urdrwho Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Think I posted this in the wrong area last night so I'll re-post....... I haven't replaced a U joint since 1979. Back then you knocked them or pressed them out and pressed them back into place. My new to me 97 Outback limited is in need of a U joint replacment. The dealer says no go, you must buy our very expensive drive shaft. So JC Whitney has the joints and so does a place called Rockford Driveline. Even if I replace all the joints it is still cheaper than the dealers new drive shaft. Question is about the term stacked? Is this just a name for what we used to have in the 1970's, the kind that you removed the outer keeper and banged out the joint. I don't have the press and my neighbor will be doing this job. Is there anything to know, any secrets to the job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 a qualified drive shaft sop can do the job for you. probably for less than the dealer price. but i would just buy a used drive shaft. the do not fail all that often so used will be readily available and less expensive. check link, put in your zip and sort by distance to see what is close. http://www.car-part.com i don't know what they cost, but way cheaper than the dealer and my guess it is cheaper than new u-joints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Our u-joints are not serviceable. A driveshaft shop can do a conversion on them to make them serviceable, but like John said it is cheaper and much easier to find a used one. -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urdrwho Posted April 20, 2013 Author Share Posted April 20, 2013 Dealer prices are very high for it. I've used car-part in the past for other cars and had good results. What happened was when I got the car done and on the road I started to feel a lot of bumping / humping (best description I can give) when I start off from a stop. I theorized U joints. I took the car up to my neighbor that has a press and he would do the job. The guys been a mechanic all his life and was a mechanic for a large truck stop. He's done it all. Anyhow he pulled the shaft and told me that the one joint is loose and he ordered new joints from JC Whitney. With his experience with the big trucks, he has probably seen many different types of drive shafts and would / should know if a U-joint is staked. I did a search on the car-part and the average cost of rear and front together total is @ $250 > $300. I'm sitting here wondering if the bumping / humping it isn't the bearing that holds the drive shaft? a qualified drive shaft sop can do the job for you. probably for less than the dealer price. but i would just buy a used drive shaft. the do not fail all that often so used will be readily available and less expensive. check link, put in your zip and sort by distance to see what is close. www.car-part.com i don't know what they cost, but way cheaper than the dealer and my guess it is cheaper than new u-joints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urdrwho Posted April 20, 2013 Author Share Posted April 20, 2013 Well my neighbor got the job done and it is a good thing he has a press with enough oomph to do it. I went up to talk to him about just getting a used shaft but he was lowering the car when I got there. His words were not kind for the subbie U-joint situation and remarked it will be the last 97 Subbie U-joint job he'll do. He replaced all of them. Now the bumping/humping is gone and everything is smooth. Dealer prices are very high for it. I've used car-part in the past for other cars and had good results. What happened was when I got the car done and on the road I started to feel a lot of bumping / humping (best description I can give) when I start off from a stop. I theorized U joints. I took the car up to my neighbor that has a press and he would do the job. The guys been a mechanic all his life and was a mechanic for a large truck stop. He's done it all. Anyhow he pulled the shaft and told me that the one joint is loose and he ordered new joints from JC Whitney. With his experience with the big trucks, he has probably seen many different types of drive shafts and would / should know if a U-joint is staked. I did a search on the car-part and the average cost of rear and front together total is @ $250 > $300. I'm sitting here wondering if the bumping / humping it isn't the bearing that holds the drive shaft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.