wgcooley

Fixed two problems with this thread. Thanks! Symptom 1: Neither cable or key fob would release truck. Had to lift up on trunk wile activating release. Fix 1: Move the latch down as far as possible. It's under the large plastic cover. Loosen the two 10mm nuts, push the latch down as far as possible, then tighten the nuts. Symptom 2: Squeak when opening trunk Fix 2: Pull back carpet; you'll need to take off two push pins to get enough clearance. Spray lithium grease all over torsion rod touch points and both trunk trapeze pivot pins. Wipe off excess.

You want to drive the oil seal until the oil seal face is flush with the transmission. When I say "face," I mean the plane of the seal face, not the rounded edge. Most people use a cup to drive the seal in place. This will guarantee you don't overdrive the seal, and that the seal is parallel with the transmission (one side is not deeper than the other). I made my own cup by finding a PVC fitting that was close to fitting over the protruding portion of the seal, then I ground the inside of the fitting to ensure there was plenty of clearance around the protrusion. Lightly fit the seal by hand then use the cup to drive it home. If you read the forums, other people went to an auto part store and rented a cup that was close enough. If you really want to get crazy, you can buy an aftermarket cup specifically designed for this application. Also, lube up the seal with transmission fluid (i just stuck my finger in the transmission to get some fluid). When installing the axle, be uber-carfeful the retaining ring doesn't catch on the seal. Good luck.

Passenger side is 806735230, aka 806735300.

I can finally contribute something to this excellent write-up. He's my add-ons: Prep: 1) Don't forget to buy a cotter pin for the ball joint castle nut (if you use my method). 2) I bought my axle from raxles.com. They are fantastic quality rebuilds of Subaru axles with new joints. ~$200 delivered. Removal: 1) Take off the plastic fender to make life easier. It's only 3 clips holding it in place and will allow you better axle alignment for R2, plus better visibility. 2) The retainer on the axle makes it difficult to remove (duh). Try to align the axle perpendicular to the diff and pull, hard. 3) To get out the oil seal, take a punch or screw driver and gently tap one side into the diff. Once it rotates, you can pry it out. Be damn sure to account for the metal, spring-like, circular seal reinforcement that is on the back of the seal. Mine fell off in the diff. 4) I removed the ball joint castle nut and popped the ball joint using OTC 6297 (buy it on Amazon). 5) Don't waste your time trying to unstake the axle nut. Instead, just put the impact wrench on there and go to town. Install: 1) Install the oil seal with a modified PVC fitting. Find something that is close to the oil seal, then ream out the fitting to get plenty of clearance from the delicate seal surface. Using a cup, modified fitting, etc. will guarantee it is is square to the diff and doesn't get over driven. 2) Install the diff side first. Be uber careful when installing the axle so that the retainer clip doesn't gouge the oil seal. Again, align the axle perpendicular to the diff and push, hard. It will pop into place. I'm an descent mechanic and this job took me 4 hours, including time trying to find/modify a cup to drive the fitting. If I had to do it again, it would take 1.5 hours. I can post a pic of the PVC fitting if somebody wants to make one in advance.