I have a 2005 Civic LX (auto) and have been experiencing a rhythmic whirring noise that I haven't been able to diagnose. The noise goes away when I turn right but comes back when going straight or left (mostly from 30 - 80 mph). Anyway, I had originally thought it was due to a bad driver side CV axle (although it wasn't really a clicking noise that's typical) and bought a Cardone 66-4060 reman'ed axle from Summit Racing (same as ).

While installing, I noticed two things. The length of the new axle was shorter than the OEM that I pulled out. I figured that the inner CV would have enough play to be pulled and make up for the difference. When inserting the inner end, I was able to pull it out of the tranny with much less effort than OEM (which I had to pry out with a screwdriver). The circlip was there so I'm not sure why. But I pushed it in flush and assumed it would stay in fine.

Well, I saw some light smoke coming out of the engine bay while on the freeway the day after. Turns out the inner CV end moved out of the tranny housing (close to an inch) and a lot of the transmission fluid leaked out all of the underside of the car. I think the looseness of the fit/circlip combined with the shorter length is what caused it to pull out. It either did that while I was driving or when I tightened the axle nut.

Anyway, has anyone seen this issue? Are Cardone reman'ed axles any good? It's too late to return them (bought off Ebay months ago). What axles would you guys recommend?

Appreciate the help.