brendanr279 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Hi, guys. I had my driveaxles replaced on my front wheel drive 92 legacy L (for the second time in 2+ years). It was making a knocking noise at times before the repair. It seems to be worse now than before. The guys at the shop told me the CV joints were shot and so that's why I had to get the repair done recently. This knocking has me worried though. It only is present if I give it a certain amount of gas. If I accelerate at a pretty slow rate, it doesn't knock, if I accelerate at any decent rate, like getting on a highway or starting at a stop light, it knocks until I get to the speed I want to go and then ease off. Any clue what's going on? The parts and labor are under a 2 year warrantee and I'd like to bring it back. I'd like to have some second opinions though before I do.On another note, I thought the repair guys just over squirt some grease whiledoing the repair, but right after they replaced the driveaxle assembly, I noticed grease had gotten thrown over some areas underneath the hood. I could smell it smoking on an exhaust heatshield. I figure they just used too much grease, but now I'm thinking maybe they screwed up and/or something loosened and it seeped out... if that makes sence or has any bearing on my knocking issue.FYI 2WD only, NO AWD. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Sounds like a crappy aftermarket axle. Click clackin outtaa the box Probably spitting out grease from the boot clamps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Hi, guys. I had my driveaxles replaced on my front wheel drive 92 legacy L (for the second time in 2+ years). Sounds like a crappy aftermarket axle. Click clackin outtaa the box Probably spitting out grease from the boot clamps +1. aftermarket axles suck. you will continue to have issues if you want aftermarket axles to last years. they're bad right out of the box all the time. when you through away your original Subaru axles you tossed the best axles you'll ever have on that car, they should have been cleaned and rebooted, not thrown away. if they still have the original axles i'd call first thing this morning and tell them to save them. check front diff oil too, has it ever been changed? but i doubt that's it, they usually make humming/whining noises under load, accelerating, throttle, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendanr279 Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 I guess I should have never had the original axles replaced, but they never suggested "rebooting" this was the first time I had them replaced about 2 1/2 years ago. The most recent replacement, back in mid-November, I asked if they would hold on to the old axles for me so I could check them out. They told me they could but that there is a core/exchange charge for new ones and that I would have to spend $40 more per axle. I was suspicious of this and not happy, but I told them to go ahead and exchange them. One thing they told me about the knocking, which was very slight immediately after the replacement, was that something is occasionally slipping. Something where the axle meets the transmission. I've looked into and if I'm correct the axle has a spline receiver, and the transmission (??) has a spline which is driving the axle. Could this be what they are talking about slipping? If so, that sounds like something is either worn down, or is out of alignment and will soon be worn down. I know there is significant rust all under the front end around the wheels/hubs/etc. it had sit in a driveway, neglected for 8 years, before it was given to me. Could there be something out of whack? And really its an issue of the axle being pushed/seated more adequately into the spline? Does this make sence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spazomatic Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Sounds like you got crappy axles, and the shop is going with a strategy of getting you to spend more money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendanr279 Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Any other opinions from anyone, or at least a little more than "you got bad axles"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 i'm not sure what "ocassional slipping" means, but if it means the inner DOJ of the axle is slipping on the splined transmission shaft then yes that's definitely a problem. there are some very early 90's Subaru's that got different axles. I'd verify for sure that your 92 FWD axles are not supposed to be any different from every other Subaru. I would check a Subaru FSM - not anywhere else though as it's a very rare axle if it's different. All EJ Subaru axles (legacy, impreza, forester, outback, baja, svx are largely interchangeable from like 1990-2004. for instance i know 1993 Impreza FWD axles are a different spline count than every other EJ made for 15 years, it's and oddball. again - i don't think your legacy is but if you're chasing a weird issue....? there are often core charges on parts depending on supplier so that $40 core charge you mention isn't that surprising, though it seems a little steep but i never buy aftermarket so i wouldn't know averages either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Yeah a FWD would have 23 spline axles, where the standard for all other models is 25 splines. I bet the axle used was generically listed and mis-ordered. The mechanic should have noticed this if the old axle was the same problem. He probably noticed this when installing and just put it in to get the job done and the car out of the way. He was probably relying on the roll pin, and suggested something is slipping. Likely the roll pin is sheared off. You should be fine by replacing with the proper spline axle. OP had not mentioned AT or MT, but i believe the 23 spline axle relates to FWD 5MT trans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendanr279 Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 It's a manual transmission. Should have definitely mentioned that, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendanr279 Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 And, thanks for the advice and explanation. I'm looking into the FSM right now. I'm planning on taking back to the shop this coming week, hopefully things will get straightened out. Thanks again everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 It's a manual transmission. Should have definitely mentioned that, sorry. Yeah, you need to get axles with 23 spline inner cups. FWD 5spds up to 94 uses 23 spline axles. Those axles also have a very small and weak outer CV........They are weaker than the newer models.....and depending on how they are rebuild they can make alot of clcking right out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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