You should be able to slip the splined side in and rotate the axle and align the bolt holes to match the axle flange. Then bolt up.
If you are trying to slip in the spline side and bolting one bolt to the axle flange, then trying to rotate? Then you have to have both front wheels off the ground. The T-case may need to be placed in neutral in order to spin the front axle.
Is your front actuator unlocking?
It's been a good while since I've messed with a 4x4, but this should work.
Sent from my overly sofisticated electronic device.
Just for gee whiz I went out to the garage this morning and reinstalled the previous CV Shaft I bought from Advance Auto (the one that started all this mess) to make sure IT wouldn't bind when I tried bolting the cv shaft flange to the trans-axle. If it binds, then I would know the issue wouldn't be the parts themselves, it would be something I was doing. So anyway, I reinstalled the cv shaft and PERFECT, no binding at all. I have done this now with both tires off the ground, with one tire on the ground, making up new cuss words, etc... and I would always get the same result...BINDING. It proved my point (of course only in my opinion and situation) that the parts have to be incompatible if the cv shaft I orignially purchased would cause no issues when installing versus the two separate cv shafts I tried from two different auto part stores, and they both would bind up.
I truly believe it's a bad batch of parts OR I would tend to "maybe" agree with the GM Parts guy at my local dealer. He said in 2000 they changed some of the drive-axle flanges to a new model and this might be my dilemma. He said that most parts stores just order from their specific manaufacturer and don't really care or investigate if any changes occurred. Most of the time, they buy from the cheapest manufacturer regardless of where it's from or who makes it.
So I either have one of those stubborn trucks that only like OEM parts on some things and could care less about others OR in Raleigh they all order their parts from somewhere near BFE. By the way, the guy at Advance said they just changed vendors and their packaging so that might be an issue as well. It seems the cv shafts (although the same part number) that DID work for my truck all came from some other manufacturer and an ugly brown box. I tried several other Advance stores within 20 miles from the house and they all had these new cv shafts. I guess when I originally replaced mine 4 months ago, Advance was in the process of discontinuing their existing stock and I lucked out. The only place I didn't contact was O'Reilys and the two local NAPA stores I did call didn't have any in stock so I couldn't physically verify.
I think at this point I am sick and tired of the guessing game and will just drop the $$$$ for the OEM part and see what happens.
I really appreciate all the advice and help you guys gave me on this but I am sick of scratching my head and saying
. Time to pay the piper and get the truck back on the road. Heading to the dealer now.
I'll keep you guys posted on this one.
