gmtrekker Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 It wasn't until I had the replacement axle installed and the car off the jackstands when I noticed the OEM axle I pulled looked slightly different. What I realized is that the remanufactured axle did not have either baffle plate. The baffle plates protect the seals for the wheel bearings and axle shafts. Now I'm sitting here wondering if my axle and wheel bearings are going to fail prematurely without those baffle plates. Has anybody out there replaced an axle without those baffle plates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie Gal Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 what car are you working on? where did you get the remann'd axle? and do you have any photos? Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 model year mileage would help nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a97obw Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 I'm certain he is speaking of the metal rings that fit over the axle ends against the inner and outer CV joints that protect the seals at the wheel hub and the transmission output shaft. Some of the reman axles I have seen/used have these, others don't. They are just a friction fit to the axles. Light tapping with a hammer around the backside of them will pop them off. Then put them on the new/reman axle and tap them back on. The issue I'm seeing is the quality and design of the axle boots with these reman axles. And it seems it is the luck of the draw. Some of the boots are nice and thick/heavy rubber material, and others feel very cheap/thin. I should think this would be a major concern, especially for the one that is in close proximity to the cat. converter. Even the shape of the bellows can be different, all of these deviations from the same manufacturer at the same parts store. The Autozone ones don't come with a new axle nut, the O'Reilly ones do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmtrekker Posted December 17, 2005 Author Share Posted December 17, 2005 That's exaclty right a97obw. I bought the axle for my '98 Forester from autopartswarehouse.com - which can be viewed here: http://replacement.autopartswarehouse.com/parts/autopartswarehouse/viewImage.jsp?image=img.autopartswarehouse.com/live/K4000106332ACE.JPG You can see the brass-colored baffle plates (that's what the FSM calls them) at each end of the axle. The quality of the axle seems top-notch, though time will tell. If the box didn't say remanufactured, one would think this axle was new. I'll be calling customer service on Monday to see what they say about the missing baffle plates. Is it really worth the effort to pull the axle out just to replace those baffle plates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a97obw Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 Well, like they say, "GM doesn't use unnecessary parts" I'd say yeah, I'd remove the axle and put on the seal protectors. (Although I did run one without the inner protector for a long long time on my 92 Legacy AWD automatic wagon!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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