two85s Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I am doing work on my wagon and think at least my passenger side rear axle will need rebuilding and rebooting or replacement. The inner boot, DOJ, is the one that tore open and has since lost the grease and is compromised. The driver side boot is cracking but not torn open and may just need cleaning, regreasing, and rebooting. I need to learn about this, get a few tools, grease, and joint parts from Subaru (if available) probably to do this. Some of you guys probably do this regularly (or have done it lots) with ease, and have the tools. Any of you have 1 or 2 rear axles you could ship to me that: 1) are in good solid condition that have already been rebooted or 2) you would rebuild, reboot, regrease, rehab, as needed. My goal here is to get two solid good straight axles with good boots on them so that they are good to go for many years to come without more hassles. I have Genuine Subaru boots and clamps that I would sent you first so you could put them on the axles, if or when needed. I would pay for your time, parts, and shipping. I thought there was someone in Colorado who did this but they stopped. Let me know what you think or If you know someone who does this or would help me out. It doesn't make sense for me to ship the axles back and forth but......maybe that's the way it has to be. I was hoping one of you guys may have some decent spare axles set aside. .....Maybe I should take them into town and have a local shop do this? What would you do....? Thanks ALL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinky26 Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I would take them to a local shop, ask if they wouldn't mind you watching what they do. Snap ring pliers, and the band tool to re and them are really the only specialty tools you need, and gloves to keep that grease off your skin. Seriously it's not that hard, might be able to get by with just rebooting the bad one, just depends how long it road that way. Subaru has the grease, not sure about the individual parts though, didn't get that far today when I was looking at the parts website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two85s Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Thanks Dinky, I have already bought the boots and snap rings from Subaru. I still need to get the grease. Once I get the axles off and the old boots off, I'll clean them and rotate them to see if there's are broken pieces. Then I'll grease them and reboot them after I get a snap ring tool. Or if there seems to be damage I will buy one or two new from Oriely's as another member recommended and go with that. Do you know the part number for the axle roll pins? The FSM says to ALWAYS use NEW roll pins.... Thanks for the input! Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Check the boxes that the boots came in. Most of the time, they ship with grease packets. I use heavy duty zip ties to secure my boots. I have had no problems in several years of using zip ties. Also, I have never bought (or replaced) an axle roll pin. Just reuse them. Note that the axle only fits onto the diff stub one correct way. Think about where the spline is in relation to the center of pin hole. It is possible to slide the axle onto the diff stub incorrectly, thus misaligning the pin hole by a half spline. Does that make sense? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 the axle nut and axle pins last the life of the vehicle and never need replaced. the FSM isn't entirely accurate, though i can understand leaning on it. i wouldn't ever use or reuse aftermarket axle pins, but the stock OEM ones don't fail. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinky26 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Check the boxes that the boots came in. Most of the time, they ship with grease packets. I use heavy duty zip ties to secure my boots. I have had no problems in several years of using zip ties. I was doing this also, till I kept getting vaccum action on the boot. It was sucking the boot down, so I went back to the bands and haven't had the issue replay. Any tips with the zip ties? The OEM boots don't come with grease, they sell that seperate, they can make another $5-$8 depending on which STEALERSHIP you are close to. Don't understand how the same part from the same company can vary anywhere from $1-Whatever they feel like charging........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Next time i reboot a set of axles i'm just going to use stainless hose clamps since i have a bunch of them laying around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonist Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Careful about using hose clamps for this job. The inside end of the overlap tends to dig into the rubber (look at an old rad hose that's had one on for a long time) & give the potential to cut the boot. Most kits now just come with a plastic zip tie. It only needs enough pressure to hold the boot on while there's some flexing. The rear CVs flex less than the fronts, so having them pull off is unlikely unless you've already got longer springs/shocks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 You can double up the rubber from the ring that always comes off the 30 year old boot which is what i'm going to do at least on the wheeler. I will buy the special crimping tool for my brat eventually. The front outer joints flex more because of turning but the rears seem to have more up and down travel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two85s Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 "Note that the axle only fits onto the diff stub one correct way. Think about where the spline is in relation to the center of pin hole. It is possible to slide the axle onto the diff stub incorrectly, thus misaligning the pin hole by a half spline. Does that make sense? " ........YES, thanks! I have the snap rings, heard about using heavy duty zip ties, and hose clamps have been suggested too. I would like to use hose clamps also but they aren't narrow enough for the groove. I think there's a bit of technique reguired to get the snap rings tight enough, grip, and fold over correctly of all in the same motion. But I am going to use them at first. "You can double up the rubber from the ring that always comes off the 30 year old boot". .................not exactly sure what you mean there. Thanks for the help everyone. Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinky26 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Basically just padding under any sharp point, with double rubber. Yes there's a trick to that motion with the strap tool. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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