I was trying to replace the front left cv axle on my brother's C70 yesterday with no luck. The clip on the inboard spline just didn't want to release even after trying several tricks. So I did the next best thing and paid a shop to do it. Simple job, right? In and out in about an hour, right? I got a call telling me the axle shaft broke off flush at the transmission. Now the shop wants double the money to finish the job. I am a little upset that I am in this situation but relieved that the problem didn't happen to me while working on the car. I am also somewhat pleased that it was not a piece of cake for them since I had struggled with it.

My question is has anyone else had an axle break off like that (not at a joint, but at the spline)? Does it happen often?