A.J. Tarnas Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Bought this '99 Legacy (2.2L BK manual transmission AWD) almost two months ago. The front passenger driveaxle CV joint boot is split open and has sprayed a good bit of the surrounding area with grease. It's still functional, no steering problems/noises coming from that area, but we have "inspections" here in PA and I can't let it go. Any replacement product recommendations? Do I need to go for the very expensive: http://www.subarupartsforyou.com/cp_partdetail.php?partid=10483 Or is considerably cheaper just the same? http://www.ebay.com/itm/160609447768 http://www.ebay.com/itm/290619792645 There seem to be a few good videos for how to do this job: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Okay, I'm bored at work, so here are a few things to know: 1. There is a VERY good chance that if you put in cheap aftermarket axles, you will wind up with "idle shudder." What happens is that when the car is stationary and in gear, the car can shudder (sometimes rather aggressively) due to some transfer of vibration from the engine to the body. It seems to be down to the tolerances on aftermarket axles or something, but it is a very widespread issue with people who have used aftermarket axles. BOTH of the front axles on this car were replaced about 100k miles ago with aftermarket parts, and that issue had been present ever since. Both of those I replaced over the past few months with OEM Subaru Re-manufactured axles from SubaruPartsForYou (the site you linked) and that shudder is now effectively gone. They are a good deal more expensive, but I was fed up with that issue (not to mention I don't ever want the embarrassment of a cheap, thin aftermarket axle literally snapping in half when I try to race a Silverado pickup, as mine did a few months ago, lol.) There is also some guy who re-manufactures Subaru axles and sells them for a lot cheaper (under $100 I believe) and they are said to be just as good, but I can't remember what his site is. I didn't buy them simply due to time constraints (it would have taken him a few days to get them to me.) As far as installation, it is pretty straightforward. Some things to bear in mind: - If you have easy access to an impact gun, you will save yourself a lot of trouble getting the axle nut off. Otherwise have a MASSIVE breaker bar with a length of pipe several feet long on standby. - There are different ways of loosening the hub enough to slide the axle out. I just removed the sway-bar end-link, and the castle nut under the ball joint. If you REALLY want to, you can remove the strut tower bolts because that allows you to completely swing the thing out of the way, but remember to scribe the lower bolt so you can put it back facing the same way (it affects your alignment.) - When you are installing the new axle, tap the spring pin partway into the axle BEFORE sliding it onto the transmission stub (don't tap it in so far that you can't slide it on though.) Otherwise you'll be cursing yourself as you try to hold the thing in place as you hammer it in since it can be really awkward to do depending on where the axle stopped rotating and which side you are replacing (the passenger side is a LOT more of a bitch to get to because of the exhaust manifold and other stuff.) ALSO You could always just try the inspection. Mine was inspected BEFORE I replaced my passenger side axle. The CV boot had been torn for months, and it still passed. In fact, it was so badly off that the joint snapped apart just one week later, so they REALLY shouldn't have passed it, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Well Stang I will say not all aftermarket cv axles will create the idle shutter or vibration. On my old 96 L I replaced both front axles with Napa parts, they were new not remans, and it never had a shutter. On my 99lgt I own now I replaced the left front axle with a O'Reilly Auto Parts, it also was a NEW axle btw, and I don't have a shutter either. Now my buddies 98 LGT probably has the worse shutter/vibration I've ever felt in a second gen and I know for sure both axles were replaced because I replaced them. They were O'Reilly reman axles. So all this being said and the axles cause the shutter at idle, then I would say it's mainly the aftermarket remanufactured axles. Also where did you get this information from? Ive had a few customers at the shop with complaints about this idle vibration and the only info I ever found TSB wise was for a power steering hose being too small and causing a shutter when turning mostly up an approach like a driveway. Which my 99 LGT does sometimes but not enough to bother me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I didn't get this information from any one source. If you search 'idle vibration legacy' on Google you will get all kinds of results. Here's one I picked at random: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/37399-vibration-idle-after-replacing-front-axles-solved.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshive Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 interesting, I have that same shudder when in gear at idle and I just thought it was a bad tranny mount or motor mount. I'll be replacing an axle soon myself ( split boot) so maybe this is alleviate the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Tarnas Posted July 2, 2013 Author Share Posted July 2, 2013 Nice, thanks for the response, I would not have known about "idle shudder". Will have to find this guy who does good driveaxle remanufacturing -- not in a rush. My mechanic quoted me $100 for the axle and $75 for labor -- I'm curious who he was planning to buy from... If I can get an axle under $100 then it's worth it for me to do the labor even though it will take me a lot longer (I'm slow), but I can put the savings toward new tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Will have to find this guy who does good driveaxle remanufacturing -- not in a rush. Found it: http://www.ccrengines.com/mwe/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Tarnas Posted July 2, 2013 Author Share Posted July 2, 2013 Ha! Just emailed them thirty seconds ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleaidestar Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 ^those guys do some good rebuilds on motors..fairly priced too with warranties.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake Outback Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Ha! Just did this job today on my fake Outback. The video by Eric the Car Guy is spot on! Just make sure you have a big ass mallet to knock the ball joint loose. I figured my hammer would do it, but no. Had to borrow a mallet from a mechanic next to my house and then it was cake. Also, unlike Eric, I recommend taking a bolt out of the sway bar link. That way you don't need to use a pry bar to pull down the control arm. Also, check out this site https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html This is some dealer up in Washington but they have some of the best prices for OEM parts. My Subaru remanufactured axle was a little over $100 plus a $65 core fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Tarnas Posted July 3, 2013 Author Share Posted July 3, 2013 I just wrote this back to MWE: Hmm, I've never bought anything like this with a core charge and shipping so I'm not quite sure how it works. Is it $85.00 for the remanufactured drive axle, plus $40.00 refundable deposit for the core axle which you hope that I'll send you, plus $35.00 shipping for one axle from you to me? So the bill will be $160 out of pocket for me, and then I pay to ship my old axle back to you to get a $40 refund? And if shipping for me is like it is for you -- $35 -- then at the end of this process, I'll have spent $155? Or is shipping the core axle back to you somehow free? subarugenuineparts.com doesn't seem to have a good price for my model drive axle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 I know with SubaruPartsForYou they give you a pre-paid shipping label for the return of the core part. Dunno how MWE does it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Tarnas Posted July 12, 2013 Author Share Posted July 12, 2013 They weren't very clear but MWE basically said I'm on the hook for shipping core back, and they recommend USPS to save maybe $12. So the true cost of an axle from them is about $140. Which may well be worth it, but the cost of a new boot and grease for me is $20. So why not just do a good job of dismantling, cleaning, regreasing, and rebooting? I've read elsewhere that because of the exhaust design, a Subaru mechanic just has to be ready to reboot this axle every few years. Any recommended boot kits? I'll have the driveaxle out so I don't need a "quick" split boot. What kind of grease? Can I use hose clamps or do I need to get the bands and banding tool? [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Dorman-614-001-HELP-Universal-Boot/B000C13Q6W/[/ame] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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