A tale of a total noob.(with poor quality cell phone pictures.)

[JayDM56]

After doing a little offroading in my totally stock(other than my speakers duct taped into the pre-wired rear doors)Subaru, I go outside the next morning to a flat front tire. I jack it up and put the spare on, luckily it's flat too. I drive it up 100 yards to Wawa to fill it up. Stem brakes off on the way there. Get home put the original wheel back on and put some fix-a-flat in it and now it's fine. When I put the spare back under the hood. "Wtf is the screw to hold it down? Whatever, I was just mad and threw it somewhere maybe I'll find it another time."

 

Driving today, cuklunk cuklunk. "Cool my car sucks I'll get out and look at something I have no idea about." I crawl under the car and see this.

Yeah I have no Idea what in the hell that could mean.

So I pop my hood to check my oil:grin:.

And I see this.

After pushing around with my ice scraper:) . Hey there's my screw! Cool, I tore a CV boot. Right?

 

Now I ask, do I need to replace the whole axle? Can I just put a new boot on? I'd love help from anyone. I have no more than a 15 piece tool set in the back of the wagon. Honestly I'd pay any of you guys to let me come to you and let me watch you fix this problem of mine. If you took the time to read this whole post I'm sorry it wasn't more interesting. Oh yeah, My name is Jason Morris. I'm 17 and live in Ephrata, PA. I own a 91 Loyale wagon 4wd.

$600 runs okay.

This is my second one, I received my first $350 90 loyale for Christmas last year. It was rwd. I spun out in it turning onto the street I live on, hit a telephone pole, and totaled it. I hope that I am a little luckier with round 2. I would love to learn everything about my car and how to fix things on my own. I've been doing my reading every night and am trying my best to catch up on knowledge. Hopefully, you all wont mind my soon to come stupid questions. I'd someday like to take my car offroading(the real deal). Thank you for reading.

[daeron]

Jack that corner of the car up. Grab the axle in the middle, and wiggle it around, rotate it... if it doesnt move much (it should have SOME in out play at the top and some front back play at the wheel side, but not a great deal and it should feel smooth) then drive around, turning sharply (but slowly) alot. if you hear no clunky clunky, then you are probably OK to just repack it with grease, and put a new boot on there.

 

The question is, your clunking noise: Was it just the sound of the hold down trashing the boot, and getting flung around a bit.... or did it actually get into the DOJ (thats the CV joint at the top of the axle) and break stuff?? No clunking, clacking, or creaking, and not excessive play, means you are probably golden.

 

Beyond that, without tools you are indeed out of luck... its NOT difficult to do with the proper tools, and it doesn't take much.. but you sound like you have the bare minimum, "college student trunk toolkit."

 

Hope this helps, good luck.

[Reveeen]

Here's hoping someone who lives close by, and will take a young fella under his/her wing, replies.................

 

Ok, did you get a spare tire working for you? Having, and needing, a working spare tire is kinda important.

 

What you are looking at is a torn inner axle boot. The inner joint, by it's nature, and location, can go a while not repaired, but we must remember dust/dirt/water is "the enemy", and left long enough turns a boot replacement into needing an axle.

 

You are not going to fix this with a $15 tool set, but a young school going fella usually has an auto shop class that can be conned into fixing such a thing for the cost of parts (boot kits are $12 locally here).

 

Maybe, as I said above, there is a member close by, who can lend help and guidence.

[daeron]

heh, forgot to mention the most important part.

 

If there is no clunk-clunk, things check out, you cant do anything to get it fixed.. you CAN drive it "safely" in a sense. The boot is there to keep the grease in; the grease is there to keep the thing working. Without grease it is a question of "when" it will break.. and starting at a point of no-clunk, it normally takes SEVERAL HUNDREDS, or thousands of miles to pop.

 

My passenger side boot was torn when I got the car from my brother.. and it is JUST NOW (2/12 years of Florida rainy seasons and 40K miles after *I* got the car) starting to complain.

 

Driving it with a torn boot is a sure fire way to failure.. but it almost certainly wont happen this week, probably wont happen this month.. might happen this year. No guarantees on this verdict... but that is life. Chances are, short term, you are fine.. when the axle starts making kah-lunka noises, THEN you know its on its way out. They rarely catastrophically fail without warning you.

 

It is a minor risk, but pulling out onto the highway in a brand new car is a risk as well. Life is full of risks.

[Gloyale]

You can drive on it for quite a while. But If you do so be ready to buy a whole new axle, casue the joint will get contaminated with grit pretty quickly.

 

The thing that really sucks about driving with a torn boot on that side is that the Catalytic converter gets blasted with grease, that then smokes and stinks as it burns off.

[s'ko]

Axle boot job was my first repair on my BRAT.

 

BTW CV grease is a PITA and it's nasty stuff. I was just playing with an axle yesterday.

 

Tools:

pliers

degreaser

rags

gloves

punch

hammer

rags

flat screwdriver

36mm socket and breaker bar, (if you plan to remove axle)

circlip plier or fine needle nose plier

rags

utility knife

 

Parts:

boot kit. Should have a boot and two straps.

axle grease

rags

 

For axle removal, while the car is on the ground, w/e-brake on remove the hub cap and you will see the castle nut. Take the pin out of the nut and then loosen the castle nut w/the 36mm socket. You might have to stand on the bar to loosen it since it's suppose to be torqued down to 150lbs I think.

 

Jack up car. place on jack stands. (btw JACK STANDS are a most anytime you go underneath a car) otherwise you might go the way of your first soob.

 

Remove the castle nut all the way. tap the axle a bit with a rubber mallet or a piece of wood. Don't want to mess up the threads w/a metal hammer.

 

RELEASE E-BRAKE

 

Turn the wheel so that rear of the tire w/the busted axle turns out. so for drivers side axle turn the wheels all the way to the right.

 

Get underneath that car and rotate the axle until you see a hole/round indentation on the inner cup near the tranny. This is the axle pin sits. Take a punch and tap out the pin.

 

Cut the remaining boot off of the cup. You should be able to remove the axle at this point. Removal at the tranny side usually works. If you can't get it off, then you might can always loosen the ball joint and get more travel.

 

Take the axle and put your finger into the cup. Move is around the lip of the cup and you will feel some grooves, there will be a round metal ring about the thickness of a coat hanger in the groove. Take the screwdriver and pry the piece out. This is what retains the axle w/the cup. Axle will slide out of the cup.

 

You did remember the rags right....

 

Clean up the joint and you will see a round race w/6 balls. The circlip is what holds the whole assembly on. Remove the circlip. This is what it looks like. The circlip pliers are suppose to do this

The race assembly slides out. Take your screwdriver and pop out the balls. Then remove the inner carrier and clean it. Also clean the cup.

 

On the axle shaft, remove the strap holding the boot to the axle and clean. Do the same to the cup. I usually use a angle grinder w/a cutting wheel, but pliers will work as well.

 

(do you see why you need a ton of rags?)

 

Take the new boot and slide it onto the shaft. Since everything is nice and clean, secure the boot to the axle

 

re-assemble the race and slide it onto the shaft. Re-install circlip.

 

Take the grease, pack it into the race assembly and the cup. I don't think there is anyway of overpacking. I usually put about a handful of grease into the cup and then slide the axle in and top it off.

 

Re-install the retaining ring. Take the axle boot and slide it over the cup and install the strap. Use up more of your rags. and another pair of gloves.

 

Wipe off the axle and your at the home stretch.

 

Slide axle into the hub. Install the inner cup onto the tranny stub axle. Here's where I got caught up the first time I did this. you have to line up the hole on the cup to the hole in the stub axle. Now one way is perfect, the other way is a tooth or so off, so the pin will go partially in but then get hung up. Shine a flashlight into the hole to make sure you have it lined up right.

 

Tap axle pin in and tighten the castle nut.

 

Get the car back on the ground. Put on E-brake and then tighten the crap out of the castle nut. I usually stand on it and bounce up and down a bit to get it really tight. Install the pin and put the hub cap back on and go inside and wash all of that nasty grease out of your hair/face and arms. (yuck)

 

Change clothes and enjoy relax w/a can of Coke

 

BW

[Gloyale]

Good write up there s'ko. Only thing I'd like to add is that when driving out the roll pin from the axle, it must be done from the right direction. The hole is tappered, so pushing it the wrong way through will get it jammed. Punch it out from the unbeveled side. New pin punches in from the beveled side(bevel is there to make starting it through easier)

[86BRATMAN]

The proper tool for the pin is a 3/16 drift punch. Or straight punch as some are packaged. Anything else runs the rist of getting stuck in the stub on the tranny, or really making your life hard.

[zyewdall]

The proper tool for the pin is a 3/16 drift punch. Or straight punch as some are packaged. Anything else runs the rist of getting stuck in the stub on the tranny, or really making your life hard.

 

Yeah..... look at my thread this week on the %$#%$ roll pin..... and don't do what I did.

[Tom63050]

Temporary ghetto fix: heavy plastic, like a quart-size food storage bag or even a small trashcan liner, and duct tape to keep some grease in and not get it contaminated.

[MilesFox]

if you get around to taking the axle off its easier to replace the boot. good time to get at the wheel bearin if need be.

 

it will last for a while my sedan has no boot for over 10,000 miles and seen baja'n and 2 winters. you could do the bag to prolong it.

 

if you continue on shove some greas in it now and again

[JayDM56]

Thanks for the all the feedback guys. That right up is awesome and I will most certainly give this a shot. Thanks again.

[skinnyhb]

replacing my axle was the first major job i did on my subaru. i absolutely dreaded it for weeks as i had no idea what i was getting into, but its actually pretty easy. i did it by myself, consulting the board when i had issues. i would just tear into it and learn as you go.