sussman00 Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 My wife was driving her 98 OBW today. Thankfully she was not too far from home. It looks the the passenger side axle boot actually slipped off the knuckle threw grease everywhere. It was even smoking a little when she got home. I know I am going to need a new front axle. Is there anything else I should replace while I am at it? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Kinda hard to tell how long it has been that way. If you're sure it just happened it would be fine to just clean it and repack it. It kinda looks like there is some grit stuck to the housing though so its kind of a tough call. Do you live on a gravel road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fordman Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 im not a subaru expert but i have messed with those kinds of axles and cv joints before. that does kind of look like its been open for soem tiem. but you can also see the fresh oil splatter everwhere. you may be able to just get by with putting the boot back on with soem more grease in the boot. or you may only have to replace the cv joint. the whole axle comes out ofhte trasnmission. and goes through the front spindle. it will have a large nuts and some washers that hold the axle intot he spindle. i would try the grease thing first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I know I am going to need a new front axle. Is there anything else I should replace while I am at it? Thanks! Agree with you--I think you should replace the axle. Just don't use a parts store replacement. Go with new or rebuilt Subaru or with a rebuilt from MWE. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Are you doing the work yourself? Yours is new enough that used axles are a great option. My source is $35 a piece, well worth it compared to new. If you want a new axle go with Subaru or MWE only. After market axles are a waste of time. I'd buy a used axle and have a shop install new boots before getting an aftermarket axle. There's nothing else I typically replace with an axle. Someone recently said they replace the wheel seal every time the axle comes out to protect the wheel bearings. That is a great idea, but i've never done it. Axles are really easy if you're doing it yourself, except that the axle nut can be a real beast to get off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussman00 Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 How long the axle has been in this condition is a good question. I think that the separation of the boot happened recently...probably within the last couple of days. This is my wife's car, and she has been complaining about a grinding noise when turning left or right for the past 2 weeks or so. I looked the car over myself without finding any issues. I brought it to the local subaru dealership. I was told that the problem was the power steering pump (it had a leak at the time). I replaced the pump last weekend and didn't hear the noise myself so I figured the problem was solved until today. I hadn't really considered repacking the boot. We live on a paved street and haven't taken this car off road or anything. Because of the grinding noise (which is very apparent now!) I figured it would be better to just replace the whole axle. With that history do you think it would be better to repack or replace this thing? Thanks for the tip on MWE. I'll definately go that route if replacing. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 With that history do you think it would be better to repack or replace this thing? Replace. No question about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 With that history do you think it would be better to repack or replace this thing? Thanks for the tip on MWE. I'll definately go that route if replacing.yes, without a doubt this has to be replaced. you will have noises if you don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Funny that you should post this at this time. I just took my wife's 98 OBW to a private garage last night to have the front driver's side half shaft replaced. The inside boot broke, and threw out the grease. The best way to fix is to buy a replacement half shaft. My mechanic lets me bring in parts. My cost $59 for a rebuilt half shaft, $138 for my mechanic to install, to give you some idea of repair cost. Simply replacing the half shaft should be all you need to fix the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussman00 Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 I was thinking a replacement was required as well. Thanks for confirming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 If it has been making noise then a replacement is certainly the best route. Noise means that dirt and rocks have gotten in there and are chewing up the bearings so there's really no saving it at this point. Don't waste your time with rebuilt axles, buy a brand new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussman00 Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 I started thinking about what might have caused the boot to slip off. In particular I was thinking about the grinding noise my wife was describing and thinking it might be wheel bearing related. To check I jacked up the car up, grabbed the wheel and tried to moved it. The wheel moves way to much in all directions. Is it possible that a bad wheel bearing caused the CV joint to heat up and slip off the hub? I won't know for sure until I take everything apart, but this leads me to think that I am going to need a wheel bearing, possibly a new hub as well as the axle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Yeah I'd say at least a new bearing as well. Pop the axle out and spin the hub by hand and see how it feels. I believe the bearings have to be pressed out of the knuckle. Take the whole knuckle off and take it to a shop with the new bearing to have it pressed in. They might charge you 40 bucks to do that real quick. To just take the car to a shop and have them do the whole job you're looking at maybe 3 or 4 hours labor plus parts. The clamps that hold those boots on are kinda finicky. If they're not installed tight enough or in just the right place they can slip loose just from turning and fall off. And sometimes things like that just tend to work themselves loose with time. Hard to say exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Ah, wheel bearings, sorry to hear that. One option is to just buy a used knuckle assembly and swap it out to avoid the bearing job or a possible bad hub which leads to your new bearings failing shortly afterward. my new bearings last year, for instance, lasted less than a year - i think about 6 months. I posted on here asking if there's a way to test the hub and I don't think anyone gave a definitive answer, but next time I'd like to know the hub is good rather than doing the job twice and ending up with a used assembly in the end. like he said, if you go the machine shop route take the parts with you and have them pressed in. $40 sounds about right, maybe $60-$75 if you're in a higher priced urban market. where i used to live would have been the later, now it's dirt cheap. The top strut mount bolt on the hub is a cambered bolt and sets the alignment. You will want to try and duplicate installing it exactly as it is to retain alignment and save yourself that hassle and expense. Mark the bolt head and hub housing with a chisel or something else definitive that won't get rubbed off so you can reinstall it where it was. It's not an exact science, don't fret over a degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussman00 Posted July 19, 2009 Author Share Posted July 19, 2009 Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. I picked up a used hub and axle at my local auto dismantlers for $100. I installed both of those and replaced the steering rack boot for good measure. The alignment seems to be fine and the noise is definately gone. The wheel bearing was definately shot. Hopefully this setup will last for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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