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New CV axle from OEDirect/O'Rilley's


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Ok I have been trying to contact the Colorado based Subaru axle rebuilder for months with no luck. Trying anouth route found a NEWcompltte axle at O'Rilley's Autoparts Storefor $69! LIFETIME WARRENTY, company is OE Direct out of MO. Anyone tried there products?

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If you ever rip a boot just throw grease and put a boot on it and it'll get some more mileage. Or put the hub end of the cv joint in mineral spirits for a bit with out the boot on it. Let it dry repack it and reboot it and you've got yourself a clean axle.

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I put a new axle from Napa on my GFs 95 a few months ago and it works pretty well. It has the same style and size cups as a Subaru axle. I don't remember the cost off hand. She works for Carmax so she gets a good discount through Napa.

Edited by Fairtax4me
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Put 2 Reman Napa CV's on my 01 Legacy GT, they looked pretty good. Came with new roll pin and axle nut, put close to 1.5k on em now. No vibrations or anything strange, can't really beat the price. Plus a core charge. On NAPA's site it gives a Cardone Warranty, took a chance so far I didn't get burned.

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There's no need to ask about particular brands - aftermarket axles are a gamble.

Can you find someone with a good experience with your axle?  Of course - that's a silly question.

 

Are there good experiences with them?  of course there are. no one would say every single axle ever bought it bad. But 7 out of 10 good experiences (i bet it's not even that high over 100,000 miles) is an atrocious failure rate that would make most people livid in any other industry.  If a gas station gave you bad gas 3 times out of 10 people would be livid over that kind of failure rate.  But with axles people are game to gamble.

 

I guess if the industry takes a dramatic shift some day and starts churning out better parts - that answer could change, but i doubt it. 

 

There's 4 resources for good axles if you value you're time and think high failure rates are loopy:


Reboot Subaru OEM

FWE axles

Raxles

Subaru OEM reman

 

If you're flipping the car, not likely to put many miles on it, don't care about replacing the axle again - then go get whatever axle is easy and convenient and do it.  If you want high mileage repeatability - reread the list above.

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The new axles come out of China and most of the time, they are better than any remans out there.  You didn't mention exactly which model/year you have so I would suggest you try autopartswarehouse.com and look for new EMPI brand axles.  They are few bucks more and are Chinese made, but I have had good luck with them and so have some others that I know.  The Cardone and GSR brands, not so much.  Remans have always given me the most trouble though, most seem to be reboots of worn out old axles with a stiffer grease to mask the wear.  They don't last long.

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I was thinking about rigging up another heat shield between the cat anf the CV boot to try to protect it more. Or would header wrap be better?

 

I've wondered about that. I also wouldn't mind trying some silver/aluminized paint on the boot - but have no idea what could survive without just flaking-off.

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I just yesterday installed a new left side front cc axle....I bought it from Amazon for about$70. It's an empi brand which I read on another site it supposed to be pretty good...we will see. Came with axle but and pin.

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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

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if the axle isn't making any noises - reboot it and be done with it.  that OEM axle will last 200,000 miles for certain.

a replacement aftermarket axle can not come anywhere near close to making a claim like that.

 

1.  no spring compressor needed. 

 

2.  avoid the ball joint at all costs. the pinch bolts have issues, the housings can crack, and the ball joints can be seized in place - those are all common issues in rust prone areas.

 

3.  remove the two strut mount bolts - they never have issues or leave you stuck on a job, ever.  you can even loosen the lower bolt and remove the top - then the spindle pivots out enough to pull the axle.

 

4.  mark the bolt head (not the nut) of the top strut mount bolt - it holds the alignment.  pre-mark it's location in relation tot he strut mount so you can reinstall it the same way.

i cut the metal - like use a chisel - that won't get erased.

markers can work  - just dont' erase your mark.

 

you can download free FSM's all day long from online - just get one of those so you have everything.  for the front axle job it's essentially the same from 1990 Legacy to your 2007

all 2005-2009's are the same.

2004 and earlier are the same except the axle doesn't have a pin - it just pulls out of the transmission.

 

remove wheel

unbolt 32 mm axle nut

mark top strut bolt head

remove top strut mount bolt

loosen lower bolt

pull axle out (i think 2007's don't have an axle pin - they just pull out of the transmission)

 

pull axle off trans - push it "upwards" to give you room to slide it out of the hub - then snake it out from under the car.

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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...

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correct - line up the marks and you're done, it is strictly bolt head orientation only that matters.  no other factors involved.

 

it'll look really obvious how it works when you see the cambered bolt - or look it up online.

 

good job - sometimes that 32mm is a beast to get off.  i broken 3 1/2" ratchets/breaker bars before finally getting a 3/4" set and a 1,000 ft-lb air gun just for axle nuts.

Edited by grossgary
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