HELP - car won't move - CV?

[Tman_567]

I have a 1987 Subaru GL

2WD, 5 speed manual

1.8 MPFI EA82 (150000 miles)

 

 

My car just stopped moving.... It made a relatively loud noise (dull thud) and just wouldn't move. Engine still runs great. I put it into first, second, third, fourth, reverse, nothing. Didn't even seem to try to move. I open the hood and i see the axle thing turning (car in neutral) I have a video of what I'm trying to explain. You can see exactly what i saw when i lifted the hood.

 

I'm not great with cars. I can do what a book tells me but I'm no good at diagnosing problems ect.

 

Please help.... Whats wrong?

 

Is it fixable? Is it a expensive/complicated fix? Is this a home or shop fix? How much would a shop charge? Would anyone like to fix it for/with me? I would love to learn more about fixing cars!

 

Money is tight at the moment but next month or so i will be in a MUCH better financial situation.....

 

I'm 18, currently poor :-\ , very attached to this car and very eager to learn more about fixin' it.

 

I live in Lynnwood WA.

 

If it would be too difficult/expensive to fix i will need to sell it. This is a VERY last ditch option but if it can't be helped it may come to this. Like i said it has a very strong engine and the interior is really really clean. I would hate for it to come to this.

 

Any help is GREATLY appreciated!

 

-Tyler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the Video.... I'll try to embed it but if it doesn't work click this link

 

 

 

 

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[nipper]

The video isnt ready for me to see, but if you can have the car in gear and see the axle moving under the hood, its easy. Your CV joint is shot.

You need a new axle.

 

 

nipper

[Tman_567]

is that a major project?

[Caboobaroo]

no its fairly easy to replace an axle but it can be time consuming if A. you haven't done one before and B. the parts store gets you the wrong one.

 

Since its a 2wd, you'll need a 23 spline DOJ (the joint that slides onto the tranny). They're not too terribly expensive but there's probably a few people around in your area with a used one they would go for pretty cheap.

[Tman_567]

is there a write up on how to replace a axle anywhere? how much would it cost to have a shop do it?

[idosubaru]

axles are really easy to replace, the only hard part is the axle nut. they can be annoying to remove if you don't have air tools or a 3/4" socket set for them. i busted 3 1/2" sockets and even a breaker bar before finally upgrading to a 3/4" set, now it's easy. it's not that many bolts at all to do it.

[GeneralDisorder]

Shop rate for an axle is around $250 including parts usually.

 

You can do it yourself in about an hour or two (less if you have done them before - my reccord is about 25 minutes) for around $75 to $100 for a new or rebuilt axle.

 

GD

[Tman_567]

the haynes manual part on replacing a axle was confusing.....

[Tman_567]

where can i get a rebuild axle??

[Tman_567]

Video works now.....

[Phizinza]

It may also be the hubs spline has striped?

 

Is it just the right axle that spins? Or both?

 

This may help, I wrote it ages ago now, so I hope it is understandable.

http://offroadingsubarus.com/driveshaft_axle_removal.html

 

BTW, the hub is the part the wheel bolts to, the disc brake also bolts to it, and the axles goes through it with a spline and has the big 36mm "axle nut"

 

A striped spline will look a bit worse then my hub's spline looked, check here for pictures

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=592659&postcount=12

[Mysticcal]

for someone who's never attempted an axle much less any car work i'd suggest taking it to the mechanic, it can save hours of frustration and even some hurt limbs.

 

get a new axle, get the both if you can afford it, have the mechanic do them both at the same time. I paid 200$ all said and done.. 100$ axle, 100$ labor installed in the bay area, call every shop you can in your yellow pages. always ask to supply parts

 

I was stupid and only got 1 done, the one that needed it, but I know sooner or later the other is gonna go out and then it's gonna cost me 2x what it woulda cost me to do both of them at the same time.

[Phizinza]

Doing 2 axles is 2 x more work then 1.. But yes, mechanics generally won't rip you off as much if you get them to do more work.

 

If you get the right tools, breaker bar, 36mm socket, pliers, hammer, 6mm punch, lever, it isn't to hard. Maybe it's one of those things someone needs to make a video of changing to help people out...

 

The hardest and most risky part of doing it is popping the top of the lower ball joint out to pull the strut far enough away from the gearbox.. I always find it easier to pull the top of the ball joint out then the tappered bottom part.

The risk is when levering it apart you can damage the boot on the ball joint, so you just need to be really careful with a rounded lever.

 

Hey, if you want to learn to work on your car, doing it is the best way. And in the end you save lots of money, and feel really good about yourself. Unless it doesn't fix the problem, then you've just waisted money and time.. But that comes with fixing cars.

[GeneralDisorder]

The hardest and most risky part of doing it is popping the top of the lower ball joint out to pull the strut far enough away from the gearbox.. I always find it easier to pull the top of the ball joint out then the tappered bottom part.

The risk is when levering it apart you can damage the boot on the ball joint, so you just need to be really careful with a rounded lever.

 

Entirely uneccesary. You only need to remove the inner lower control arm bolt, and the sway bar link.

 

It's all very simple:

 

1. Make sure the parking brake is ON.

 

2. Remove cotter pin from 36mm axle nut.

 

3. Break axle nut loose either with air impact, breaker bar, or my personal favorite - VW bus rear axle nut tool.

 

4. Break loose the lug nuts.

 

5. Jack and support the front of the car - BOTH wheels off the ground. Use jack stands on the frame rails.

 

6. Make sure the parking brake is now OFF.

 

7. Remove wheel

 

8. Remove the brake caliper and tie it to the strut spring with some bailing wire or twine. It's one 12mm or one 14m bolt on the bottom slide and then the caliper rotates up, and slides backward off the upper slide pin.

 

9. Remove the brake caliper bracket and brake pads. It's two 17mm bolts on the back side of the knuckle. Don't loose the pad clips (if it still has them )

 

10. Remove the 36mm axle nut, convex washer, and cone washer. Sometimes a sharp smack with a dead-blow or copper/brass hammer is needed to dislodge the cone washer from the hub/rotor.

 

11. Pull the hub/rotor off the axle. It will just slide off. Inspect the splines to make sure they aren't worn or damaged. If they are replace the hub with one from the junkyard.

 

12. Unbolt the inner lower control arm bolt - the 4" long 14mm one that bolts the lower control arm to the engine cross-member.

 

13. Unbolt the sway bar link - it's a 12mm bolt that holds the sway bar to the lower control arm. Don't loose the rubber bushing and the metal insert for the link.

 

14. Slide under the car and using a 3/16" pin punch pound the roll pin out of the inner axle joint (Double Offset Joint or DOJ) where it's pinned to the transmission.

 

15. Pull the axle off the transmission and let it hang down and to the rear (on the exhaust if it's the passenger side). You may have to hold the knuckle out or push on it slightly to get it to slide off the tranny - that was the purpose of removing the control arm bolt and sway bar link.

 

16. Using a copper mallet, or a block of wood and a small sledge or heavy hammer pound the axle inward to remove it from the knuckle. This is a friction fit so they are often fairly tight. Sometimes they just fall out, but this is generally not the case. A few sharp blows will get it moving. NEVER hit the axle directly with a hard metal hammer - you will damage the threads.

 

17. Remove axle from the car by pulling the knuckle outward and the axle inward till it's free.

 

18. Inspect the wheel bearing while you are in there.

 

19. Put the new axle in place and slide it as far into the knuckle as you can by hand.

 

20. This is the tricky part - start the axle nut on the threads and use two large flat-blade screwdrivers to pry the axle into the knuckle. Don't hurt yourself. Use the cone washer turned backwards and the conical washer to get more depth to the nut past the threads. More large washers might be needed depending on how stubborn it is. Sometimes the axle will get a little crooked - make sure it's straight as you are pulling it through or it will jam up on the edges of the bearings.

 

21. Once you have gone as far as you can using the screwdrivers, use the hub to get it the rest of the way on. Slip it on the axle, and thread the 36mm nut on and tighten the nut to pull the axle the rest of the way through the bearings. Tighten the nut a bit more than hand tight - we will tighten it to spec once the car is lowered.

 

22. Slide the inner axle joint (DOJ) onto the tranny so that the holes for the roll-pin line up. They only line up one way so if the hole isn't perfectly round when you look inside you need to turn the joint 180 degrees.

 

23. Pound the roll pin in place.

 

24. Reattach the inner control arm bolt and sway bar link.

 

25. Bolt on the caliper bracket, pads and caliper.

 

26. Put the wheel on after verifying that everything turns smoothly.

 

27. Lower the car to the ground. Remember to SET THE PARKING BRAKE.

 

28. Torque the axle nut to either 150 ft/lbs, or AS TIGHT AS YOU CAN BY HAND. Do not use an impact as it will not get it tight enough. Tighter is better - 200 or 250 ft/lbs is fine.

 

29. Tighten the lug nuts.

 

Mind you that's all from memory, but then I have done it as many times as anyone here with 8,000+ posts :-p

 

GD

[idosubaru]

EA82's sound way trickier than an XT6. an XT6 you only need to remove the lower 2 strut mount bolts to change an axle. so with the wheel off that's only three bolts/nut - axle nut and two lower strut mount bolts to replace a CV. EA82's have that little room/freedom of movement or is it too cluttered in there?

[Gloyale]

Indeed, you can do an axle on a wagon/sedan/3door,XT 4cyl. in a similar way. I always undo the 2 bolts holding the top of the strut. Long pinch bolt and short one throught the little "plate". It always seems easier to get loose and seperate from the knuckle than the ball joint is. Just unbolt the brake caliper and tie it up out of the way first. I don't like messing with the sway bar or control arm bolts. They are way too rusty around here.

[Numbchux]

It may also be the hubs spline has striped?

 

yep. that's my thought too.

 

I just watched the video, and it's hard to tell, exactly, but the outer CV boot is spinning aswell....the times I've had the outer CV fail, the boot slips on the shaft and doesn't spin.

 

take the wheel cover off (if it has one) and see if the big 36mm nut in the middle of the wheel is spinning. That'll rule out stripped hub.

 

 

 

btw, your EA82 is SPFI...not MPFI

[dave valiant]

I had the splines strip out on a hub of my old 84 wagon and it did exactly what yours is doing. It was a 4wd so I just put it in 4 hi and drove it home.

[nipper]

I had the splines strip out on a hub of my old 84 wagon and it did exactly what yours is doing. It was a 4wd so I just put it in 4 hi and drove it home.

 

Ditto, but i needed A cv joint and wheel bearing all at the same time, so was never sure of the cause and effect. I remeber with mine the vc boot wasnt spinning.

 

nipper

[Phizinza]

I would say that having the nut not done up properly (I forgot the re-torque it before a 900km trip) cause the tappered spline to rattle a bit to much (I just thought it was a wheel bearing going out) then I found it to be loose. And because it is tappered, it had enough back lash to wear out. Remember, keep them tight, and alway after doing a bearing or whatever to re-torque after a short drive.