How To: Replace/Rebuild torn CV boot and/or Axle

[Boulderguy]

Great, have her swing by & fix this damn thing for me.

[Boulderguy]

OK, back from shop, it was a freakin' heat shield rattle that just suddenly "developed" by itself almost immediately after the axle job. Good news is the axle & diff are 100%. I was really worried I'd screwed something up there.

[laramieskibum]

got your PM thanks.

 

Good to hear your car is cool. i had the head shield go just a few months ago above the drive shaft. making a racket....

 

purchased a new axle from subaru today out of desperation (ouch). Will put it in tommorow.

 

Those of you who have replaced the output seal on the transmission, where does the big O ring go (not the seal, but the O ring)? Does that involve taking the weird looking nut off the side of the transmission? Don't think I want to get into that, because that sets your pinion depth right (think I read that somewhere on here...).

[Boulderguy]

That's exactly what it was too, the shield above the driveshaft. Imagine getting that racket right after replacing the axle - I was freaking out.

 

Why is it you can't use the same axle I did?

[arsk]

Just want to share my experience on this.

 

Another issue I had was with tightening the smaller band because there was not enough lead to wrap it in the tool . I ended up using pliers to pull the band and tightening it.

 

I recently found my inner boot was leaking grease, and rather than replace everything, I'd like to just replace the band/clamp or whatever you call it. I ordered a clamp from subaruparts.com com, with part number 23242GA410

 

I also posted about my issues here if you want the full story.

 

I need whatever help I can get in terms of removing the old band, and putting on the new one. This seems like it would be a simple operation, but a couple of people in this thread have mentioned it, so I'd like to learn from your experience. This is why I'm posting in this thread.

 

Here's a picture of the clamp:

 

 

1) My old clamp looks slightly different than the one above. A picture of my old clamp while on the boot is located in this thread. I don't see any obvious way to remove it. Remember, I want to keep the boot intact

 

2) I don't understand how the new clamp is supposed to work. I suspect that I have to buy a special tool (as mentioned in earlier posts), but I was expecting ears or something to fold down onto the metal once it goes through the slot. Right now, the only way I can envision securing the clamp is to slide it through the slot and either crimp it (doesn't seem like that would be very sturdy, and wouldn't know how to get leverage after it is wrapped around the boot) or slide the metal through and bend it backward... also doesn't seem quite right.

 

I hoping someone could explain these two things to me before I just experiment with what I have. Thanks.

[Apex-XT]

I just replaced mine over the weekend. It was a pretty simple procedure, given the information in this thread. I had 'rented' a fwd axle puller from local car-parts store which made all the difference: it was really in there.

 

I purchased a brand new replacement axle from this source off of ebay (recommendation from 'BoulderGuy' - Thank you!) http://stores.ebay.com/Car-Parts-Discount. It was about $75 incl. shipping and there's no core return requirement. So I'm going to purchase the boot kit and re-pack/re-boot the original axle to have a spare around.

 

During the install (OBW-XT), I only removed the lower control arm inner and rear bushing bolts/nuts, disconnected the anti-sway bar and swung the LCA and hub forward. I didn't have to drop the ball joint or disconnect the tie rod.

[rob]

Another ebay victory. I bought 2 of these ;

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190387288525&viewitem=

 

Was $147 total for both including shipping. Brand new, no core charge. Perfect fit.

 

Enjoy!

[VR4Rob]

Another ebay victory. I bought 2 of these ;

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190387288525&viewitem=

 

Was $147 total for both including shipping. Brand new, no core charge. Perfect fit.

 

Enjoy!

 

Cool thanks for posting this! I was just about to post a thread to see if anyone had found a definitive answer for buying remanufactured axles. So this fit your 5MT turbo car no problems?

[renfrey]

Sorry for being a little confused, but I've been looking at a few of the ebay links and I am not really sure which is the correct one that I should be getting for a 05 LGT Ltd.? (front axle)

 

Thanks.

[SSpeed]

The horizontal bolt is out completely. It was HARD to get out, but I soaked the hell out of it with PB and eventually, it came loose and I screwed it out.

 

My concern now is still how to get the ball joint out. I do not want to cut the bolt until I get the ball joint out of its housing. Then, knowing that I am going to need a new LBJ anyway, I can do what I have to do to get the bolt out of the LCA.

 

Once again, thanks for all the help.

 

Sam

 

Put a punch on the edge of the A-arm and "tap" each side back and forth with a hammer until the ball joint releases...

 

Anyone have a picture of the transmission side retaining clip? That's the big unknown to me right now and I don't want to mess up the tranny seal only to do this again... Can the axle be removed with the clip on or does it have to come off first?

[SSpeed]

The service manual shows the whole ball of wax, ie remove caliper and disc, the tie rod end, unbolt the strut, etc... looks like you didn't have to do that right?

[AndrewZ]

so is the car parts discount part number 81609 or 81608?

 

http://www.carpartsdiscount.com/auto/parts/2005/subaru/legacy/cv_axle.html?3594=2147

 

According to their website, part 81609 is the axle for turbo cars

 

what are everyones thoughts on this?

 

http://www.drivewire.com/search/?Ntt...e&t_event=true

 

My thought on that link is how do you have over 500 posts?

 

Also, isnt a similar amount of work required to replace the boot as is required to replace the axle assembly

 

It should be more work to remove, rebuild and reinstall the axle than remove the old and insert a new one

[xt2005bonbon]

It should be more work to remove, rebuild and reinstall the axle than remove the old and insert a new one

 

I slightly disagree. Well yes it is technically more work but it is really not that much. It is basically an extra 30mn max to get rid of the old boot, clean up the parts, add the new grease in and put the new boot. Plus the boot+grease only cost like 40$ for genuine subaru parts online I think. So I would encourage to go that route. But there is still an important assumption to take into account: the cracked boot has to be noticed or caught very early with the grease noticeably still fresh (and stinky too). Then you know it should be just fine to change the boot with a new one. My two cents..

[Evan]

When you put in a new complete axle, you get TWO fresh boots. Just another factor to consider in weighing the options.

[xt2005bonbon]

When you put in a new complete axle, you get TWO fresh boots. Just another factor to consider in weighing the options.

 

That's true. So then 1hr extra work and 80$ spending then instead of half of these values if you need to change 2 boots.

[VR4Rob]

Another ebay victory. I bought 2 of these ;

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190387288525&viewitem=

 

Was $147 total for both including shipping. Brand new, no core charge. Perfect fit.

 

Enjoy!

 

I replaced my passenger side front axle with this part over the weekend and it fit perfectly. I found putting the axle in the trans/diff side first was MUCH easier than trying to put it in the hub first. Luckily everything came apart very easy on my car... I love that I bought a salt free southern car more every day

[sashadg1]

That's true. So then 1hr extra work and 80$ spending then instead of half of these values if you need to change 2 boots.

 

 

So are you saying it's an hour less work replacing the whole axle then just replacing the one boot?

 

I need to o this right away an need to know the best way to get it done.

 

Also you all are getting these off E-bay or is there a better place? I'm in Cali

 

Thank you,

 

Scott

Edited June 21, 2010 by sashadg1
spelling error

[Evan]

So are you saying it's an hour less work replacing the whole axle then just replacing the one boot?

 

I need to o this right away an need to know the best way to get it done.

 

Also you all are getting these off E-bay or is there a better place? I'm in Cali

 

Thank you,

 

Scott

Its less work to replace the axle than to replace the boots. Replacing boots is the same as replacing the axle, EXCEPT that after pulling the axle out, you go to work on replacing the boots. But if you purchase a new axle, there are new boots already on it, so you just pull the old axle and through in the new one. No messing with boot replacement.

[sashadg1]

Do you need to repack grease in the new assembly boots if so how much grease? What kind of grease is used and can I get it at the local auto store?

I called on this http://www.carpartsdiscount.com and they have them for Turbo model for $60.00 plus 15.00 to ship does this seem right? That seems way to cheap. Sub wants 350.00 just for the axle... Should I go for it?

[SSpeed]

If you want to do the boots talk to FredBeans... you want the boot, the bottle of Subaru grease, and the two bands...

[sashadg1]

Ok Cool I have bought from them before, thanks. Still deciding which way to go still. I don't want to reaplce the whole axle with some china made crapola and have more issues later. What do you guys think about the carpartsdiscount.com part?

[Ransom]

I've got leaks on both sides on my '07 already, but it doesn't appear to be the boot exactly, which hopefully means warranty will cover this. Good thread though, because if it isn't covered I don't want to pay the stealership for this.

[Jim_KT]

While replacing my front endlinks with Kartboy components, I discovered that my right side front cv boot (inner) is torn. The grease is fairly fresh, and am thinking about rebuilding the axle myself. However, the ~74 dollar rebuilt axles are tempting.

 

Any of you know if the front axles on a 5mt car are the same as those on a 5eat leggy?

[fishbone]

Can anyone shed some light on this issue of mine? 2005 Legacy GT automatic. Outer end (hub side) does not match what I got from Mac Auto. What gives?

Mac Auto is top, mine is bottom.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=86999&d=1278118780

[Jim_KT]

^^^^^

 

I won't be able to shed any light on your situation until my original passenger side half-shaft is removed. The replacement that arrived from MAC Auto looks like the top unit.