Driver rear Companion (stub) shaft removal to replace failed C clip
 

Greetings fellow Mitsubishians or Monteroans! I have a 2003 Montero Limited and the driver side rear companion or stub shaft keeps popping about 3/4" out of the differential, leaking my gear oil out. When I tap it back in it does not leak gear oil but pops out again within 50 miles. Some people say they stay in permanently for them after doing so, but I'm not so lucky. I live off a 2-mile long bumpy road so that doesn't help!

Has anyone been successful at disconnecting the companion (stub) shaft from the axle and getting the stub shaft out and back in again with the new c-clip installed? I have a friend's lift available. I want to do that but I'm unsure if the end of the axle moves out of the way enough to do so, without removing more fasteners and which ones. It would be great if the stub axle were designed to disconnect from the half axle and be replaced in the field without disconnecting the half axle and other parts.

There isn't a need to remove the differential cover for the repair is there? However I may want to just to inspect the diff internals I guess...

I'll replace the seal too if there's enough room, otherwise, the seal may be fine. It's not leaking at present when I tap the stub axle back in.

The clip set I ordered was Mitsubishi part number 3715A285. I hope one of them work! It was $26 with shipping from a dealer in GA.

Also, my differential must have ran dry when my wife had it on a long road trip in winter. When she returned, I found the stub shaft out and the diff was near dry from it throwing gear oil out while turning. It slightly whines or howls now above 45 or 50 mph. Has anyone run these differentials in a slightly burned condition for very long? I'm hoping it will be fine for light local transportation use, as it's my secondary vehicle now.

Thanks!
Chris

There's no help in the service manual. Anyone have any experience?

Fix answer
 

Found fix. The axle does not need to be removed, just the 6-7 bolts holding companion shaft to the half axle. By using a floor jack and block of wood, and lifting center rear by differential, the half axle can be wired out of off the way and companion axle removed. Link below to Australian brothers good report. It's a great website for info.

I found a fix with the secondary butterflies on a middle eastern location webpage.

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=6657&highlight=Companion+shaft

Sounds like your C-clip had failed and allowing the stub shaft to slip out. I'm sure it is easier to replace the seal and fix the assembly with the differential on the bench, but you can do it on the vehicle. Just disconnect the half axle so that you can have space to move things around there.