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  #1  
Old 06-04-2002, 01:12 PM
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Front CV replacement

The front left CV joint on my SVX is bad. It was making a subtle knocking noise before, but now I notice that the boot is torn.

Ann Arbor Subaru wants $370 to replace it. The halfshaft itself, at subaruparts.com, is about $180.

I don't know if I should understake this myself or not. I'm reasonably inclined and I'm doing a lot of work on the car myself right now, but I wonder if this is the sort of thing that's best left to the dealer.

The problem is that I have a road trip coming up next weekend and I would LOVE to have the SVX ready by then.

Any expert opinions? If I want to do it myself, I would have to order the part immediately. If I have the dealer do it, I can wait a couple days to decide.

Are there any other incidental parts? Does this require a lot of special tools and/or knowledge?
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Old 06-04-2002, 02:49 PM
kuoh kuoh is offline
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I helped to replace both front half shafts and it didn't seem all that difficult. I think the biggest problem we had was that we didn't have a big enough socket for the axle nut and the right sized punch to get the lock pin out. A trip to the hardware store solved that problem.

KuoH
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  #3  
Old 06-04-2002, 03:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by kuoh
I helped to replace both front half shafts and it didn't seem all that difficult. I think the biggest problem we had was that we didn't have a big enough socket for the axle nut and the right sized punch to get the lock pin out. A trip to the hardware store solved that problem.

KuoH
Thanks, KuoH. Based on that recommendation, I'll probably just add it to the list of things I'm repairing.

I have to order a thermistor for my wife's Legacy, anyway, so I guess I'll just get both while I'm at it.

'And while I was ordering your $60 part, I just asked Scott to throw in a $200 part for my car.'

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Old 06-04-2002, 03:25 PM
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Lol...kinda reminds me of Homer Simpson buying Marge a bowling ball for her birthday present.

KuoH

Quote:
Originally posted by Mr. Pockets
'And while I was ordering your $60 part, I just asked Scott to throw in a $200 part for my car.'

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  #5  
Old 06-04-2002, 04:27 PM
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Hey Nick, I just tripped over this last night, it might be worth a look-see. http://www.raxles.com/prod01.htm Plus their axles are limited lifetime warranty. I'm not sure of their pricing, and if that's an issue, do a search for cv axles at www.refdesk.com - I saw several places selling for $55-$60/axle.

As far as changing them, give yourself an hour each. It's a fifteen minute job when you're used to and equipped for doing them.
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  #6  
Old 06-05-2002, 07:26 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Beav
Hey Nick, I just tripped over this last night, it might be worth a look-see. http://www.raxles.com/prod01.htm Plus their axles are limited lifetime warranty. I'm not sure of their pricing, and if that's an issue, do a search for cv axles at www.refdesk.com - I saw several places selling for $55-$60/axle.

As far as changing them, give yourself an hour each. It's a fifteen minute job when you're used to and equipped for doing them.
Where'd you see that price???
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Old 06-05-2002, 01:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by kuoh
I helped to replace both front half shafts and it didn't seem all that difficult. I think the biggest problem we had was that we didn't have a big enough socket for the axle nut and the right sized punch to get the lock pin out. A trip to the hardware store solved that problem.

KuoH
Do you happen to remember the sizes of the socket and punch?

I found a place that will rebuild my axle and ship it to me the same day that they get it for $55. So I'd like to remove the axle tonight.
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Old 06-05-2002, 02:43 PM
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Sorry, I don't remember the size of the nut, but it was bigger than what's in most people's socket sets. Maybe 3 or 4 inches or the metric equivalent. As for the punch, we found a phillips head screwdriver with the right diameter shaft to do the job. Oh and you'll need a good flathead screwdriver or something similar to straighten out the bend in the axle nut. You'll know what I mean when you get the dust cap off and look at the nut.

KuoH
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  #9  
Old 06-05-2002, 05:46 PM
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I just replaced my RF axle tonight (inner joint worn and causing some hi speed vibes) - if I remember correctly the axle nut is 32 mm and I think a 3/16" punch will drive the pin through. Make life easy on yourself and just remove the three ball joint bolts rather than trying to separate the ball joint from the knuckle - it's usually rusty and ornery.
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  #10  
Old 06-06-2002, 07:38 AM
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Victory and defeat

The victory first:

I was able to extract two of the stuck spark plug boots using a $5 set of Sears picks and an inspection mirror. It really wasn't that tough. I didn't continue on to the third boot because a quick glance at my watch revealed that it was 12:33AM.

Well, give me a break, I didn't get out to the garage until 11PM because TLC had two new episodes of Junkyard Wars.

The defeat:

I am totally unable to remove my axle nut. I can't even budge it. I had to work at it for some time to even unstake the nut, but having finished that I still can't break the nut free.

So, crap, I guess I'll just have to pay somebody to replace it. I'm pretty bummed because I found a place in Ocala (www.cvaxles.com) which would rebuild my axle for $55 and ship it back the same day they got it.

It's looking like I won't have my SVX ready for next weekend's trip...although I am going to take the car to a local transmission shop that a friend had luck at. No, I won't tell you the name. You'd freak out. If I were you, I'd freak out.
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Old 06-06-2002, 08:58 AM
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Re: Victory and defeat

I watched those too. They don't seem to be as exciting or funny as before, but at least they kept Cathy in the show.

We didn't have a problem removing the nut once we unbent the edge, I'm guessing that's what you ment by unstaking? We did have one of those 2' breaker bars, so the nut came off easily. Perhaps you just need a bigger wrench?

KuoH

Quote:
Originally posted by Mr. Pockets
Well, give me a break, I didn't get out to the garage until 11PM because TLC had two new episodes of Junkyard Wars.

The defeat:

I am totally unable to remove my axle nut. I can't even budge it. I had to work at it for some time to even unstake the nut, but having finished that I still can't break the nut free.
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  #12  
Old 06-06-2002, 09:14 AM
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Re: Re: Victory and defeat

Quote:
Originally posted by kuoh
I watched those too. They don't seem to be as exciting or funny as before, but at least they kept Cathy in the show.

We didn't have a problem removing the nut once we unbent the edge, I'm guessing that's what you ment by unstaking? We did have one of those 2' breaker bars, so the nut came off easily. Perhaps you just need a bigger wrench?

KuoH

A bigger wrench may help, but I don't know how much. I used a pretty long breaker bar. The only way I could steady the axle while I cranked on the nut was to remove the caliper and use a c-clamp on the pads.

Even then, I couldn't budge that stupid nut. At one point, I even grabbed the intake manifold and a hood strut to steady myself while I hopped on the wrench. A little brutish, but it worked...oh, wait, no it didn't...
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  #13  
Old 06-06-2002, 10:20 AM
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I have done this on my SVX. You need your brakes to be functional. Get someone to stomp real hard on the brake peddle and this is supposed to be done with the wheels off the ground. That will hold the wheels still and not mess up the wheel bearings. You need a 1/2" breaker bar for that 1-1/4" socket and about 4' long pipe to put over the bar handle. (if you used the search engine you would have found the previous posts but this is more fun )

After you get it all set up adjust the pipe / slash bar so that you got about a 5 foot lever and put your weight on it. I figure mine broke at about 700 ft-lbs. just make sure your turning it the right way
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Old 06-06-2002, 10:24 AM
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Umm...we put the wheel back on after taking the cap off and broke it free, then raised it, took the wheel off and removed the nut. As long as you don't take the nut off completely while it's on the ground, there shouldn't be any harm.

KuoH
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  #15  
Old 06-06-2002, 10:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by kuoh
Umm...we put the wheel back on after taking the cap off and broke it free, then raised it, took the wheel off and removed the nut. As long as you don't take the nut off completely while it's on the ground, there shouldn't be any harm.

KuoH
Man...Putting the car back on the ground just for this is kind of a pain in the ass.

I might try tonight. I dunno...
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