Snowman Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 I'm trying to figure out if installing the outback struts on a gen 1 legacy, raising the car and therefore increasing the CV axle angles, might cause the axles to fail faster, or if I just have INSANELY bad luck. I installed OB struts on my 92 legacy at thanksgiving 2006, and have had a lot of axle problems. Everything else on the car is fine...it's been aligned on a laser machine, all the suspension bushings are tight, the wheel bearings are fine, etc. The story goes as follows: -Installed OB struts and drove for 5000 miles with no problems. -Tore a boot on one front axle and since both axles were getting old (probably original at 185k), I replaced both with reman ones from the local parts store. -Drove 4000 miles before the LF axle's inner joint started binding up something fierce, causing the car to shake violently between 20mph and 45mph. The boot did not fail. Replaced the LF axle with another reman one. -Drove 3000 miles before the LF outer joint started clicking. Again, the boot did not fail. Tired of dealing with axle problems, I replaced both front axles with SOA reman ones, hopeing that would make a difference. -Drove 500 miles before the LF outer joint started clicking again, also with no boot failure. Having lost faith that SOA reman axles are any different from NAPA ones, I replaced the LF axle with another NAPA reman unit, which made it 10,000 miles trouble free. -I'm now just starting to hear some clicking noise...not bad enough that I can tell which axle (could very well be rear) it's coming from. Again, no boot failure. Nearly all of those miles were relatively easy highway miles, as I was driving around the country primarily on interstates. There was one brief stretch of rough road and a couple times where it was pretty cold, but other than that, there were no outside factors that should have had any impact on axle life. On the plus side, I'm now really good at swapping axles on the side of the road with hand tools. For those of you who have done the swap, what has your experience been? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 well, no real mileage on it, but my dad just put OB suspension on his '94..... from my experiences with EA stuff. the highway miles are harder on the joints than anything. I would still suspect the quality of the joints. I don't trust reman'd CVs, regardless of who made them. my mom's old legacy had a NAPA reman'd fail after about 8k miles at stock angle. not to mention the time I had one break less than 24hours after purchase. look for low mileage cars in the junkyard and pull them, reboot them, and see if that works better for ya. in other news. great to hear from ya! I was just putting the gauge cluster I bought from you 4+ years ago into another car last week, and wondered what you might be up to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 Thanks guys, good to be back somewhere with a decent internet connection. Sadly I didn't get pictures of my roadtrip (camera broke), but I'll post about it soon. Okay, so sounds like reman axle quality is not to be trusted. I have noticed that a lot of the reman ones I've dealt with recently develop a lot of rotational play in the inner joint after very little use...the same type of play that was present in the binding joint I had trouble with. What about new aftermarket axles? Good luck? Bad luck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 wow kelly is still alive.. good to hear from you too. You comin through the banks any time soon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted September 6, 2008 Author Share Posted September 6, 2008 wow kelly is still alive.. good to hear from you too. You comin through the banks any time soon? No plans to head north in the immediate future, but the car's running well, so maybe a little jaunt would be in order sometime. I've been thinking about driving up the haul road this fall, but I don't have time with classes and such. Got two NEW EMPI axles, for basically the same price as reman ones (actually cheaper than I can get them back home). They're going in this afternoon. Edit: New axles are in. Noises and vibrations are gone for now. Fingers are crossed and wood has been knocked on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 No plans to head north in the immediate future, but the car's running well, so maybe a little jaunt would be in order sometime. I've been thinking about driving up the haul road this fall, but I don't have time with classes and such. Got two NEW EMPI axles, for basically the same price as reman ones (actually cheaper than I can get them back home). They're going in this afternoon. Edit: New axles are in. Noises and vibrations are gone for now. Fingers are crossed and wood has been knocked on. Let us know how these go if you would. I just did the same lift to my 91 with 185k on it also, hoping not to have the same axle issues myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 I'm starting to wonder if thats whats making the vibration in the front end of my EA82. I put adjustable springs on it off my old 86 struts and then bought 2 wheel drive struts. at 50-60 mph I get a bag shimmy in my front end. anything over 60 its smooth. tires are balanced, new balljoints, tierods struts radius rod bushings.. Kelly did EMPI make axles for the older cars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted September 17, 2008 Author Share Posted September 17, 2008 Kelly did EMPI make axles for the older cars? http://www.empius.com/2008_driveaxles/drive_axles.html There's a link to their website. I looked in the online catalog and it showed axles for the loyale series. Where to get them in fairbanks might be the challenge. I got mine from FATS in anchorage. I'd check around for other brands of new axles too. I had good luck with a new axle I bought in Washington from a schucks or autozone type place. Can't remember the brand name. Anybody else have experience with other brands of new axles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest northcoast Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 I'm trying to figure out if installing the outback struts on a gen 1 legacy, raising the car and therefore increasing the CV axle angles, might cause the axles to fail faster, or if I just have INSANELY bad luck. I installed OB struts on my 92 legacy at thanksgiving 2006, and have had a lot of axle problems... On the plus side, I'm now really good at swapping axles on the side of the road with hand tools. For those of you who have done the swap, what has your experience been? I've only had one fail since the swap but it was on its way out before that. I tried to replace only the boot but that was a "no go". The new axle from Schucks has a lifetime garauntee and at 272k with new head gaskets I've got a long way to go! I could use new springs and struts though, mine are pretty worn since most of my driving is done with the car fully loaded with hunting gear doing Mach 10 on the forest service roads or pulling my boat. I actually had someone write "Slow Down MF" in the dust on my window this last weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Kelly - thanks for the info. I have a guy that goes to anchorage once or twice a week I'll have to call down there and see if they have some in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 I actually had someone write "Slow Down MF" in the dust on my window this last weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 DUDE! It's been less than 500 miles and I'm hearing a couple of tiny little clicks here and there from one of the new EMPI axles. This is starting to get old. That makes 7 failed axles in 23,000 miles (really 8 since I expect the other one is not far behind). One last chance before buying two new axles from Subaru for $600 is the new axles from NAPA that a friend told me he has had good luck with. They're still only like $75 per, so I'm willing to try one and see if it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 DUDE! It's been less than 500 miles and I'm hearing a couple of tiny little clicks here and there from one of the new EMPI axles. This is starting to get old. That makes 7 failed axles in 23,000 miles (really 8 since I expect the other one is not far behind). One last chance before buying two new axles from Subaru for $600 is the new axles from NAPA that a friend told me he has had good luck with. They're still only like $75 per, so I'm willing to try one and see if it works. I and many of my friends have used the new ones from NAPA and I haven't seen any fail yet so hopefully its the same for you!!! I just wish they would make new ones for my brat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 I and many of my friends have used the new ones from NAPA and I haven't seen any fail yet so hopefully its the same for you!!! I just wish they would make new ones for my brat! Thanks for the info, that's encouraging. Picked up a new one from NAPA today, and it looks just like the OEM axles, which is encouraging. The EMPI units had different inner joints and outer boots. Maybe NAPA is duplicating the exact specs of the factory axles in their manufacturing, which should bode well for longevity, as I've only seen OEM axles fail because of torn boots. It's going in this week, and if I like it, I'm replacing the other side as well. MAYBE my epic axle adventure is soon to be over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Thanks for the info, that's encouraging. Picked up a new one from NAPA today, and it looks just like the OEM axles, which is encouraging. The EMPI units had different inner joints and outer boots. Maybe NAPA is duplicating the exact specs of the factory axles in their manufacturing, which should bode well for longevity, as I've only seen OEM axles fail because of torn boots. It's going in this week, and if I like it, I'm replacing the other side as well. MAYBE my epic axle adventure is soon to be over! I know that visually the joints are much bigger looking as well, so good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamike Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 i've had outback struts on my car for about 2 years. it's been off road/mudding alot. my one axle is original the other is a reman i got from where i work. i have no issues yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamike Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 i've had outback struts on my car for about 2 years. it's been off road/mudding alot. my one front axle is original the other is a reman i got from where i work. i have no issues yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 i've had outback struts on my car for about 2 years. it's been off road/mudding alot. my one axle is original the other is a reman i got from where i work. i have no issues yet So where do you work or get teh axles from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamike Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 So where do you work or get teh axles from? it's a place called rafko. the main plant is in canada and is called fenco. some of you probably heard of them before. i think autozone sells fenco parts. they reman about everything. i used to run the grinding machines for the outer cv joint and assemble them. i know alot of people have had problems with reman parts so maybe i've just been lucky so far. although i have one of our axles on my other soob and it has alot of miles on it and still no problems. the company bought out another plant in another state not sure witch one and moved the whole axle operation down there. then i was doing brake calipers for a while and have a set of them on my soob that i assembled no problems yet. now i'm currently doing rack and pinions. one upside is i got a discount on the axles and could get the calipers for free providing i brought the cores back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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