alfredo Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 hello, so i have successfully taken out my drive axle/steering knuckle assembly. according to my repair manual i need to have a machine shop press the axle out of the knuckle and press the new one back in. so far i haven't found a machine shop in the greater Duvall area (duvall, carnation, monroe) that can do this. apparently they need special adapters for the subaru. anyway, i figure that i can take it to a dealership, but when i think dealership it makes me flinch and grab my wallet. is there anyone in the seattle area that can recommend a good machine shop or individual who could do this for me. i would greatly appreciate it. thanks, alfredo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 You dont need a machine shop, you just need to get the special tool. Can be bought at almost ANY hardware store; The same tool can be used to extract the old bearings if they are bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjw Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 You dont need a machine shop, you just need to get the special tool. That's the Same special tool I use. It works everytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredo Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 so i can blast it all out with a small sledge. so putting it back together is the reverse? just smack the other end. i am assuming that the steering knuckle must be secure in a vise and i take a block of wood and place it over the shaft, pushing all of it out in the direction of the axle. then i would smack the other end of the replacement axle to force it back into the steering knuckle. the inner wheel bearing would be put in position and smacked in with the new axle, and the outer bearing can be put in from the outside. does that sound right? what about lubrication. i know i have to pack the wheel bearings, but should anything be used to lubricate the inside of the knuckle? or should that be avoided. this is going to be fun!! i just hope i know what i am doing or get lucky without knowing what i am doing. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 you should only need to jar the axle loose. Do not worry about ruining the threads on the axle, its an old axle and you should be returning it as a core anyhow. When installing the new axle, just slide it through the hub & bearings and you should get enough through to expose the new threads. Then you can put your rotor on, the cone washer & the 36mm castle nut... then tighten the nut and it will pull the axle through all the way. Once you do this, remove the nut & rotor... install your brake backing plate, caliper brackets and all that good stuff... and complete the job. You only need the hammer to remove the old axle. Not to install the new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 i am assuming that the steering knuckle must be secure in a vise and i take a block of wood and place it over the shaft, pushing all of it out in the direction of the axle. I usually leave the steering knuckle attached to the car while doing this job. A vice is not needed (unless you are replacing bearings as well). Which brings me to my 2nd point. If the old axle is wedged in there pretty good, its possible to drive the inner bearing out of the hub when you extract the axle. IF this happens, you are pretty much forced to replace the bearings. When installing the axle, its easiest to do it with the knuckle installed on the struts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredo Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 that sounds fairly straight forward. what about pulling the lower control arm ball joint. well pulling it doesn't seem difficult, but getting a replacement back in. mine needs replacing, and since i have the assembly off of the car, should i replace the balljoint now, or would it be easier to do with the steering knuckle back on the car. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredo Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 i pryed the ball joint off of the control arm so it is in the steering knuckle. i have one of those tuning fork looking balljoint removers that you smack. will that work? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Usually I remove the cam bolt from the steering knuckle and pry the balljoint from the knuckle, leaving it in the lower control arm. Usually, this saves you from destroying the rubber boot on the balljoint. If the balljoint is floppy and easy to rotate by hand.... then you should replace it now. Since you are in there and have everything torn apart already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredo Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 ha ha!! couple taps of the hammer and it came loose. the bearings stayed in place, i think i can pry them out and put in the new ones. can i force the new ball joint into the steering knuckle by re-attaching it to the lower control arm and then tightening it. i am just not sure on how to get the new one back in without messing it up. thanks for all the help. nice 83 brat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 disconnect only the swaybar clamp and the inner pivot bolt for hte Control arm. No need to disconnect anything else to change an axle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 ha ha!!couple taps of the hammer and it came loose. the bearings stayed in place, i think i can pry them out and put in the new ones. can i force the new ball joint into the steering knuckle by re-attaching it to the lower control arm and then tightening it. i am just not sure on how to get the new one back in without messing it up. thanks for all the help. nice 83 brat. You need to drive the bearings out from the inside. There is a collar inside the hub that keeps the bearings from being pressed too far in, so you must drive them out of each end with a bar. There is also a spacer that goes between each bearing as well, and you need to make sure you dont forget to re-install it. If your bearings are in good shape, you can just re-lube them and install the new axle. and yes, just use the nut on the ball joint to pull it through the lower control arm. I do not recommend messing with the sway-bar mounts... as it can be a real pain in the rump roast to get back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredo Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 sounds good, the only other issue is getting the lower ball joint back into the steering knuckle. my manual says to remove the pinch bolt and pry apart the two threaded flanges to facilitate the removal of the ball joint. i am thinking small puller for that. when i do get it out, how do i get the new one back in? it may be obvious when i get to that point, i will try and then ask the questions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I do not recommend messing with the sway-bar mounts... as it can be a real pain in the rump roast to get back together. Naaaa.......they are easy.......just have to have both wheels off the ground so it isn't twisted. Trust me.....I did it today. It's the easiest way. Just one, 14mm head bolt through the pivot.......and one, 12mm head bolt at the sway bar clamp and you are done. Drive the pin and pull the axle. No messing with ball joint, tie-rod, strut clamp......easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredo Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 i can't seem to pound the wheel bearings out of the knuckle. any tricks or do i just keep slamming on them from the inside out. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEECHBM69 Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Naaaa.......they are easy.......just have to have both wheels off the ground so it isn't twisted. Trust me.....I did it today. It's the easiest way. Just one, 14mm head bolt through the pivot.......and one, 12mm head bolt at the sway bar clamp and you are done. Drive the pin and pull the axle. No messing with ball joint, tie-rod, strut clamp......easy. I can vouch for this. I'd never done one before, and did both sides this way with no fanfare or trouble. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredo Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 hello, got the wheel bearings,spacer and oil seals in my steering knuckle, but i can't even come close to getting any axle threads through my hub in order to tighten it together. it seems that something is amiss. i was able to get it part way into the knuckle by putting a washer on without the hub and tightening the castle nut, but it ended up getting stuck on the shaft after the threads ended. does any of this make sense? should the axle be able to slide in the steering knuckle that far? there must be something i am overlooking. help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) Sorry I'm so late to come into this thread. Check the USRM for a procedure for doing your axle. It's written up in pretty good detail there. No need to take apart as much as you did, but that's okay. Give me a call and I'll talk you through this which is much easier than typing all day. Anyway, from where you're at, take off the axle nut and put a few more washers on the axle and then re-tight the axle nut again. Repeat that process until the axle is all the way through. I have a set of 8 oversize washers to do exactly that. Since then I've bought an axle install tool off ebay to make life easier. Edited January 9, 2010 by edrach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredo Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 my neighbor has a metal fab shop and he made me a spacer out of pipe that allowed me to crank it all down until i could get my hub on. worked out great. now that i have done this, it won't be so bad on the other side. i did this all on my work bench. if i was not replacing the bearings then it seems that it would have been a lot easier to leave it all on the car. live and learn. thanks for all the help guys. i'm sure i will be posting again soon with a new situation. alfredo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 You're correct; the second one will be easier. This might help: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75786 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I swear I'm going to do a you-tube video of an axle swap one of these days. Not enough people around that understand the different types of shaft/bearing fits that are found on machines. One thing that gets people every time - ANYTHING on a passenger car that can be done with a press can also be done with the right pusher/puller and often without even that sophisticated of a tool. Just wait till you have to do a wheel bearing on an EJ. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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