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i am replacing a right ball joint on my 05 outback.  not a lot of fun on a car from the rust belt.  in the process. i used heat on the ball joint pinch bolt and melted a hole in the outer cv boot.  i pulled the axle out and it is in the vice on my bench but i can't figure out how to get the cv joint off of the axle.  i have looked for a snap ring and have beat on it with a hammer...... i really beat on it  it hasn't moved.

 

i have searched google and this board but have come up empty.

 

anyone out there have done this and can help?

 

marco

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I'm not positive on the 05, but on 95-2002 I know there is a spring clip on the end of the axle.  

To get it to pop off, I always cut away the old rubber boot. Then place the axle on a 2x4 and step on it.

Take another 2x4 or hardwood block and put it right up against the inner CV joint and hit it hard!

 

It should pop off.

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I put the shaft in a vice tight between a couple blocks of wood, joint end pointed down and into a trash can with an empty box or something to catch it. Then use another block of wood to pound the joint off the axle with a 3lb sledge. It takes a couple hard solid hits.

A brass drift is best if you have one. I've had 2x4s split. Oak works pretty well too If you have an old piece of floorboard laying around.

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The 05 is made the same.

There are two circlips. The first is just inside the fat housing. Once the boot is removed and you clean it some in gas, you will see it.

A screwdriver will suffice to pry it out. Once that is removed, when you align the trunions with the cutouts, the cup will come off, allowing you to remove the circlip on the end of the axle and then the trunion.

Now you can replace the boot. Only use CV joint grease on refill.

Here is link to 2005 fsm  : http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Legacy%20Outback/

 

 

O.

Edited by ocei77
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the boot is off and i wiped a lot of the grease away so that i could inspect the cv joint.  there is no clip visible and no room for a clip.  there is no area where the cv joint meets the shaft where you could access a clip.  it looks like you need to beat on it to get it off but i gave it a couple of good ones with an oversize hammer.  it never moved.

 

i'll look for some hardwood to try again.

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Outer joint has only one circlip. You have to knock the joint off of the shaft with a hammer.

 

Trust me, you have to really wail on it. Baseball swing kinda hit. You won't break it. Use a big pair of pliers to hold the block of wood so you don't hit your hand, stand back and swing for the fence.

Edited by Fairtax4me
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smaked it good with a sledge hammer and a block of hardwood flooring.  it's not moving.  got creative....  took the inner boot and joint off and slid the outer boot from that end.  a little more work.  i'll have to repack the inner boot and reband it.  too late tonight.  will try again tomorrow.

 

this ended up being a big job.  with rebooting a joint that wouldn't come off and breaking the ball joint pinch bolt off.  heated it first and hit it with pb blaster and it still broke.  had to take that to a machine shop for removal.

 

crazy job.  didn't learn anything from this.

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I had similar drama on my Baja: axle was seized in the hub, bent my 20-ton press. Part of the process involved removing the axle from the joint (still in the hub). Solution was 25 minutes with a BFH, a mangled joint, an a sore arm from swinging. There was a spring clip but the whole assembly had been together so long it was stuck on good. Seems to be a thing with the Baja/Legacy/Outback front suspension. I also had to cut, drill, and burn out the ball joint and pinch bolt. The easiest part was replacing the bearing (I usually HATE pressed-on wheel bearings but due to the amount of pressure and heat that had been applied it was kinda grind-ey by the time the other parts were apart).

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