I'll chime in here . . . lol.
In some ways I agree with Terry, these days American auto engineering is not as good as say, German, or even japanese auto engineering. But I don't think it is for the reasons Terry has laid out (through Todd of course).
1. American auto company management has tied the hands of the good engineers by forcing component costs to be the #1 priority rather than overall cost/benefit. And the engineers that push the issue sometimes end up on the layoff list (Ask me how I know . . .)
2. American auto companies hire many engineers that don't know anything about cars. While some are american born and educated, most are educated abroad and move to the US, and would probably be better off engineering appliances rather than cars. The true "car guy/girl" engineers are getting fewer and further between at the American automotive companies.
3. The corrolary to #2 is that the non-American car companies with units operating in the US don't seem to struggle nearly as badly even with just as many US educated engineers.
4. Virtually all worldwide auto companies get parts from the same pool of suppliers, yet the american car companies seem to end up w/ the lion's share of the quality concerns. Part of this is merely public perception, but the rest of it goes right back to my comment #1.
5. As sad as it makes me to say this, not enough Americans care about Formula 1 to make it a worthwhile venture to invest the money and resources into making a winning team. Hats off to Red Bull though for sort of trying, lol.
6. Formula 1 is a pathetic shell of what it once was. True ultra-cutting-edge engineering and inventiveness is no longer welcome there. Granted, it is still debatably the pinnacle of motorsport, its just that pinnacle is way lower than it was in the past.
And, back on topic, I tend to agree with warmonger; get in there and get a look at the axle first. If it is clear there is no contamination or damage to the trans or diff, just replace the axle. If there is any question of potential damage or contamination, get the trans out and off to someone qualified to go through it. (most likely Terry in this case, since he's the one that built it in the first place.)
