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Subie has a broken leg.


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Okay so my Subaru passenger side wheel is the top picture.

My driver side wheel is the bottom picture.

 

How do I fix? What is that part that is missing? Is this a bigger problem? Could this be at all related to a recent problem where I am only getting front wheel drive power? (I can relay that story when I get to a computer, I'm on my phone right now.).

 

Is this something I can Mac guyver just to drive it the mile I need to get it home?

 

Thanks guys, hope the picture upload alright

 

post-47815-0-56852400-1372972981_thumb.jpg

 

post-47815-0-56852400-1372972981_thumb.jpg

post-47815-0-16571700-1372973184_thumb.jpg

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Do not drive it.

 

The wheel is likely to fall off.

 

I am guessing thats your front wheel?  right now the Brake rotor is the only thing holding it on.   If it were a back wheel w/drum brakes it would have already fallen off.

 

You're car is FWD until you engage 4wd then the rear axle gets power.  You ave no FWD because that stripped out hub is spinning free.  When you engage 4wd you get rear wheel power.

 

You need to at least get an axle nut on there before attempting to drive anywhere.

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It appears some one or something stole you axle nuts, spring washer and cone washer thingy...which you absolutely need prior to moving car.  

 

Washer Spring, Axle (locking washer) Subaru part # 623204080 (note slight curve in washer, install correctly)

 

Center Piece, Axle  (cone washer)  Subaru part #623024020

 

Cotter Pin, Axle   Subaru part # 051050500

 

Axle Castle Nut... 

 

They do make the parts in aftermarket so you might find them at your auto parts store. 

 

You can get the washer, cone and castle nut from wrecking yard but it's good to replace with new every so many years/uses, I like good solid subie cotter pins.. they are toughest ones made and fit tight.  cheapy cotter pins are easy to cut/remove and parts can go missing.... 

Edited by Indrid cold
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That's what I figured. Well I will jut have to find a way to tow it home. I don't know where the axel but went, it wasn't anywhere on my walk home along the rout I drove it. Is this an easy fix when I get the parts?

 

Also, my subie is rear wheel drive I believe unless you drop it into 4x4.

 

Either way, I gotta find this parts.... Thanks for the help guys

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Okay found the parts nearby where I had parked the subie. Cotter pin is still missing, the cone washer, axel washer, and axel nut are there. So just need a new cotter pin. I will have another concern regarding the transfer case here soon, but I still haven't gotten to my computer yet to fully describe that issue. Thanks again guys, best wishes and I hope I can get subaruth back up and in good shape here soon.

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Your subie is def FWD only unless you have 4wd engaged. Make sure you put everything on right and tighten that axle nut REAL tight. Get her home and then hop back on here and start reading up on cone washers and axle nuts etc etc.

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Also, my subie is rear wheel drive I believe unless you drop it into 4x4.

 

 

 

You are incorrect.  It is FWD.  That's why a F$%&ed up axle issue in the front is making you not able to use FWD.  Think about it.  The rear is the undamaged part and when you engage the rear it works.

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Judging by the look of that you need a new hub, and probably caliper, brackets and brake pads maybe rotor... you may not need to replace the axle they are pretty hard steel and should be ok.. and with all those metal shavings being the bearing area, you may need a new wheel bearing.

 

 soooooo how long was the horid grinding noise going on before you decided to take a look?....

Edited by AKghandi
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okay guys i got the axle bit fixed. Got some new cotter pins to keep the axle nut from winding off, pretty sure my wheels and breaks are even more out of alignment before though. but until i can get that fixed ill just keep my driving to a minimum. That shouldn't be hard since i just transfered to a new store right near my house so i can walk to work :)

 

okay so, now that i am at a computer, i can more explain what i think is going on with the drivelines/transfer case

 

 

So, in regards to the horrible knock/grinding noise that AKGandhi mentioned, its been a slight knock whenever i make a left turn. Im positive i need a new wheel bearing in the front passenger side wheel.

 

Otherwise this is what i've observed about the transfercase/driveline concern/issue:

 

So about, 3 weeks after i bought my subie, i noticed that when i break, the 4wheel light on my dashboard will flash on and stay on while i am breaking. This is when i noticed it, it may have been doing that for a while. I didn't really think anything of it. About a month ago, i noticed that when i break and that light comes on, the handle for the 4wheel drive shifter reacts whenever i break. It pulls down as if a chord or wire is being affected by the breaks. It seems very odd to me, my old jeep had a 4wheel switch similar to the Subie's, and i never noticed anything like that happening.

 

But since i w3as busy, and the car was working fine except for that wheel knock every so often on hard lefts, i kept my eye on it, but could never really do anything about it.

 

Fast forward to monday july 1st, I am leaving my work, the car is running just as it has for the last 3 months, but this time when i pop into reverse from the parking space, i heard a small knock that seemed out of the ordinary. I couldn't tell you where i think it came from, but it was there. I shifted back into first, and drove to the parking lot exit. When i stopped there, i thought i heard another knock from somewhere, but i couldn't be sure, when i dropped the cloutch i heard some kind of grinding before it caught in first gear, but it did catch, when i went to shift to second however, i heard alot of griding and it didn't catch. I shifted back to first and i had very little contact with the clutch, but was able to get enough momentum to get into the parking lot again.

 

Once i got in there, on a hunch, i tried turning on the 4 wheel drive. After that, i had full clutch contact and no issues slipping or driving. I managed to drive all the way home, and until thursday the fourth when the axel gave me trouble, i had absolutely no issues. Even the knocking and grinding from the passenger side front wheel was gone, no hard left turns, and the 4 wheel drive shifter knob doesn't appear to be pulled around when i break.

 

So my conclusion from all this is that a cable or connecting bolt or something is loose in the transfer case. or something is out of alignment. Or the gears for the FWD and axel are shot.  So what i would like to know now, is if you guys think it is related only to the transfer case and the 4wheel drive shifter, or if there is something bigger that might be going on with my whole front axel?

 

On a side note, after fixing the front wheels, i tried putting the car back in FWD(2wheel drive mode) and i only get contact from the clutch in reverse, and at that the reverse seems loose and minimal. still no first, second, third, or fourth gear. But it still works like a charm in 4wheel drive mode for whatever reason. If i had to guess, it feels like all the power is coming from the rear end when the 4 wheel is on, which again leads me to believe it is something to do in the transfer case. 4wheel Hi and Lo both work fine.

 

How can i check up on all this? how might i access the transfer case and take a look at it, and if i absolutely need to, how would i disconnect the front wheel drive axle from the driveline, and is that even something that should be done? Can the rear driveshaft handle being used on a consistent basis or do i need to really focus on fixing this issue so that my soob can go back to FWD unless the 4x4 is on.

 

i know thats alot, and as always i greatly appreciate all the help and info up here on the forums!

 

 

 

PS: Gloyale, i'm not an illogical person, my last 4x4 able car was a wrangler, and it had RWD under normal circumstances, so only having that to go off of, i had assumed the soobie was put together in a similar way. There is no need to be rude about it. Thanks for the information anyways.

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I believe Gloyal had it right at the very beginning.   

 

What you are describing is that your front Hubs have been stripped of their internal splines and the front axle can't engage the splines on the inside of your hubs...they have been stripped away.  

 

 

You will need two new hubs.... start there. 

 

 

This isn't a big mechanical issue, easily replaced parts.  Your axles splines should be fine... clean everything up good, I like to put a little grease on the splines when I slide it together and install the cone, flat, axle nut,   torque and install cotter pin.

 

count your splines as Turbo and years make a spline difference... go find similar rig at pull-n-save and get two hubs and replace.

............................

as for the other issues...

 

The tranny may be having some shifting issues, not sure about your lights coming on etc.., ... but cant tell till you get the hubs replaced.  Look at your motor mounts and tranny mounts.. may be missing a bolt or something... but start with two hubs get it running and that will help you on the next issues. 

 

a knock at left turn usually means early warning of axle, not bearing issues, bearing issues usually start out as noise and then a grinding and constant klunking at the end of it's life. so could just be axle but not an issue cause it will still take you a lot further, use it up. 

 

 

When you get it running, you need to head down to WCSS-15 in early Sept. for the weekend.  Always a good time and your not that far away from it this year. 

Edited by Indrid cold
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These cars are nothing like a Jeep.  Not trying to be rude....just to the point.....anyhow.

 

Your front axle is still spinning inside the hub.

 

You need to replace the Hub, the Wheel bearings, the Cone washer, and most likely the Axle too.  Verify by having a friend try to drive forward in 2wd, while watching the axle nut on the pass side.  It will spin and the car goes nowhere.

 

This is what the problem has been all along, and still is the problem.  The nut just hadn't fully fallen off yet when it first was making noises.

 

It's not your clutch or any of the gears in the trans, or else 4wd woudln't work.

 

As for the 4wd light, and the lever jumping......I would inspect the Trans mounts, and the shifter mounting point above the driveshaft.  When you are under decel load the 4wd shifter is lightly pushing towards 4wd.....and in the old cases, crud builds up and makes it so the plunger for the switch gets pushed a bit early.  You may have actually gotten it to engage the disengage 4wd quickly causeing the odd clunks when backing out of a spot.....that could have all been axle crunch too.

 

I believe your trans mounts are broken, and under a reverse load (decel or in reverse) the tail of the trans tries to lift up.  This is from the rotational force of the front axles.  The shifter stopped jumping so much when you transfered to 4wd, because the drive is from rear axles.  

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Gloyale and Indrid Cold:

 

thanks guys, reading all the makes sense, and i apologize Gloyale, i think i misunderstood.  As much as all that makes sense, i have to admit i have no idea where to start checking all of this.  

 

The hubs, where are they located? are they inside anything? im guessing it would be really easy to tell if the splines are stripped, but just in case, what might i be looking for?

 

basically how do i start checking this all out and where are said parts located? are there any resources on doing this on ones own that you know of? i am searching around as we speak as well.

 

BTW: i have a 1982 GL Wagon. But i get the feeling you all knew that already :)

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okay i think i got it, the hubs are literally the front wheel hubs, sory for whatever reason that concept was escaping me.

 

Thanks guys, i will check into all this when i get home. I have at least one spare wheel hub, so if that one isn't stripped, i can use it and another one fom a pick-a-part.

 

Just out of curiosity, if one of the hubs is stripped (IE the passenger side), would the other hub be able to get any power at all even i it is not stripped? Im asking because i have had experience with other cars where if one wheel is stuck, the other one will spin freely because of some weird way the are connected. I can't remember what that particular oncept if called.

 

Anyways, i will update you guys when i have a chance to look at the wheel hubs.

 

 

again thanks fo all you help guys! i just need to keep this girl running fo a couple years. one step at a time...

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if the axle nut and washers are in place on the other side you should be ok with just the one thats stripped., but with the only thing that was holding you wheel on being your brakes you should look into that too. new pads, if it hasn't eating away at your caliper and bracket too much they could still be used at your own risk.

 

The reason you cant drive it in 2wd with one stripped hub is called an open differential, it sends power to both wheels and if one isnt connected it sends all the power to the one thats slipping. thats why you are able to turn, if it were a locked differential, it would send equal power to both wheels but you couldn't turn very well.

 

 

 

the 4wd light is a minor issue like gloyale said probably trans mounts. you said its a loyale with a d/r swap? maybe check the bolts and make sure they are tight.

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Yeah the early Manual, dual range 4wd cars (ea81 cars, 80-84) had the 4wd lever pivot point mounted solid to the body.  When the trans mounts get bad, and the trans moves around it chnages the relative location to the lever.........causing it to try to engage 4wd.

 

Later models (85-89) with Dual range have the 4wd shifter mounted to the shifter stay, and isolated by a rubber bushing....so the trans can move around, and the lever stays relative with it.

 

The 4wd light and the lever jumping around is definately your trans mounts.

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