I've broke down and I can't tell what the problem is. Before I throw anymore money into fixing my car I want to know if it's even worth it.

I bought a '95 Civic about 10 months ago and my friend ran a rim off of it and cracked my driver side CV axle. I drove on it for 6 months or so thinking it was okay and then on Easter Sunday it finally broke and it sat under a tarp for the better part of the summer. About 2 weeks ago I replaced the axle and a few fuses and it was running. I was driving it for the first time and all of a sudden after a take off I think the transmission broke or slipped off the drivetrain or something. It came to a roll and while still in gear wouldn't move. The engine was still running and all electrical was fine. You can put it in gear and let off the clutch and the car won't die or catch gear. You can hear a grinding noise but it isn't loud or sound damaging. Can someone give me some advice or suggestions where to check first? If it's a transmission I'll probably scrap the car and start looking for something new. Thanks.

 

This is very common on axle replacements. It happens because the new axle wasn't pushed all the way into the transmission until it locks. You go a couple of blocks then it comes out and disengages and the car will not go.

 

This sounds about right. If this were the case, what would I need to do?

 

Check that the problem is indeed that the axle is not all the way into the transmission. Push it in as far as you can by hand, then you need to force it the rest of the way until it clicks into place. I have done about 3 ways to do that:

Very carefully use a block of wood and a hammer on the edge of the cup part of the inner joint (which is under the boot, thus you have to be very careful about boot damage).
Take the axle nut off and use a rod and hammer to push the whole axle toward the transmission. Put nut back on to proper torque and peen it, you're supposed to use a new nut.
Take the wheel off and undo the lower ball joint. Swing the knuckle / hub/ wheel out to extend the inner CV joint about an inch (do NOT over-extend, it will fall apart inside), then swing toward the inside, which will bottom out the CV joint and hit the axle into the transmission.

My preference is method #3 but some people around here don't like it very much.

After any of these, if you were successful, there will only be a small gap between the CV joint cup and the transmission case, and you will NOT be able to pull it away from the transmission by hand. Top up the oil in the transmission because it runs out when the axle is pulled out.