15 replies to this topic

[matts87glsedan]

so i'm working on the 93 loyale i picked up for 300$. i've done a front cv, ball joint, ds door latch. now i'm on to replacing a rear inner axle boot, and i cant get the rusty mother to come off the diff stub. does anyone haave any technique regarding getting these off? I've had fronts in and out many times but never a rear and its being a real bastard... ok cheers, Matt.

[DaveT]

a rear and its being a real bastard...

I got one loose with a piece of 2x4 and a big hammer.

[grossgary]

i wouldn't even bother. if you have to pass inspections, try to find someone that will pass the thing. the rears never break...well im' sure it's happened but i'd leave it. my last XT6 - broken rear boots for who knows how long at 220,000 miles. it was broke at least 50,000 miles and never made a sound. actually...i've owned like 20 XT6's and every single one i've used as a daily driver for any significant amount of time had broken rears...the one right over the freaking exhaust always breaks. anyway, the axles never make a sound and there's no reason to replace them. i bought my most recent DD XT6 last year, i've put about 25k - 30k on it so far and i got it with broken boots and they're staying. i got a brand new one and one good used one that will go in before winter just because i'll be installing my LSD rear anyway.

i've destroyed some things trying to get them off and still have a set fused onto the diff at my house. so take it easy and slow. soak with as much liquid wrench or PB blaster as you can. and yes, hammers will need to be used, just go easy with them. maybe heat might help?

[matts87glsedan]

well, maybe i will hit the guy up on letting it go, but i was kind of wanting to sell this thing after its passed the inter prov. inspection, and wanted it to look good to any prospective buyers.

i am leery of getting the torch out ( theres a leaky gas line back there right now), but i was thinking about maybe dropping the diff - would that help getting it off? its dark right now so i cant go look at the thing, i'm just tossing the idea around.

[grossgary]

dropping the diff may help. depending how high or low the vehicle sets, you'll probably need something under it to hold it up, otherwise it won't go all the way to the ground and there won't be much slack in the axle to get it to move or come off.

are you sure they're stuck and it's just not enough room to get it off? the rear axles on the XT6 won't come off without dropping the diff, there's not enough room for them to come off without removing/unbolting something i don't think. the pins come out and the axle cups might move some, but not enough to slide all the way off the diff i don't think.

[matts87glsedan]

yeah, it is sliding back and forth some,maybe 3/8 inch or so. well, its on jack stands now, so i'll throw the jack under the diff and see if i can make it work that way.

doing things for the first time always seems more painful.

[grossgary]

that's good news matty. if it's sliding back and forth some, maybe you just don't have enough room for it to come off all the way? dropping the diff may give you the extra slack you need to get it off.

but...i have always been a little confused. the Off Road guys always talk about how easy it is to remove a rear axle for those running welded rear diffs. in my experience the axles don't just pull off without dropping the rear diff or gaining some "slack" in the axle, so i've wondered how they do that. maybe there's a trick i don't know? i've always had to drop the diff. maybe they have "lifts" or suspension work that allows them more slack to do that.

[Turbone]

I've seen 2 piece boots on Ebay before, so you wouldnt need to remove the axle to replace the boot. They arent worth squat IMHO, but if your selling the car down the road...

[hooziewhatsit]

so the cup is sliding on the stub? That's good.

To get it all the way off, like mentioned above, you need to make some more room. To do this, you need to either drop the center diff (PITA), or remove the lower strut bolt, then push down on the hub. That should give you enough extra room to slide it off the diff.

I think doing that is easier on lifted rigs since the hub is held lower than normal by the lift, so you have that extra room to slide it off (?).

-Dave

[Gloyale]

I live in wisconsin and we get rust like nobodies business. Heres what I had to do in this situation.

This method is a way to change the boots leaving one or both of the CV cups attached to their respective studs

First unbolt the lower strut bolt, and the 3 trailing arm bolts.Mark the trailing arm bolt positions as it affects the alignment on reassembly. this will give you lots of room to drop the hub.

now cut off the torn inner boot. Now remove the clip in the CV Cup that stops the race from coming out. Push down on the control arm and slide the whole inner joint out of the cup. Now you can disassemble the rest of the axle, slide on you're new inner boot.

Now reassemble in reverse order, making sure to put new grease in the cup and installing the clip in the race after you slide the joint toghether. once it's all in clamp the boot to the inner joint and you're done.

[matts87glsedan]

ok thanks for the tips guys. unfortunately i have found my rear wheel bearing is gone on that corner as well. grrr. i was removing the brakes to get my impact gun on the bottom strut bolt, when i noticed the wobble in the spline shaft. (sorry if my terminology is not right, but i'm sure y'all understand what i'm talking about.)... so thats another story i guess.

still havent got the strut bolt out either.

[hooziewhatsit]

ok thanks for the tips guys. unfortunately i have found my rear wheel bearing is gone on that corner as well. grrr. i was removing the brakes to get my impact gun on the bottom strut bolt, when i noticed the wobble in the spline shaft. (sorry if my terminology is not right, but i'm sure y'all understand what i'm talking about.)... so thats another story i guess.

still havent got the strut bolt out either.

You are trying to remove the bolt from the inside of the car, right? The outside is a nut welded the lower arm. (been there, done that ).

Also, without the axle nut on, the bearing will be _very_ loose; again, BTDT.

-Dave

[MilesFox]

First unbolt the lower strut bolt, and the 3 trailing arm bolts.Mark the trailing arm bolt positions as it affects the alignment on reassembly. this will give you lots of room to drop the hub.

now cut off the torn inner boot. Now remove the clip in the CV Cup that stops the race from coming out. Push down on the control arm and slide the whole inner joint out of the cup. Now you can disassemble the rest of the axle, slide on you're new inner boot.

i had to do this off the side of the road once with no tools aftr the font diff mount broke of the suspension tube frame. it was a drn'd flippen mess, i had to toss the diff in the trunk of mysedan and tie up the driveshaft with a coat hanger, leaving the shaft part of the axles to dangle as they were still connected at the outer end(its like on the front, no retainer rings) and continue on for better than 200 miles

in the salt belt(ohio, indiana) building or junking soobs i have found the best method for RUSTED ON cups-to-studs is to take the diff and axles out as a unit, and use a propane torch and plenty of PB with a 3 lb hammer and whack, rotate, whack rotate. it works!

use some anti-seize when going back together

[matts87glsedan]

You are trying to remove the bolt from the inside of the car, right? The outside is a nut welded the lower arm. (been there, done that ).

well, i will be NOW! good thing i went to the beach today instead of continuing to fight with the welded bolt...

and i guess i'll give the bearing a second chance too.. perhaps the roller cone being not tight is letting the shaft move some. these are cones in the rear, right? this is what i have read.

use some anti-seize when going back together

hell yes. my GLsedan is so much nicer to work on since ive had so much of it apart and cleaned and oiled bolts. this thing hasnt been apart in 20 years and it came from new brunswick.. which is in the rust belt 100%.

[matts87glsedan]

so in the end i went with removing the three trailing arm bolts and the lower strut bolt. it wasnt really rusted on that bad, i just needed the extra wiggle room to work it off the stub. to re align the three holes i put a chain pipe wrench around the hub/arm, and slowly lifted my floor jack up under the handle to twist the holes into place. (wish i had a camera to take a pic of that bit.) i also had a c-clamp holding the flat metal with the holes in it against the arm with the nuts. (like that technical terminology? )

[Gloyale]

Want some more high tech advise?

Now that you've got it back toghether, go behind the car and take a look at the angle of the wheel. Does it look to be pointed straight ahead? Tilted in or out? In other words eyeball the alignment and make sure you're not way off. Don't bother taking it in to an alignment shop. They weill tell you there is no adjustment for the rears. Or they will try and set the alignment by loosening the subframe bolts and trying to shift the whole damn subframe, which doesn't work, and will cost you an arm and a leg. The only place that MIGHT know how to do the alingment properly is a subaru dealer or specialist. And even the dealer is unlikely to know how unless they have techs that have been there for 20-30 years.

I ussually try to getcamber straight up or slightly positive(tipped in at top,by eye) and then I use 2 yardsticks to set the toe. Place each stick against the inside, front, lip of the rim. Hold them flat against eachother and mark the spot where they overlap. Now repeat this on the back lip of the tires. Compare marks and adjust Toe until the marks line up on eachother.

Here's a scan of the page in the FSM that describes the adjustment process

May have to right click and "save picture" to be able to zoom