Front axle (half-shaft) removal question - spring pin

[1993 Legacy]

Hello,
I have to change an inner boot on my right front axle (half-shaft) on my 1993/1994 Legacy AWD automatic station wagon and everything seems pretty straightoforward except for the spring pin removal. Is it really knocked out by a hammer and a punch? Is the pin reuseable and if not what is the part number, please? Also, are the nuts of the lower ball joint reuseable or not and what is the part number if they are not? Furthermore, does subaru actually sell only boots for ball joints as this would be a good time to change them. I know that this might sound crazy but I have have changed boots on ball joints on other cars I have owned and hardly ever had to replace ball joints. I remember reading ages ago about ball joints boots being the main culprit for ball joint failure besides the regular wear and tear.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Any pointers as to on-line subaru shops in Europe would also be appreciated.

Best regards

Dusan

[Fishy]

I helped another member (bignose) strip down a legacy wagon for parts one time and it had those spring pins in the axles. We just tapped them right out with a hammer and punch. It sounds silly but make sure the punch is big enough around that it rests on the edges of the pin and not right in the middle. I think I remember trying one that was too skinny and it sorta stuck into the pin more that it pushed the pin. As for you other questions you're going to have to wait for someone smarter than me to answer

[entirelyturbo]

It's not so much that the punch is big enough, but LONG enough. As long as you have the punch at the right angle (guessing roughly a 75° degree angle to the pin, hitting on the edge of it), then the width of it shouldn't really matter. All you have to worry about then is the punch being long enough so that it pushes the pin all the way out of the hole before the hex part of the punch won't go in any farther.

[vrg3]

Yes, the pins come out with a hammer and punch.

Make sure you're using a flat-nosed punch. If the end is pointy it tends to expand the pin rather than drive it out. I found that a 3/16" punch fit very well; I imagine a 5mm punch would work well too.

Also, be sure you're punching the pin from the non-beveled side of the hole. If you look at both ends of the hole you'll see that one is flush with the surface of the axle stub and the other has a bevel. The pin is supposed to go in and out through the beveled side only.

You're not supposed to reuse the spring pins. They are Subaru part number 051906452.

I don't know about the ball joints, but when I changed my axles I didn't disconnect the ball joints; I just undid the two nut-and-bolt pairs holding the strut to the hub. If you go this route, mark the position of the upper bolt because it controls the camber alignment.

Good luck.

[mikec]

When I had someone change my axle, he removed the bolt that holds the ball joint in the hub. Its a 14 mm, if I remember right. You'll need a big pry bar to extract the ball joint from the hub once you remove the bolt.

I've since helped him swap axles on another car, and its quite easy. Plus, no messing with the alignment.

[1993 Legacy]

Hi,
Thanks to all. That is what I thought but it is always better to ask. I asked about the nuts on the ball-joint as, at least on SAABs, they should not be reused as they tend to come undone after a while.

Best regards

Dusan

[douglas vincent]

As for reusing the spring pins, I have ALWAYS reused them. While maybe not reccomended, I cant see how it holy hell one of those things could come out by itself.

In fact, when reinstalling my wifes engine, the last thing I had to do was reinstall the driver side axel. It was 11 at night, I was tired as hell and got the axel just off a hair in alignment to the hole. Lets just say the pin is still sticking out 1.5" and going strong.