After 280,000 miles I thought it was time to rebuild the front end of my 96 Legacy L awd station wagon. After I discarded the old CV shafts with all four boots totally ripped off I tried to install the new ones I got from Rock Auto. Well they were about 1/2 to 3/4 inch too short. By that time (5 weeks) it was too late to return them to Rock Auto.
So I went and got another set from the Orellies parts store. They were the same length. They asked me all the right questions... year, model, AWD, 2.2L...
The service manual does not show the length. hmmm what gives? What shaft should I try next? What happened? Do I need a shaft stretcher?
This old car ain't gonna last long in my garage with no drive shafts. I only paid $1000 but it burns no oil and I've got it in great shape except it has no drive shafts.