subaroo808 Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 (edited) So today I replaced balljoints in my 2000 forester. The old ones were a pita to get out but with a little heat and some motivation from a 3# sledge they gave in and came out. I was thinking everything was good...cleaned up my mess and started the car to test it out. As soon as i shifted from park to reverse there is a loud humming/grinding noise sounds like its coming from where the axles meet the differential. I did have to do some beating, pushing, pulling and a lot of cussing to not only get the old joints off but I also had a hard time getting the stud part of the bj back into the hole on the a arm. It makes the noise going into any gear and I also noticed the "AT oil temp" is lit up on the dash. Before I saw the light my first thought was while I was in there messing with it maybe i pulled the axle out a little ways and now the splines arent matching up? I didnt think I was putting that much pressure on it plus i never even messed with the pin holding the axle on but Idk. After seeing the at temp light now Im lost because prior to this Ive never seen that light or had and kind of sound or issue. The light came on within 30 sec of the car being started so idk hot it would get hot that quick but idk. Its dark here now so tomorrow my day is going to consist of taking it back apart and trying to diagnose the problem. I did some searching and didnt really come up with anything so I figured Id ask around here and hopefully get a few opinions and possibly a starting point. It just seemed strange to me that I didnt have any problem until I did the ball joints. which shouldnt have affected anything but the...ball joints?? I also forgot to mention that when I try to shift back into park theres a grinding noise like trying to shift a manual without the clutch and it only stops when i turn the key off but when you start the car the noise isnt there until you try to shift out of park. This ******* thing has me baffled! Anyways like always any info or help is greatly appreciated!! Edited August 18, 2015 by subaroo808 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Have to be careful with the automatics because the inner axle stub can pop loose from the differential if you yank around on the axles too much. It sounds like this is what has happened. Check each side and see if one has slid out. Hopefully the damage will be limited to the axle stub and it hasn't chewed the splines out of the differential. AT temp light blinks when there is a fault with the transmission. In this case the front diff was spinning when the car wasn't moving, so the TCU was getting a signal from one of the speed sensors on the trans but since the car wasn't actually moving it set a code and turned on the light. That will go away once you get the problem fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaroo808 Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 (edited) Wow I guess I dont know my own strength lol! That was my first thought when I heard the sound but didnt think I was really wrenching on it hard enough to pull it out. Live and learn I guess. They must not be held in place with a pin? I know my 90 legacy had pins in it I was assuming to hold the shaft in. I guess Ill be finding out soon enough! Well as soon as I can get a ride to go pick up a socket. I should have waited to do the ball joints because I ordered 4 kyb excel g's and thought they were still a while off but as I was buttoning everything up yesterday I got a awesome suprise and my struts came in early (I know right!). So yes its a pain to have to mess with the axle now, but I had to be in that general area anyway to do the struts. Itll just be nice to have a nice tight front end! Now I just hope it didnt mess up any of the splines! [Edit] I still havnt made it to town to grab the right socket 32mm I think? But I started poking around underneath and it feels like the axle shaft is loose at the hub side and not the inner. It seems like its only on the passenger side. Drivers side feels tight. So now Im thinking it got messed up on that side and if thats the case should I be expecting to find a mangled shaft or just a bearing on that side? I think I remember reading that if the outer cv is toast it cant be rebuilt and just needs replaced. Edited August 18, 2015 by subaroo808 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaroo808 Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 Much to my dismay this is what I found after pulling the axle. The bearings fell right out but the race is firmly wedged in there. So looks like tomorrow I get to buy and replace the axle shaft. Fun fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 Awesome! Glad it wasn't the transmission end because a transmission is way more expensive to fix! Good reason to avoid rebuilt axles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaroo808 Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 Yeah not bad. I was happy to see that it was just the one side. Got quoted 77$ here in town for the shaft so im going in the am to grab it and after i get it in I can start putting my new shiny super awesome struts on! The thing is so overdue for new ones its not funny. Thank u for ur help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikevan10 Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 What can we learn from this? Coincidence that the CV joint failed right after the ball joints were replaced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Bob Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 What can we learn from this? Don't pull the knuckle out so far and dislocate your inner axle joint. Remove the nut and slip the outer end out of the hub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaroo808 Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 Don't pull the knuckle out so far and dislocate your inner axle joint. Remove the nut and slip the outer end out of the hub. Lol...That was definatley the lesson I learned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikevan10 Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 Aren't the guts (i.e. balls and races) of the inner CV joint (or DOJ or whatever the correct term is) held in by a circlip? I don't see any reason to tug on the axle shaft at all when replacing a ball joint, let alone enough to pull the CV joint apart without first removing the circlip. Am I missing something here or did 808 have a preexisting problem with his inner CV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 The OUTER joint is what fell apart. Can't really see much detail in the pics, but either the circlip the holds the shaft in the inner bearing spider fell off, or it just got jerked around enough to pop circlip and let the end of the axle slide out of the spider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaroo808 Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 The clip is still in the end of the shaft. Somehow it pulled through. Idk but my thought is there was possibly something funky going on inside regardless if it was noticeable while driving or not. Even though I had trouble pushing tbe a arm down while lifting on the hub to get the bottom stud part of the bj in the hole. I dont think if everything was A ok that my 150# rump roast should have been able to pull the shaft through the race with the clip still attached I wasnt torquing on it that hard (I didnt think) Idk just my thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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