rjohnsto

Bump... Results of the operation.. I have to confess that the picture posted above is NOT really a 2007 situation. The 2007 OBW does NOT have a stub shaft, it has a male axle that fits into the differential.. inside the seal, but many thanks to all who responded and helped me along. A lot of board reading ensued after this post and many hints came through on replacing this seal. Some on target, some not so much... I found the right part numbers and information on the installation tool, which was ordered.... Today was the day to fetch the parts from the dealer. The results of this operation was to find the counter-bot at the dealer entirely too willing to instill fear in me before attempting this. He insisted that that differential cover plate HAS to come off, even though I showed him the diagrams from the FSM regarding the install from the outside of the cover and the seal install tool. He said that I'll find out that the cover has to be removed to install the seal and then the new o-ring, never mentioning the ramifications of removing the cover plate. You could tell this guy had to be working under some intimidation about being in any way, helpful to a customer. So just to make him happy, I bought 2 seals and a O-ring and said I'd bring back the unnecessary parts. This guy was as pan faced as you could get, not expressing a bit of concern or consideration.. almost like he was on camera. So the operation went like this... Looking at the FSM diagram, the seal just sits in the opening. My work collection contains a variety of small tools that have been made over the years for odd jobs, so I tried a hooked rod using a small socket as a slide hammer. Put the hook under the inner edge of the seal and it popped right out. One thing that was obvious is the fact there's NO land for the seal shoulder to sit on. It just rides in the cover The seal is inserted with the spring lip inside the diff, so the new one was lubed with a little white grease, inside and out, placed in the opening and coaxed in with a piece of white PVC pipe that was filed to fit the OD of the seal shoulder. The entire time requirement was about 10 minutes... It took a lot longer to replace that bolt in the diff cover with the notched plate that maintains the setting, along with the 2 stays for the transmission lines. I dont know the reason why you would need that "funnel" tool to expand the seal while inserting the axle. The circlip doesn't even come close to the seal, so what's the protection for. The axle shoulder had a little white grease on it and slipped right into the seal, no issues.. The one thing that really floored me was the attitude of the dude at the parts counter. What a piece of work..

Is the Drivers side considered left or right?

Many thanks

I was just getting ready to insert the newly booted half shaft and looked into the transaxle housing. The spring for this seal was hanging in the opening and it was galled up? So the seal has to be replaced... but, how do you replace it? I found a thread on where it is and what it is, but how do you remove this cover plate? There were two Auto transmission hose stays attached to the bolt on to . The bolt was removed and the stays bent out of the way. There's no intuitive way to remove this cover... Anyone ever do it? thanks

2007 OBW - I'm about to remove the axle ( reboot) and am concerned about the ABS sensor wire getting stretched, even after unbolting all the fastening points. Would it be better to remove the sensor from the hub before jostling the lower assembly to remove the axle? thx

Just to verify... I understand that the upper strut mount bolt is an adjustment for camber. One complete rotation of the bolt takes the alignment over the entire range of camber adjustment from +n to -n. So the sweet spot won't change if the marks are re-aligned as they were...

grossgary:... Many thanks. The outer cv nut is off. Will prep everything else and get to this in a day or two after the parts are here. Same side needs brake rotor and caliper.. regards.. RJ

Hello, 2007 Outback (4cyl) Newby here.... I'm a maintenance "Dad" and just found the daughter's Outback needs a couple items. Having done a quick search, this forum came up first, so first of all, the drivers CV axle. The inner boot has been torn for a while, so the entire axle will be replaced. Having worked on other cars, most of the bits on doing are understood..... Questons are: Do you have to compress the spring to do the job? To move the spindle away from the axle, is it better to drop the ball joint or the tie rod or drop the 2 bolt- lower strut mount, which maintains the alignment? Is there a repair procedure section on this Forum? thanks