can i pull the one front axle out and still drive it without hurting anthing

[95 super subbie]

its 95 awd legacy and the front axle is shot and no one has one untill monday can i pull the front right axle and still drive it till monday without screwing up anything or hurting anthing ??????

[frag]

its 95 awd legacy and the front axle is shot and no one has one untill monday can i pull the front right axle and still drive it till monday without screwing up anything or hurting anthing ??????

1) The axle's nut is what's holding the hub and wheel in place.

2) Maybe you could separate the axle at the outboard CV joint and pull the rest of the axle from the trans.

3) If you do that you wont have any power in front (open diff)

4) All of the power will go to the rear.

I guess one could do that and drive the car cautiously for a while.

THAT'S ONLY AN OPINION. I REPLACED MY FRONT AXLES ONCE BUT NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH SOMETHING LIKE YOU HAVE.

EDIT: What is preventing you from driving with the shot right axle?

[jamal]

no you can't. The front diff and center diff can't handle it. Just drive around with a clicking cv.

[95 super subbie]

i been driving with it clicking real bad for a month now and when i try to drive it sounds like the wheel is going to fall of and it shakes really badly and i mean realy badly! only happend today but does it only for about 10-20 sec thens it fine then it did it again about a mile down the raod so i said i stop a get a axle for before i screw something major when i made it home

[jamal]

well, then I guess you can't drive. This is the kind of stuff that happens when you don't keep a car properly maintained.

 

And to elaborate more on why you can't drive with one axle, the front diff is open. This means without the axle going to the wheel, that side of the output is just going to sit and spin when you try to give it power.

 

The center diff cannot transfer 100% of the power to the rear. If you drove without a front axle, you would fry it, and the car wouldn't go very far in the first place.

[ericem]

how do u guys break ur axles, i mean i have a 93 leg wagon with almost 300,000KMs on it and for 20,000KM i have been driving with torque bind and still haven't broken a axle. seems funny.

[Tbird Man]

ok, i had a front axle pop out on my 95 impreza with an automatic. I was able to drive short distances at low speeds (below 50mph) without any noticeable damage to the center transfercase. note there is no center "differential" in the traditional sense on the older subarus. what I did was click the "manual" button on the shifter in. this, I believe, locks the center transfer clutch in "50/50" yes it will slip, if it seems to slip too much i pulled over and let it cool off. I also shifted into nutural downhill and at stoplights. i drove about 25-30 mi this way, my AWD still works fine and i have no "torque bind" THIS WILL NOT WORK ON A MANUAL TRANSMISSION! the 5mt uses a viscous coupleing that will overheat faster and is damaged easier than the 4EATs hydraulic, friction based system.

 

This is my personal experence, i am no expert, do this at your own risk.

[idosubaru]

you can always just stuff grease all up in the broken joint too, that quiets down your CV's for a good week or more. yours sound like they are on the brink of blowing to bits, but might be worth a try if you need to drive it. 50,000+ miles on fronts and well over 100,000 on rear broken boots with never a breakage. when they start clicking while driving straight i stuff some grease up there in the broken boot and replace the axle with the next brake job or tire rotation. the only annoying part is crawling under the car and the grease splattering out...but better than the axle blowing up.

 

it NEEDS grease. if you're going to drive with broken boots, at least add some fresh grease from time to time. they'll last a looooong time if you do...check my mileage statements above done it more than once.