DIY front cv axle & boot replacement

[driveby]

Originally posted by mollett89
i have an 03 that has one going out do i need to get an allignment after ? in your pics it doesnt look like you unbolted the strut but in porcupine's pics it looks like he did

mollett, which joint is going on yours? How many miles?

fyi, the joint on my old axle was doing fine at 95k miles. I only replaced it because the boot was torn open. Closeup pics:




When I returned the axle for core refund, I asked the dealership parts manager about preventive replacement. His opinion: Boot failures are isolated events.

So I'll leave the passenger side alone for now.

As for alignment:

• If you take the approach that I did (unbolt stabilizer endlink, remove pinch bolt, and drop balljoint out of knuckle), your alignment should not be affected.
• If you undo the strut bolts like porcupine did, you should clearly mark the position first so you can restore the camber as close as possible.
• If you remove or replace the ball joint (by undoing the castle nut underneath), the service manual says that you should check your toe-in.

Me, I would always go for the pinch bolt first. Even with heavy rust. You can hit it with penetrating oil inside & out, safely apply heat on the knuckle, even hammer a screwdriver in the gap to shock the threads free. If you don't remove the pinch bolt now, it will only get worse. And some day you might want to replace that ball joint.

Jeff

[driveby]

Originally posted by Brucey
great thread! But why isnt it in the DIY forum? Very nice write up.

Thanks! I figured I'd post here first, get input from more folks, and then post a DIY guide with everyone's tips and photos in the DIY forum.

-Jeff

[mollett89]

my 03 is at 103xxx miles i had someone replace my driver side because of a torn boot at i wanna say aroung 80000 miles and now my passenger one makes a whole lot of racket
thanks for the great walk through i will have to tackle this when i get back from my trip in two weeks

[S800]

A Subaru mechanic told me that the passenger side inner CV boot fails because it sits just above the catalytic and is exposed to a lot of heat. On my 2001 Legacy the boot failed at 110,000 miles. The early sign is a burnt oil smell in the engine compartment but no obvious source like a leaky head gasket.

[dpraetorius]

Originally Posted by S800

A Subaru mechanic told me that the passenger side inner CV boot fails because it sits just above the catalytic and is exposed to a lot of heat. On my 2001 Legacy the boot failed at 110,000 miles. The early sign is a burnt oil smell in the engine compartment but no obvious source like a leaky head gasket.

I'll second that! I just got back from school to find a rank burning oil smell when the car warmed up, so while filling up yesterday, I popped the hood, and lo and behold, the inner passenger CV boot was split wide open and the grease was sprayed all over the exhaust and block. It's almost a relief, I was worried at first that my HG job from October break had gone bad!

[bigdadi]

Rebuilt Subaru Engines

Most axles retail for $75/exchange. Shipping and core charges apply.
Our NEW CV Exchange Program.
Phone (303) 522-8070

[Brucey]

Why is everyone replacing the entire axle for a torn boot? It seems kinda over kill to me. You have to also consider unless you get a very good axle there is a good chance its going to have vibration problems.

[dpraetorius]

GAH! The head of the @&$#ing pinch bolt broke off, and eight hours of attempting to drill it out led to the extractor breaking. Gonna try to get a machine shop to drill it out for me tomorrow, as well as pull out the ball joint from the knuckle. Everything is just completely rusted solid.

[CatfishCalhoun]

I know and feel your pain.

[driveby]

Originally Posted by Brucey

Why is everyone replacing the entire axle for a torn boot? It seems kinda over kill to me.

A few reasons, in no particular order:

1) It's a quick job. You can swap an axle in less than 30 minutes and be driving again with absolute confidence. Disassembling & cleaning & inspecting & regreasing & rebooting a removed axle takes muuuch longer.

2) It's a clean job. You remove a few fasteners, swap axles, replace the fasteners, and you're done. You don't have to mess around with a few handfuls of nasty toxic moly grease, plus a bucket of solvent to remove the old grease, plus proper disposal of that used grease and solvent.**

3) It's an easy job. You don't need special boot-banding tools, precision inspection tools & procedures for the bearings & splines, manuals to show the proper banding distance & tension, special axle grease, etc. Just a handful of common tools and basic mechanical skills.

4) It's a reliable job. If you use a good reman axle, you don't have to worry about whether your bearings were compromised by dirt or water, or if your grease is the right stuff for a CV joint, or if the splines were still serviceable, or if the boots are tightened enough but not too much, etc, etc. Just buy a Subaru reman axle and be done with it.

Just my opinion. If you have no cash, but you have LOTS of time AND tools AND materials AND space AND skills to reboot your own axles, AND also if you caught the leak early enough that you do not need new bearings or blueprinting...then go for it!

I think these are the same reasons that most professional shops just buy reman'd axles instead of wasting time trying to reboot them. This is one of those jobs best left to a specialist IMO.


-Jeff


** Hopefully...everyone on this forum recycles their old greases & oils & solvents through a toxic waste disposal program. Not in the trash, not on the ground, not in the sewer, not down a drain. If you can't afford the time to deal properly with this toxic waste, you should not be dealing with it at all.