep on going for years without having an issue with the transmission completely going out?
I can't know what your thunk sounds like but do make sure the motor/transmission mounts are not ruined. I've had to replace them twice but they were beat on pretty hard. One time it only caused noise in reverse, another time on decel downshifting into second. Mine's a manual but check them out anyhow prior to other expensive solutions.
- Status
Similar threads
