Snowman Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I was installing a front CV axle in my Legacy this afternoon, hoping to finally be DONE with my axle adventures (8 sub-par quality axles that failed almost immediately after install) and as I was tightening the pinch bolt, the knuckle cracked right next to the head of the bolt. I've taken a lot of these apart before and never had anything like this happen. I think the internal combustion gods have it in for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Cut back on the steroids, Kelly. You don't know your own strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp98 Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 If it cracked while you were tightening up the pinch bolt consider yourself lucky in that it happened then and not while you were doing 70 mph down the road. That could turn into a interesting drive. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 that just makes it more fun when it happens at 70 mph. Play the try to keep the car on the road game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frag Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I can feel the pain. In my case the bolt snapped. Twice. Once on a Loyale and once on my present Legacy. And I dont even take steroids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Do you wedge a screwdriver or chisel in the split to open up the knuckle so the ball joint slides out? If you do, you may have wedged it too hard and cracked the knuckle. You didn't notice untill the whole piece snapped off re-tightening it. I've done that before. Our ball joints don't just come out on the east coast, there's usually a torch and sledgehammers involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 I can feel the pain. In my case the bolt snapped. Twice. Once on a Loyale and once on my present Legacy. And I dont even take steroids. Yeah, I've had to drill out my fair share of bolts on Loyales. That sucks a lot. It hasn't happened to me on an EJ series soob yet. I use a chisel to spread the knuckle out from the ball joint just enough to pry the control arm down with a pry bar. I'm sure that the knuckle eventually was weakened by taking it apart that many times. Definitely something to watch out for in the future. I still maintain that under normal use, this method is better than the alternatives (taking the ball joint loose from the control arm, or the control arm loose from the car), unless you're also replacing those parts at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru360 Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 In the future, unbolt the bottom of the strut to do axles, it's much easier and nothing breaks. Be sure to mark the camber adjustment bolt and put it back in the same place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Have to be careful with cast iron. Chase the threads, use a bit of anti-seize, and then a torque wrench. I found out the hard way with cast iron. I broke a large casting on a centrifugal blower housing by over-tightening it - I didn't have a spec on the proper torque but I still should have known better. Ended up having a machine shop weld it back together - very difficult with cast iron as it has to be pre-heated in an oven, welded hot, then cooled slowly. Even then it had to be machined back to spec. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 wow i will keep that i mind, i've done some SERIOUS pounding to get out northeasternized ball joints from hubs. never thought that could happen. EJ axles are a cinch - i agree with just removing the one top strut bolt. with the wheel off you only need to remove that one bolt to replace an axle (and loosen the lower bolt). of course marking the top bolt head to install in the same position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugs Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 What year of legacy were you working on? I have never had to do all that. Just take out the roll pin, undo the axle nut, stamp and mark the alignment bolt on the two strut bolts, take out both strut bolts, pull down the whole assembly with you hand/body weight and pop out the axle on the caliper side, then off the tranny side. Repeat process to install. Badda boom badda bing 15 mins your done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 Okay, so I tried the removing the strut bolts method on the other side today, and it's way better. I guess I've just always been afraid of messing with the alignment, but realistically, with the top bolt marked, you can get it back close enough. I've also just done it that way before because that's how it's done on the EA models. I can also complete a legacy axle swap via this method in about 15-20 minutes, since I've had plenty of practice recently. This is definitely something I'll watch out for on the older cars now. Learn something every day! (And forget two old things). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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