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View Full Version : sigh... torn axle boot



dubya_rx
06-12-2009, 12:36 AM
Hey there,
So recently I have been smelling a slight bit of burning smell when I stop my car after drives recently. Turns out my passenger side inner drive shaft boot is torn and was throwing grease onto my down pipe.

This is one of the few areas I don't have much experience on the car (the axles have been fine until now). Any tips on getting this fixed?

My understanding is that it's not worth fixing the boot, but swapping out the entire axle is the way to go? Where do you find axle swaps for the Subaru? Is it just the dealer or can someplace like CarQuest get them? Anything else I should be doing at the same time? Should I do both sides at the same time? 220K km on the car.

Thanks for any insight.

Posted on TSC too... I'll probably visit fourstar tomorrow as well.

JoeT
06-12-2009, 07:09 AM
Our friends at Japan Auto Parts can provide brand new axles for any Subaru for $125.00. These are brand new driveshaft shop axles, not remanufactured ones.

If you can't find any, just go get them.

Contact: Bruce at www.japanautoparts.com

They are located near Yorkdale.

nitrowsb
06-12-2009, 08:52 AM
Even STi?

BryceD
06-12-2009, 09:07 AM
Joe that's a great deal, considering the dealer charges $250-300 taxes in for a new one.

I posted on TSC too, but it's a fairly straightforward job, especially if your ball joint has been apart in the last couple years.

General rundown for how I change it:

- Put car on axle stands, remove wheel.
- Remove axle nut with 32mm socket and impact gun (can do it with breaker bar too, but need someone to stand on the brakes).
- Take nut off ball joint and separate LCA using a large steel bar for leverage. This will let you rotate the spindle more freely and can get the outboard end of the axle out.
- Use a punch to remove the shear pin between the inboard joint and the stub shaft that sticks out of the front diff.
- Remove axle

Reinstallation is reverse :D

dubya_rx
06-12-2009, 09:22 AM
Awesome!

Can I reuse the shear pin or is it a one use item?

JoeT
06-12-2009, 09:27 AM
Roll pin can be reused, the most difficult part of the ordeal will be to undo the axle nut. Sometimes it's on there really good, specially if it's never been off. I broke a breaker bar once while changing axles.

Trung,

Yes, they have them for the STI as well.

Not bad eh.

dubya_rx
06-12-2009, 09:45 AM
Yes, I've dealt with axle nuts before. Usually I win.

It's the ball joints that I am never successful with. Usually the knuckle can be rotated enough to avoid having to remove the ball joint.

BryceD
06-12-2009, 10:13 AM
The first time I changed an axle was on my old Civic, and I promptly broke the 1/2" drive on my breaker bar. I took it to a mechanic to have them just loosen the axle nut, and the mechanic, against my warnings, broke his 1/2" drive too!

He then listened to me and used a beefer impact gun to get it moving :)

Ball joints are another PITA, luckily mine were apart a month ago so it shouldn't give me much grief. I'm changing my axle tomorrow.

Steve
06-12-2009, 12:07 PM
You need a 5' pry bar for the ball joint! I've used mine a bunch for that!

For axle nuts, I've never broke a breaker bar, but it has got pretty bendy. Robin has a big 3/4" breaker bar and socket that is awesome for those though!

Navigator
06-12-2009, 06:57 PM
Dont break your finger or something worse. Get the tool at PA (often on sale for under $20). Loosen the nut but dont take it off all the way, put the tool on and in seconds the ball joint and tie rod ends can be removed.

Post on ball joint tool from PA (http://spda-online.ca/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=3852&forum=10&post_id=29423#forumpost29423)

STeveD
06-12-2009, 07:26 PM
I have the one that Ivano mentions, Walter. It's yours when you need it.

Cavemanrjc
06-12-2009, 07:37 PM
I want one of those, that looks easier then my way.
however with a large hammer strike the arm ware the b/j goes through. it usually works (Don't hit the b/j stud, rotor, caliper etc ....)
and don't get your fingers pinched between the spindle and arm when trying to line it up on reassembly.

BryceD
06-13-2009, 04:21 PM
Finally changed mine out after more than a month knowing I needed to change it :) No major beefs, except I didn't jack it up quite high enough on the drivers side to get the wheel off the ground, so the sway bar was preventing me from fitting the ball joint back together. Easy enough to fix.

Also tackled removing my manifold and tapping it for an EGT gauge. Only got caught on 1 bolt (mani to cross pipe), so we cut it off with a hack saw and everything was smooth after that.

Not a bad day so far I think :D

dubya_rx
06-13-2009, 10:26 PM
Oooo... Any pic of the EGT tap? I need to do that too.

BryceD
06-13-2009, 10:58 PM
No pic, I'll try to remember next time I am under (next week if my usual trend continues).

I followed the guide on scoobymods.com, using the casting button on the drivers side mani. Overall it wasn't too bad, although the bottom of my heatshield was fully rusted out and fell apart after we took out the other 2 bolts. We used a large washer and nut/bolt to keep the bottom of the h/s closed.

I was worried about the head/mani studs, but they came off cleanly after a soak in PB Blaster. One out of two mani/crosspipe bolts was fine, but the other wouldn't go so a hack saw finished the job.

The drill/tap was pretty easy, we just took it slow and drilled a pilot hole, then reamed to an 'R' size bit (11/32" works fine for 1/8" NPT as well). Tapping was straightforward, as well as drilling a hole in the heatshield to fit the sensor through.

dubya_rx
06-17-2009, 12:17 AM
New axle in... pretty painless. No ball joints involved.