CV joints replacement

Fernely · Post by **Fernely** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 3:23 pm

I pulled my front axels last night took about 45 min to get both out. I used the strut removal and removed the rack as well. I'm here to tell everyone DO NOT REMOVE THE PIN!!! The axel comes right out with a firm tug from the tranny. Save yourself a big PITA. I Do not understand why all the manuals say to remove the axel that way. I hope everyone with this problem takes a look at this tread you will save yourself a lot of headache. I know I'm new on this board but I have been working on all types of cars for over 15 years. As I start to remove and repair things on this car I'll keep everyone posted on any additional tidbits I run into. This weekend I'm going to see if My WRX struts and spring combo bolt right up. If it does I'll post so everyone has another choice when it comes to suspension. Its actually a better match for the Legacy because the wieght diffrence is less GDA Impreza= 3050, GC8 impreza= 2800 BC-BF Legacy 3100-3200. Anyway good luck everyone and if you ever in Miami give me a holler!

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 7:38 pm

Your not supposed to do it that way.

For one, those seals are supposed to be replaced when you remove the stubs. The ring that holds the stubs in can damage the seal.

Second is that you will find sometimes stub wont go back in, the ring gets in the way of the teeth.

Even without these issues how does that solve the fact that you have to remove the pin anyways to return the item for core? Or did you just replace the boot and repack?

Fernely · Post by **Fernely** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 7:51 pm

I have a shop down here that takes the axel and rebuilds them for me for $45. They are the one's who told me to not bother with the pin. I have pulled literally dozens of axels with the rings never a problem. I understand what your talking I am just tring to save some people all the extra work. We know most everyone will still do exactly what they feel comfortable with.

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Thu Jan 23, 2003 9:09 am

Quick question before I dig into this project this weekend since I now have the FSM's. In the steps listed for removal of the front axle, it says to replace the inner oil seal. Is this necessary? If so, does anyone have the part number for this item? I'm just curious because in all this discussion of replacing axles and whatnot, this wasn't mentioned once. It also says that you may need a Puller if it's difficult to remove. Is this similar to a two-jaw puller? Lots of questions I know, but I'd like to gather all info. before I get too far into this. One more question if you guys can stand it. The FSM's say that you shouldn't unstake/unlock the nut or remove it until the car is off the ground. Won't the axle spin if I try to remove the nut while the front end is off the ground? Again, Thanks in advance.

-Brian

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Jan 23, 2003 3:41 pm

Air tools will take the nut off.......if you don't have them.....you'll probably have to break it loos while on the ground.....just don't loosen too much.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Jan 23, 2003 4:25 pm

eastbaysubaru wrote:The FSM's say that you shouldn't unstake/unlock the nut or remove it until the car is off the ground. Won't the axle spin if I try to remove the nut while the front end is off the ground? Again, Thanks in advance.

Pardon me if I'm not fully understanding the situation, but couldn't you put the car in gear and have a friend grip the wheel by the tire on the opposite side of the car while you apply torque to the nut?

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Thu Jan 23, 2003 6:50 pm

Well, I've got air tools so that shouldn't be a problem. I'm more concerned with the seal that they talk about in the FSM's. Should it be replaced? How will I know if it gets, or is, damaged? Thanks again guys.

-Brian

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Thu Jan 23, 2003 7:42 pm

If auto you can put the car in park and it will hold the front wheels still.

For me I jacked the car up so that the front wheel was still touching the ground but less weight was applied. I then turned the nut maybe 1/16 turn (just to brake loose) then jacked the car all the way up.

You are supposed to replace the NUT and a new axle should come with one....

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Wed Jan 29, 2003 9:20 pm

Interesting dilema, my torque wrench only goes up to 75 ft lbs and the manual says to torque it to 150 ft lbs. Is it really necessary to get it to 150 ft lbs exactly or will I be alright just tightening it as much as I can by hand? I'm not exactly sure what to do at this point. Any thoughts?

-Brian

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Thu Jan 30, 2003 1:54 am

Figured out the torque wrench problem. The next problem is that the axles didn't ship with new spring pins or axle nuts. This seems to be a BIG problem because everything I've read says that you need to use new ones when you replace the axles. Is it going to be bad if I use the old spring pin/nut? Moreover, why didn't CVAXLES.com send a new spring ping/nut?

-Brian(frustrated as hell)

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Thu Jan 30, 2003 2:44 am

Strange, mine came with pins and nuts?

If you remove the pin from the correct side and/or spread it apart again when you are done plus make sure to install it on the right side I dont think its a problem.

The only reason they say not to use the axel nut again is because usually the spot you bent wont line up in the same place againe so you have two dents and it could come loose I guess.

I wouldnt stresss about it too much.

BTW, do you need the 32mm socket?

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Thu Jan 30, 2003 3:46 am

Nope, I got the socket a week or so ago. I just reused both the spring pin and the nut. I hope it doesn't make a difference. I got one done tonight, but the other will have to wait until tomorrow when I have the air tools handy. The one thing I'm a little concerned about is that the axles look much different than the ones that came out. I'm not sure that it makes a difference, but it's something I noticed and wanted to bring up. Ciper, were your axles exactly the same?

-Brian

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Thu Jan 30, 2003 4:27 am

Hmm, I didnt really check since I did all three at different times.

I would guess that if they are diffferent it might be because they use axles from 90-96? legacy and 93-9X impreza axles mixed in possibly. Ill take a look

bonestock · Post by **bonestock** » Fri Jan 31, 2003 7:26 pm

Since I started this thread... I can post again

Is it possible that my Legacy is now a 3 wheel drive. Whenever I am on a slippery surface, I hear a strange noise like if something was not engaging properly to make the front wheel turn...

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Fri Jan 31, 2003 11:47 pm

Is your car a turbo (lsd)? If not your car could sit while spinning two wheels

gt tankie · Post by **gt tankie** » Fri May 02, 2003 1:38 am

just a note on the hesitation/lack of power u r experiencing.
I've got a 92 GT legacy and was having trouble with acceleration, i.e. the further I floored it the harder the car ran(leaned out).
I put up with this for about a year and then it died, cranked but wounld not start. Turns out my fuel pump died. It's electric and sits in the fuel tank and runs at a constant rate and what is'nt used by the motor goes back to the tank. Well mine was running slower and slower hence the injectors were'nt getting enough gas which resulted in a lean run.
Of note it also killed my computer. Replaced both (NZ$1500) and it's fine.
A healthy pump should give off a quiet high pitch whine from the boot.
Hope it helps.

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Fri May 16, 2003 4:07 am

well I'm finally going to replace both my front axels this weekend,probably give the front brakes a little tlc also.interested to see if mine come with all the parts[axle nut,spring pin]i'm an axle virgin so here's to losing my cherry

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Sun May 18, 2003 7:12 am

Man I don't wanna see another axle after tomorrow!!!

My axles from www.cvaxles.com came with nothing, no pins, no nuts no nothing. But I am close enough to them that I picked up my axles in person rather than having them shipped...

Thursday my friend and I planned to swap my axles, do my brakes, and fix my broken wheel stud since we're there...

Yes I know now, waaaaaay too much stuff to do in one day with only common tools. It so happens that one of my caliper bolts' head is stripped, so I'll have to have someone take that out.

Anyway, we proceeded to swap my bad axle, the one making noise and a cut boot. I can now speak from experience: You need a hammer and punch to get the spring pin out. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!!! We tried hammering nails and other things in there to pop it out, we even ran a speedo cable through the pin and tried to yank it out. So we wasted precious time going to Home Depot to get a punch.

So old axle is now out, and we attempt to find the seal on the tranny. I stick my screwdriver in there to find it, and come up with nothing. So I took the seal that the dealer gave me, and it won't fit. I'm now really pissed, but I have 4 hours to get to work, so I figure, it didn't leak before so I won't worry about it.

After a 30 minute break, we come back out and find about a half-quart of gear oil on the ground. Apparently, my digging around with a screwdriver unclogged the gunk that was holding the oil in there.

Now it's time for me to go home and get ready for work. Against posts I've read on this board, I go get a quart of Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil to "hold me" until I can fix it...

That quart has long since leaked out, and a quart of Redline 80W140 I had left from trying to find a synchro cure has been "circulated" through the system too.

And upon revisiting the dealer Friday, I learned I do indeed have the correct seals, but my stupid ass didn't understand that they're DIRECTIONAL...

Anyway, I should probably get to bed since I'm taking the whole day tomorrow to fix the thing myself.

I'll be back with an update, and a review for cvaxles.com, after I (supposedly) fix it...

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Sun May 18, 2003 7:44 am

My cvaxles.com axles didn't come with shit either. I even called them and asked what was up since Ciper got his with both the spring pin things and a new nut. I just ended up reusing the parts. To get the spring pin out I used a drill bit turned around backwards. I know how frustrated you are, I have been there and back. The problem I ran into was that one of the axle nuts was on soooo tight that I couldn't get it broken loose. I had air tools (not burly enough), a breaker bar with a four foot attachment and my 200+ lb. ass. I ended up having to take it to a shop where they broke it loose and tightened it back to the correct spec. PITA!!! I hope it all works out well for you. Don't get down on yourself, just chalk it up to added experience under the belt

-Brian

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Mon May 19, 2003 3:16 am

ok so what a freaking nightmare,first i couldnt unstake the axle nut because none of the 6 punches i have were small enough to get under the punched part of the nut

so 4 stores and 2 hours later i have what i need,but i missjudged my strength just a wee bit cause i couldnt break the nut loose with my 1/2 " driver,thought it was long enough for leverage,wasnt.so off to get a breaker bar.ist i go to sears cause i have a card there,they only have 1 and its 30$

no way,so i go to a pretty cool place here called surplus city,has discount tools.get an even nicer bar 9.95$ok so another 1.5 hrs past i figure im in bussiness.both nuts break loose so im stoked and start on passernger side go's like butter.axle pulls out of hub by hand,spring pin was a little tricky cause once again i didnt have proper punch,but i was able to get it 3/4 the way out then used small round file to push it out.axle comes right out of differential.damn nothing to it i start thinking.move on to driver side,get the control arm stabi. bar unhooked go to take axle out of steering knuckle and it wont come out.ok no problem ill use hammer and punch,nope actually bent my heavy duty punch

now im starting to get pissed,back to the store for a 2 jaw puller.get the puller put it on start pulling and the axle just wouldnt pop out the middle part of the puller is actually boring into the punch hole on the axle and it still wont pop

so im having to use a pry bar to hold the hub while im turning the puller and i break my tone wheel

so now im really upset so i keep torking on the puller and it finally explodes 12.95 down the drain.does anyone know what i should try next?i know i have to remove the steering knuckle now to fix the tone wheel so should i just take the knuckle and axle to a shop and have them get it out?someone help please,thanks

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Mon May 19, 2003 3:57 am

Wow, we have the same problem, your driver's side is tougher...

I am pretty pissed at my car right now. As posted last night, I was going to put an axle seal in today... No such luck. I ruined the seal trying to get it in. Probably a mix of improper tools and not enough room in engine bay. So I put the right side back together, and squeeze half a tube of silicone gasket sealant in there in desperation.

While that's curing, I decide to try the driver's axle. That balljoint was much more stubborn, and a little rusty. But my passenger's balljoint is fairly new, so that's why. Anyway, so the balljoint is separated from the knuckle, and I pull the knuckle away from the axle. It won't budge, again this worked on the passenger's no problem. However, I took a piece of wood and a hammer and eventually pounded the axle out of the hub, slowly but surely. So after complaining that I had to do the whole pin thing from under the car, since that pesky starter is in the way up top

, I got the new axle in.

The balljoint was even more stubborn coming back together. I eventually had to work as much of it into the knuckle as I could with a flathead screwdriver, and then jack up the control arm against the strut to force the balljoint back into the knuckle.

And no the silicone didn't do a damn thing. Of course the stuff cured onto the axle splines, which probably pulled the whole thing right out once I started driving. So I'm still leaking gear oil all over the place. I give up. I'm takin it to the stealership...

But I do like the axles very much. They're from cvaxles.com. Read my review in the Reviews forum.

So anyway, wow you broke a freekin 2-jaw puller???

Unless you can squirt a crapload of WD-40 or bolt-loosener in there, yeah I'd say you might hafta take the whole knuckle and axle out and have someone else press it out...

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Fri May 23, 2003 12:13 am

ok so i'm really pissed off right now!took the drivers side axle and the steering knuckle to a shop to get axle out and pull out hub to fix tone wheel and they couldn't get it out!

they put it in a 10'000pound press and it just mushed the end of the axle

so they are going to cut it out of the knuckle to try and salvage axle so i can at least get the core charge on the axle.they are going to try and salvage as much as possible but it doesn't look good.so i'm probably going to have to get a new knuckle,wheel bearing,hub,ect..the whole damn assembly.has anyone ever heard of anything like this?the guy at the shop said it was a first for him.so not much happening right now except money flying out of my wallet.i'm probably not going to have enough to do my brakes now. i would sure like to start doing mods but every time i save money something stupid breaks and eats the money

i'll update soon

Aaron's ej22t · Post by **Aaron's ej22t** » Fri May 23, 2003 12:48 am

when i put new boots on my axles, the passenger side axle shaft came out of the hub no problem. but, the driver side would NOT come out. we tried for 2 hrs and finally took off the whole brake/hub assembly from the car.

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Sun Jun 01, 2003 3:05 pm

allright,torched out the axle so i got the core charge but i lost the wheel bearing.so i got the axles and they have everything in them,new axle nuts and pins.i got the driver side back together last night,steering knuckle wasn't too bad but the axle was a pain to get in,had to pound it in with a board[being very carefull not to damage anything]ball joint gave me some pain to,seems everything is real tight.oh ya the shop that pressed my hub and wheel bearing together had a lot of trouble with the seals to

they destroyed a couple sets before finnally giving up.the auto parts store gave me the wrong ones.they had it wrong in thier computer.so they give me the right ones and i take them to the shop.the outside went together allright but the inside wouldn't,so back to the auto parts store i go but this time i take the old one which is much thinner.ends up they had to give one for a loyal and it worked.antways back to the axles,got it all togwether rebuilt the brakes had the rotors turned,will get gas slotted someday hopefully next time pads need change.and its looking good.doing passenger side today which should be easier cause it came apart real smooth.cant wait to drive my baby again will update later

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Sun Jun 01, 2003 7:55 pm

Why dont you use parts from the dealer? (except for the axle) You wouldnt have had as much trouble and you are sure to get the latest revision. Those aftermarket bearings could be of the old design and will fail after a short amount of miles!

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CV joints replacement

Don't knock the PIN OUT!!