Don't put the tire on. The axle needs to go in straight or you let it lean on the seal, it will damage the seal. And make sure you have the correct seal, cause auto parts places are listing the wrong ones.Thank you everyone for the replies! I will first shine a light to make sure that the thrust button hasn't interfered with the splines. I will then get the car into neutral and have someone move the driveshaft around while I try to wiggle the axle into place. Mounting the tire back on for leverage is a good idea. I read somewhere that the inner seal face should be 1 11/16 inches from the axle housing flange. Mine was not that far in so I hit it further in and I think it is now sitting against the ridge which is correct. I also measured and it is right around 1 11/16in away. I used a socket that was a bit smaller than the 2in socket I used at first to hit the seal in, just cuz the 2in I had was rubbing against the inside of the axle housing and I didn't want to scratch it up but now I think the inner part of the seal is further in than the outer part, because of the smaller socket. I hope that doesn't cause an issue. I'll let you guys know. Thanks again!!
Hello everyone. So I tried most of the ideas provided in this thread and here's how it went. As you all know, I was having lots of trouble getting the driver side axle to fully slide into place. So then I went to the passenger side.. I was able to get the passenger side axle in super easily and now that side is all done. Going back to driver's side...... I tried having someone spin the dif/the passenger side tire so that I can try to slip in the driver side axle the entire way. When I spin the passenger side axle, it forces the driver side axle to spin the same way so I don't know how this would work. I tried putting the passenger side onto the ground and spinning the driver side. I even took the inner seal out just to see if the axle would go in without the seal in the way and then I would know the seal is the issue. Absolutely nothing has worked in my case. The driver side axle is going through the first set of splines but then it just gets butted up against something and will not go in any further. When I put the passenger side tire back on the ground, I was not able to spin the driver side axle even with a crowbar. When the car is in the air and I spin one side, the other side spins the same way. So putting the car on the ground prevents one side from spinning which would then not allow me to spin the other side. I'm not sure how the one individual in this thread that recommended that got it to work that way but maybe I'm doing something wrong. Any further assistance is appreciated. If someone is close to the Chicagoland area and is willing to make the trip up to help, I'd appreciate it. I'll cover your gas and buy you lunch haha, thanks guys.
Stick the pin in the button. Put it on your magnet nicely centered and pop it back in the hole.. swipe sideways and install axle.
I was able to get the button with the pin through it back into the hole and all I did was slightly swipe the magnet sideways and I stuck a conjunction of extensions through the axle housing up until I hit the button and while holding the button in place with the extensions, I pulled back on the magnet. I assume the passenger side button was in place because the axle went in easy, Now, it does seem like than pin may have snapped. Is it a big deal if I just leave it like that? However much of the pin came out with the driver's side button went back into place. Thank you all for your help throughout this and I hope everyone has a happy Easter