Question on CV Joints/axels

[tkaste]

I just noticed noise coming from my left outer CV so I thought I would check them all out. 1995 Leg L MT with FJ22 and 168,000 miles. I picked the car up used so it is possible they are original.

 

All 4 axles have a little play in them so I figured I would replace all 4 at once. Told a friend of mine about this and he says it could be normal as some cars have play in the axels. I find this hard to believe. he has done lots of work on cars over the years but this I find odd.

 

Any thoughts - do Subaru's axels tend to have a little wiggle in them ?

 

Also I noticed everyone seems down on AutoZone and Advance Auto axels, what about Car Quest? most of the independent shops in my area seem to use them for parts.

 

thanks

[porcupine73]

The fronts do have a little wiggle in them, I mean it does need to be able to slide in and out somewhat for the steering and suspension movement.

 

Be careful with axles, especially the fronts on an auto soob with using axles from the parts stores. The parts store axles people often complain of vibration issues afterward and the machining and finish on some parts is not very good. The two I don't see complains about are MWE axles (have used these many times, very good), and Subaru genuine remanufactured but they can be pricey.

 

If your axles are painted green where they go onto the differential they might be the original/genuine axles. Those are typically very durable. I don't think I've seen any threads about trouble with the axles other than the boots ripping, though there could be some out there.

[idosubaru]

yeah some play is completely normal. if they're all roughly the same then you can expect it to be normal. subaru axles very rarely fail and it is extremely rare for them to fail for no reason. they are very robust and stand up to a servere beating.

 

the noise you're referring too could it be something else like brakes, bearings, strut, etc?

 

best bet is to reboot your existing axles. aftermarket axles are inferior - noisy out of the box, vibrations, failure, don't last long, leaking grease, don't waste your time. particularly considering yours sound fine.

 

plan on installing new boots some day as soon as they crack and call it a day.

[tkaste]

I definetly believe the outer CV joint is going. Whenever I make a sharp left turn i get click sound like marbles in a hub cap. On my last FW drive car this was the CV joint.

 

Boots are fine, no cuts, tears....

 

I heard about rebuilding CV joints, where do I go to find rebuid kit ? Since it appears aftermarket is junk I would rather just rebuild them instead of replacing the entire axel as that is all I can seem to find at the chain stores.

[Gloyale]

Best thing to do would be to remove the boot on teh axle, and clean and fill it with lots of new grease.

 

This will extend the life of your OE axle for possibly years.

 

Aftermarket axles of all kinds seem to be a crap shoot to me.......perhaps 1 in 3 I've gotten have been good.