How To: Replace/Rebuild torn CV boot and/or Axle

Hey Max, when you pushed the axle back in, did you leave the little ring thing on the end of the axle on? I couldn't get mine to go in all the way with them on and ended taking them off, but in my mind i think that they clip into the diff somewhere and keeps them frmo popping out/leaking fluid. cause i'm leaking diff fluid like a bitch now! lol

Yes, you leave that ring on. It helps to keep the axle in it's a locck ring. I find that if you raise the LCA with the axle in the tranny and the outter end in the hub, so the axle is straight and level it's easy to pop it in. On Honda's I have taken a piece of 2X4 over the axle end and hit it with a 3lb hammer to pop the lock ring into the diff.

 

Had to do that at the track once after the DSS stage III axle popped out.

 

You may have damaged the seal or the axle is not fully seated.

 

Look at the other side of the tranny and see how close the inner end is to the tranny.

Edited September 6, 2010 by Max Capacity

Did the passenger side inner boot last November. Just rebuilt the driver side cv axle today. used Subaru boot kit once more. Followed that thread again. It was a breeze. Went very smooth. As usual, the part that took the longest time was the ball joint. I just had to be patient. Will need to buy another kit already for next time LOL.

 

edit: this time, I had quite a bit of tranny oil coming out when I popped the axle out. I only used one jack stand like last time too; so I would have thought that no oil would come out like it did on the passenger side. So I had to temporarily plug the hole while I was rebuilding the axle.

Edited September 18, 2010 by xt2005bonbon

I left the car jacked up on one side overnight so all the trans fluid made its way to the other side and nothing came out when I changed the CV...

I left the car jacked up on one side overnight

 

I guess overnight would have made the trick. I just don't have a garage though.

So, I replaced the Pass side axle about 6 mo ago using a new axle from Car Parts Discount on ebay at a total cost of about $75 and was very happy with the results. I now need to replace the Driver's side axle as the inner boot is leaking. I noticed the tell-tale 'pile' of axle grease on the LCA as I was changing the oil this weekend.

 

Those of you who are rebuilding your axles with kits, how long does it take to rebuild an axle, where are you getting the kit and what does it cost to reboot both joints on the axle? I"m trying to decide whether it is more time and cost effective to use a kit or simply purchase a replacement.

 

Also, would someone please confirm that the same axle is used on both the passenger and driver side and that they are also used on the Legacy years '05-'07.

Edited September 20, 2010 by Apex-XT

how long does it take to rebuild an axle?

From the time I prepared my tools to the time I lowered back the car down, 3 hours for the total work. I took my time though. I am very picky and meticulous. As for strictly rebuilding the axle, it took me 35mn (I only changed the inner boot. The outer boot was just fine)

 

where are you getting the kit and what does it cost to reboot both joints on the axle?

kit info: see picture attached. I think one of the cheapest place is http://www.subarupartsforyou.com (Connecticut dealer I think). cost 39$ for the kit for the inner boot.

 

Also, would someone please confirm that the same axle is used on both the passenger and driver side

I am almost 99.9% sure they are the same on both sides. I have not seen any difference whatsoever. I bought two exact same kits. And I both changed the driver and passenger side with them.

Edited September 20, 2010 by xt2005bonbon

Front axles are the exact same for either side...

Thank you for the two replies.

 

Based on the information, I decided to order a new replacement axle at $65, incl. shipping, from Auto Parts Warehouse instead of the axle repair kits. I figured inner and outer boots @ $39 ea = $80'ish, plus my time in replacing the boots. It would actually cost me more to R&R my OE axle. Now the issue is the reliability of the 3rd party axle. So far, the 3rd party passenger axle seems to be holding up fine. I'll hold onto the OE axles just in case the 3rd party's don't hold up.

 

Thanks again for the info.

Thank you for the two replies.

^ no problem

 

I'll hold onto the OE axles just in case the 3rd party's don't hold up.

^ good call.

 

Good luck.

I did this today in about an hour. The boot, grease, two clamps, and a trans seal were $51.xx out the door. I purchased the clamp tool at my local ma/pa parts store for $20.xx bucks. Hand tools required were a 1/2" breaker bar, 32mm socket, 1/2" ratchet, 14mm socket, 17mm socket, center punch, hammer, clamp tool, 4.5mm allen wrench, floor jack, jack stands. It was a pretty easy R&R. The dealership quote was ridiculous. I used a can of brake cleaner and 7 or 8 rags. All in all I spent less than $80.00 and had the car back on the road with about 2 hours of my time invested. If you have access to the tools required it's a very easy job. I think retaining the OEM axle shaft / cup / etc. is the way to go if the torn boot is caught before wear and tear becomes an issue.

 

The amount of additional time to remove the torn boot, clamps, cup, cleaning of all parts, re-assembly, installation of the new boot, grease, clamps, is less than 15 minutes. It's a piece of cake and requires very little mechanical ability. I don't see any reason to replace a perfectly good OEM axle assembly with an unknown quality aftermarket part when the difference in time is so minimal. Had I been willing to wait for the parts to show up in the mail I could have saved a considerable amount of money. My local dealership parts counter ain't friendly when it comes to price. I think if time were not an issue I could have done the same boot replacement job for $35.00 bucks. Using an online source for the Subaru boot, Subaru axle nut, and then buying auto parts store clamps and auto parts store grease. Spending $65+ on aftermarket axleshafts wouldn't make sense to me knowing what I know now unless there was proof the aftermarket shafts are equal in quality / longevity as the OEM parts.

 

Aloha

I think retaining the OEM axle shaft / cup / etc. is the way to go if the torn boot is caught before wear and tear becomes an issue.

^+1000 on this one

Congrats on doing the job yourself. As I also said earlier, this is indeed an easy job. Not bad at all. I actually enjoy it.

Ia orana to you brother! (from a Tahitian boy who did live in La'ie and enjoyed surfing the bombs at Sunset point, AND currently driving a USDM OBXT in Norway lol).

Just found out at the lube changer place a couple of weeks back that the pass. boot is cracked so I came straight over and did the usual search & read. Looks like the whole assembly now at Autozone is only $60 and comes with a lifetime warranty.

 

Am I missing something or shouldn't that be the only way to go in my situation? Also seems like it'll be a little easier less/messy.

 

If you're just going to replace the whole assembly, are there any other tricks/shortcuts to make the job easier?

Well, underneath my car last weekend I saw that my *driver*'s side inner boot is torn now too.

 

Last time I went the lower ball joint route and the capture bolt broke right off. Can the lower pivots for the control arm be unbolted and swing the knuckle enough from there? Or the struts (knowing about alignment issues)? What's most simple, and doesn't involve the lower ball joint?

I replaced both front axles by dropping the rear and inner control arm bushings, leaving both the ball joint and strut untouched. I didn't have to do any alignment. There's 1 nut and bolt on the inner and 2 bolts and 1 nut on the rear.

 

While in there, I replaced the rear bushing which appeared cracked. There is a good 'how-to' do this in the forums. Brakes are easy to do while you're in there, too.

Hey all,

 

Would an alignment be necessary after the install? Is there a way to prevent the alignment settings from changing? I only ask this because I JUST got my alignment done and found out the pass boot is torn.

I didn't have one done and it's seems to be fine.

Either mark the strut bolts position (one bolt is oblong to adjust camber) or don't even remove the strut mounts.. You should be able to pull the axle just by disconnecting the endlinks and the A-arm ball joint...

You should be able to pull the axle just by disconnecting the endlinks and the A-arm ball joint...

 

That's what I did. I was a very easy install.

Attemped this yesterday. A full halfshaft replacement that is. With the endlink disconnected the balljoint broke loose easily. Strangely, the bolt for the balljoint had an almost imperceptible bend in it. The old shaft came out relatively easy, no drama, but the new one didn't want to go in. After some feeling around and a look with a flashlight I realized we shelled out the seal in the process. The spring from the seal had come loose and was jacking up the reinstall.

 

I pulled the seal last night but no on one local appears to have one. I snagged one from O'Reilly's last night but it's wrong. The center hole diameter is about 1/8" too small if not more and it doesn't have a little flange protrusion where it butts up against the halfshaft. Is this thing a dealer only item? I need to buy it over the counter (for time), but Autozone, O'Reilly and Advance Auto don't have it. Any other suggestions? Fortunately the dealer is close, I just thought I'd ask.

Edited November 8, 2010 by Kingfisher
freaking typos

I've got one I could send you (5MT correct?) if you can't find one. Bought a spare when I was doing my passenger-side inside CVJ Boot LMK. And make sure you have the right tool to take out the seal retainer. The process involves removing the whole seal retainer with the ST 499787000 retainer tool, replacing the seal and refixing the seal retainer to correctly align and keep the front differential properly fixed. More info here:

14 - Transmission Case.pdf

Don't sweat it man, appreciate the offer though. I was able to find both the o-ring and the axle seal at the dealer right up the road. I bought the o-ring, did not replace it. If a problem crops up, I'll do so but I don't expect it to. As for the old seal, I got it started with a big flatbladed screwdriver taking care not to scratch the housing itself and with a little bit of force it popped right out. As for putting it back in, I oiled it and worked the new seal in with my fingers as far as I could then used the axle nut socket and some light taps from a hammer to tap it the rest of the way in. Seated fine. Re-stabbing the axle took a bit of doing, I wasn't able to do it from the side of the car. Had to crawl underneath and manhandle the thing from right behind where it goes into the gearbox. Finally did get it back together though. Took it for a test spin for a few miles, brought it home and checked everything for leaks and all appears to be well. I'll keep an eye on it but I think we're good.

Good writeup.

 

The rear bits on wifey's car is all wrecked (04 2.5ts) - I'll be replacing this soon.

For what it's worth I sourced the axle locally at several places and the average price was about $75. Considering you don't have to do a bunch of disassembly/reassembly and don't have to get completely filthy in the process, I'd go with the full swap rather than the rebuild. That's the direction I went anyway.

 

Edmonton resident? Love that town. Awesome place. Considering all of the PST and GST your prices will be higher probably, but it's still a lot less hassle IMO to replace it all as one sealed assembled unit. Having gone the trashed seal route, I'd make sure you have the seal(s) on hand. As long as you've got the thing apart you might as well replace them too.

My experience with aftermarket axles has been hit or miss by a lot. EMPI and FEQ have been pretty good so far. Duralast was pure garbage. I went throuth 3 within a few months and the fourth one wasn't even that great.