porcupine73 Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 (edited) Ah, yes my pics of the '96 Legacy would be very tricky. Because that is a '96 Legacy brighton, which is the super stripped down version - rear drums, crank windows, manual locks, etc. - -- - and it doesn't have ABS. I don't know off hand what year Subaru switched the designs. I have a '94 Legacy with ABS, and it has the tone rings on the back of the hub (not on the axle). I have an '00 Outback and it has the tone rings on the axles. As far as I know, the tone ring can be removed from the axle, it's just a slight friction fit. I have seen this in other posts and the suggestion was just knock the tone ring off the old axle and slide it on the new axle. Edited September 30, 2010 by porcupine73 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sario Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 I got the axle today but with a surprise. There is a penetrating cut/tear on the outer joint boot, about the width of my thumb. I'll try to post pics. You can see through the broken boot that the grease they use has a brown/pink color, not the dark gray kind. Well that rip is really inconvenient. I know he'll send you a new one, but it sucks waiting on parts. As far as nut quality i have an OEM one and MWE one out right now. i can take a picture of it you like. But to me they both look like good nuts. I've also noticed, and worried about, the different grease color. But I've had MWE axles on for years and never had a problem. So i guess it works. And after checking around i found out molly grease DOES come in different colors. Especially Synthetic. Hope it all works out for ya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vasy Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Well that rip is really inconvenient. I know he'll send you a new one, but it sucks waiting on parts. As far as nut quality i have an OEM one and MWE one out right now. i can take a picture of it you like. But to me they both look like good nuts. I've also noticed, and worried about, the different grease color. But I've had MWE axles on for years and never had a problem. So i guess it works. And after checking around i found out molly grease DOES come in different colors. Especially Synthetic. Hope it all works out for ya Thanks picture is not necessary. I wasn't worried about the nut, just making a comment for others who might want to know. I'm sure he'll send me a new axle without issues. Now, the boot used for NWE's new (not reman) outer joint is not the standard size as Subaru OEM due to the joint itself is a bit larger. That means if a replacement boot is needed in the future, one would need to look for a source other than Subaru dealers to purchase from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sario Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Thanks picture is not necessary. I wasn't worried about the nut, just making a comment for others who might want to know. I'm sure he'll send me a new axle without issues. Now, the boot used for NWE's new (not reman) outer joint is not the standard size as Subaru OEM due to the joint itself is a bit larger. That means if a replacement boot is needed in the future, one would need to look for a source other than Subaru dealers to purchase from. That is some good info to know. I'm sure I'll have to do that someday in the future. It would be nice to know what boot he does use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vasy Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Ah, yes my pics of the '96 Legacy would be very tricky. Because that is a '96 Legacy brighton, which is the super stripped down version - rear drums, crank windows, manual locks, etc. - -- - and it doesn't have ABS. I don't know off hand what year Subaru switched the designs. I have a '94 Legacy with ABS, and it has the tone rings on the back of the hub (not on the axle). I have an '00 Outback and it has the tone rings on the axles. As far as I know, the tone ring can be removed from the axle, it's just a slight friction fit. I have seen this in other posts and the suggestion was just knock the tone ring off the old axle and slide it on the new axle. On Subaruparatsforyou.com, they lists SOA966H900R1 as 95-99 Outback with ABS. This part # is the same as the reman axle's part # in one of the pics you posted last year. But in your pic of the Subaru reman axle, there is no tone ring but in that website's picture for the same part #, there is a tone ring. It's confusing but I'll just ask Marshall to send me a replacement one with tone ring - safer this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 95 - 99 have the abs tone ring on the hub, wheel side. they moved it in 00 i think, but certainly by 03 and put it on the axle. but other than the tone ring the axles are the same, length, thickness, splines, etc. when shopping for used axles for 90 - 99 legos / outbacks, the chances of getting a good one are greater if you get a younger one. so i shop for '03 axles, (the software will return 00 - 04) and knock off the tone ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Now, the boot used for NWE's new (not reman) outer joint is not the standard size as Subaru OEM due to the joint itself is a bit larger. The boots are stretchy. The one I just replaced on my car looked like it would never fit compared side by side to the old one. It was nearly 1/4" smaller in diameter, but it stretched and slid onto the joint housing just fine. Getting the axle shaft into the small end of the new boot was a tight fit as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vasy Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 95 - 99 have the abs tone ring on the hub, wheel side. they moved it in 00 i think, but certainly by 03 and put it on the axle. but other than the tone ring the axles are the same, length, thickness, splines, etc. when shopping for used axles for 90 - 99 legos / outbacks, the chances of getting a good one are greater if you get a younger one. so i shop for '03 axles, (the software will return 00 - 04) and knock off the tone ring. NWE replied my e-mail to say that starting from 2000 the tone ring is on the axle - same as what you said. That's good to know. So they sent me the right axle (w/o ring) except the boot was broken. They'll send me another one and pay me shipping for sending the bad one back. About the size of the boot on the brand-new (non-reman) outer joint provided by NWE, it's not just the diameter of the boot opening not the same as Subaru OEM boot, the length of the boot from one end to the other is also shorter due to the difference in the outer joint's design difference. OEM outer boot has 6 bellows compared to 3 bellows on this NWE boot. I'm not saying it's not a good boot, just to point out when replacing this boot down the road, be careful not to get the wrong boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vasy Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 I got the axle today but with a surprise. There is a penetrating cut/tear on the outer joint boot, about the width of my thumb. I'll try to post pics. I got my replacement axle from NWE and have a question. The first one with ripped boot is a new one and this replacement is reman. I noticed the outer joint on the new axle is much easier to move/bend by hand than the reman axle. I hold the axle shaft with my left hand and use my right hand to move/bend the outer joint. It takes 3 times as much force to bend the outer joint on the reman than on the new axle. The inner joint feels the same for both axles. What does that mean? I know this reman will work on my car but what is a good axle's outer joint supposed to behave when one bends it by hand off the car? I don't have experience with Subaru axles but my previous experience with Nissan front axles is that both joints are fairly movable by hand. You actually need to support the Nissan joint to keep it from over-bending. This reman takes quite a bit of force to bend its joint. Which is a better built joint, a stiffer or softer joint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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