alternative to OEM driveshaft replacement

Interesting. You should update this thread then if you get the 1 piece driveshaft. How much though? That's what I am afraid...

Located south of Columbia.

Interesting. You should update this thread then if you get the 1 piece driveshaft. How much though? That's what I am afraid...

Located south of Columbia.

 

Also have JmP update his sticky above.

Brief update..

 

I have not checked the FSM lately but I believe it advises you to remove the exhaust prior to removing the driveshaft. I was going to do that until I carefully looked and realized that the driveshaft can be removed without touching the exhaust at all. All it takes is removing one heatshield and that's it! Piece of cake .

 

And yeah, both of my ujoints are shot, especially the rear one.

 

Next up, grind the little notches which prevent the ujoint to be pressed out.

Almost done I have installed one but I busted one of the cups on the second ujoint . So I need to buy another one.

 

Almost done I have installed one but I busted one of the cups on the second ujoint . So I need to buy another one.

 

That's great! Well, not about breaking the cup but the install. How did the press setup work?

Well, kind of a pain really cause I don't have a vice. I think if you have one, it would help. You just have to make sure you are pressing the cup evenly. Easier said than done .

I did not use any adapter. Just the C clamp shape press you linked, a 1/2 inch ratchet combined with two 'arms' from my jack to give me some leverage. I should take a pic so it makes more sense...

And you basically want to follow the steps shown in the subaruoutback post I linked earlier.

ok. work done. Did a test drive this evening. So far so good. Annoying vibrations under load at low speed is gone. I will report after a few hundred or thousands of miles.

 

Oh and don't do like me. I almost forgot to install the retainer clips on the rear ujoint. I noticed it when everything was installed and the car was lowered . Luckily it is a raised outback. So I could crawl under the car and 'waste' 20mn trying to install these clips with the little room.

 

 

And thanks to rhino for providing the necessary information to do this job.

Edited June 15, 2019 by xt2005bonbon

Spoke too soon. The vibrations I've been trying to address is still there . So I guess it is not the driveshaft after all. Strange.

So far, it appears to be speed dependent, but not 100% confirmed. I see my shifter wobble at low speed (~10-20mph) when the rpm hits like 3500 under fairly high load. In first gear, it is obvious. No whining of any sort. No perceived vibration at high speed regardless of load amount. Or it could be masked because of high rate of speed.

 

 

Man troubleshooting vibration is hard.

So, with what you said in post #2 above, the one you are referring to should not fit due to the carrier bearing. Dorman page says fit legacy gt. Not my car .

 

 

I think back a couple years the NAPA guy said that shaft would fit my GT. When I took him my old shaft and that shaft, he realized Dorman had it wrong.

 

That shaft was for a XT not a GT. The carrier bearing is taller in a XT.

 

It may be to late but I have missed this thread for a while.

 

FWIW, where do you think the vibration is coming from ? Sounds like it just at low speed ?

 

In my old link I think I mentioned I could feel the vibration when I rested my elbow on the center arm rest.

It only occurs for like a split second at a specific range of speed (at least where it is the most prominent and obvious), like 15-20mph. You can really see my shifter wobble. You kinna feel the vibration under your feet a bit but not so much. I took a video a while ago where I placed a gopro under the car. You could clearly see the transmission shake. So I concluded at that time that it was the driveshaft. I'll try to post the video.

By chance, are the axle shaft's balanced ? Could something be wrong with one of them ?

could be. I don't know. My front right one is still OEM. Front left is an FEQ axle installed like 6 months ago. And to be honest, I can't recall if the vibration was present before the axle swap . But I have a feeling I should inspect these again...

Problem solved: it was a freaking cv axle!!

 

My right front OEM axle was the culprit: there was some play between the rollers and the inner cup. Not a lot but I guess enough to cause vibration. Can't believe it. I swapped it with a 45$ axle I had laying around (15k mile on it). Took it for a spin and the vibration is gone.

Well, I guess these OEM axles are not that bulletproof after all. But to be fair, I am no longer at ride height. So I am probably putting a bit more stress on these.

And I do not regret rebuilding my driveshaft. It had to be done anyway.

Here is a quick video taken by my 6 year old kid. Camera angle a bit off

 

Yeah, people have this thing with the OEM CV axles specifically, as if they're made of unobtanium. It's just like any other axle out there, it will wear down with time.

 

Anyway, it's good you were able to fix it relatively cheaply.

'unobtanium'. I like it

Putting this here just in case, since this is exactly what I have been suffering from (granted the OP of the below thread has an AUTO trans).

 

 

--->https://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/109-gen-3-2005-2009/469089-infamous-18mph-wobble-cause-fix.html