Ivant Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Just a quick one. I have to replace the outer cv boot on my 97 legacy 2.2L. I have been told that the CV joints on these cars will just bang off. Is this true or will I have to piss arse around taking the other end off to get the new boot on ? Thanks for any replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I've heard it's easier (and not much more $) to change out the entire front axle assembly (you get a new boot & CV joint). I haven't done it myself, bu saw a DIY online that made it look fairly easy to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyfvholla Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Yeah, just replace the whole axle. If it's old/used enough for the boot to rip open the CV joint probably isn't that far behind. It's easier to just replace the whole thing as well, and not very costly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 i disagree. the subaru axles are far superior to almost any other axle on the market. and often inexpensive after market axles have issues right out of the box. if it is a subaru axle and is not making noise would reboot it. i might reboot even if it is not a suabru axle, as long as it is not making noise. you are much better off to re-boot your suabru axle. it is messy and a pain, but you will end up with a much better product. the inner cup is held on to the shaft with a large snap ring, inside. remove the boot, remove the snap ring, the shaft will slide apart. don't drop the balls. the outer joint is held together with a shaft sized ''cir- clip''. you can bang this apart, i have done it, but only on junk axles. i don't know if that is the proper way to dis-assemble the outer joint. or re-assemble for that matter. i have had a couple of outer joints pop lose while trying to remove the axle from the car. amyway, i'm sure you can find a how to either here or on you tube. replacing the boots on a subaru axle is messy, and it is more work. it may even be more expensive, depending on where you buy the boots, but you will end up with a much better produt and fewer head aches. btw, subaru axles have a green inner cup. the after market axles i have seen are either black or no color at all. they could be any color. there is a good rebuilder who makes a good axle. a small shop in colorado, MWE i think. you can find a link, email, phone number, to them if you google Colorado Component Rebuilders. they do not make a cheap after market reman axle. they do make a high quality reman subaru axle for a price that is much lower than suabru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/99-do-yourself-illustrated-guides/21119-diy-front-cv-axle-boot-replacement.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyfvholla Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 i disagree. the subaru axles are far superior to almost any other axle on the market. and often inexpensive after market axles have issues right out of the box. if it is a subaru axle and is not making noise would reboot it. I'll agree with that. My OEM driver front axle on my 98 LGT started failing (boot was never torn, so axle was just getting old), and lasted for more than just a few thousand miles before it gave up). But, I rebooted my 96's OEM front pass axle after it had torn only to have it start failing less than a few weeks later. So, my opinion is based off of my experience with it so it can't really apply to everyone. But I did replace that axle with one from advance auto and it's held up for quite some time now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivant Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 I have already done the inner boot some time ago and in hindsight should have done the outer when I had the axle off, but I didn't, so off it comes again. When one of the other side goes, I will replace both. I will try to bang the outer off. If no luck then I will just go through the messy job of taking the other end off to get the boot on. The boot has only gone in the last two weeks and the cv joint not clacking at all, so I will only be replacing the boot. Thanks for your help on the matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleaidestar Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Geez, I wish I knew about those guys last summer when I replaced three of the four on my sedan, my car buzzes at a stoplight...I couldnt believe how much the oe axles were, my jaw hit the floor when the salesman told me the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyfvholla Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 The boot has only gone in the last two weeks and the cv joint not clacking at all, so I will only be replacing the boot.. In no way would it start clicking right away, or even after a few weeks (depending on the age of the CV joint) just because the boot tore. Just throwing it out there is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Geez, I wish I knew about those guys last summer when I replaced three of the four on my sedan, my car buzzes at a stoplight...I couldnt believe how much the oe axles were, my jaw hit the floor when the salesman told me the price. Yup. Hence why when I replaced the front axles on my car in the past year, I replaced the aftermarket ones with OEM (re-manufactured) parts. Buzzing is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 i need to replace both front axles in my wagon. theyy have been tornn for about 21k miles... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mailman Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Called to see how much new OEM axles would be Dealership told me they use Napa axles instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyfvholla Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Dealership told me they use Napa axles instead Many dealerships do this because people do not want to pay for certain OEM parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivant Posted August 15, 2013 Author Share Posted August 15, 2013 Recap Replaced the boot today. Took me a good 4 hours to do. Couldn't get the joint off, even with some good hits it wasn't going to move, so just went in from the other end. Hardest job was taking off and putting back on again the circlip at the end of the shaft. It was a prick of a job. I suppose if one had the right tool for doing it, it would be straight forward. Anyone thinking of doing this. Be prepared, your going to get a very dirty. Grease is going to be your friend for a couple of hours. Had a bit of a problem at the parts suppliers trying to just match up a boot for me to use. I wasn't happy about this as none of them were the same. In the end they got me a boot out of the box that a new joint was in. You gotta watch those guys. Regards all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivant Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 Just as an add on to this story. I have done 4 boots on different cars and have not been able to get the cv joint off any of them. I have tried banging them off, but have not really hammered any of them like you see people do on youtube, as I have not wanted to risk damaging the joint, as I am going to reuse it. The people in the parts stores say they are pretty tough and can take a hard hammering, but I'm not convinced. Should I be giving them a really hard hammering and can they take it ? or am I just better off going in from the other end like I have been ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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