I have a broken front passenger side CV/axle it snapped at the hub and is rattling around. my new axle is going to take 3 days to ship.If I removed the bad axle from transfer case can I still drive the car locally (will not exceed 30mph) since it is AWD  I figured I would be  on 3 good axles.

95 legacy. Or would I be creating more damage by doing so. Unfortunately I live in a area where I need a car to go to supermarket. and this is my only car.

short answer - no.

 

even tho it is technically "awd", the normal power split is biased to the front wheels. There is a lot more to it than this, but I will leave that for others to explain if they care to..

if done right,

yes if you have an auto trans,

no if you have a manual trans.

 

you need to leave the axle stub in the knuckle housing or you will destroy the wheel bearing.

 

did the shaft snap,?

or did it come apart at the CV joint?

 

if it the shaft snapped,

you can cut a piece of pipe the right size and slide it over the broken shaft.

tape one end to the shaft.

now you have a splint on it and it will not flop around and beat up your car.

 

good luck.

It looks like lt broke at the cv joint , I only looked with wheel on and where my hub is I can see the cage that holds the bearings and that is what is bouncing up and down in hub .

Is this a manual trans, or automatic.

 

The problem with manual trans is the voscous coupling will be seeing excessive differential in rotation and slip until trying to grab, and this would be why you can't exceed 30 mph as it is not fully engaging, or you wil have to rev it up with load, forcing it to grab, which is stressful on the part.

 

With an automatic, the car will not hold park when not running, and whie driving, the engine and trans will rev up until the rear clutches all of a sudden grab until you let off the throttle again. this is very jarring to the driveline.

 

You can fool the automatic trans by interceptig the duty c circuit and forcing the duty c to engage the rear axle 100%, making the car drivable. There is a grey waire pin 11 on the trans harness that you disconnect and ground out to allow this function.

 

I did this with my car and drove it for a week pizza delivery. I had not grounded out the wire, and it worked, but the tcu should see ground anyway.

 

you cn remove the axle if it broke on the outer end, as long as the outer end remains in the hub to contain the bearings.

It is automatic where do i remove grey wire on trans or under dash

Edited April 13, 201411 yr by duffymaddox

You can fool the automatic trans by interceptig the duty c circuit and forcing the duty c to engage the rear axle 100%, making the car drivable. There is a grey waire pin 11 on the trans harness that you disconnect and ground out to allow this function.

 

You don't even need to ground it......just disconnect that wire for the Duty C...........

 

No power to duty C = Full pressure to transfer clutches.

 

 

To the OP......you can get groceries like that.....yes........But it is excessively hard on the transfer clutches.....so I would not drive if you don't have too and be gentle if you do.

1 The easiest way is to disconnect the TCU - the transmission computer.  On most EJ's i've seen it's the silver box above your gas pedal. 

 

It'll be "locked" in 4WD so you'll have power. 
It'll drive a little gutless since in mechanical mode you'll only have 3rd gear, but no big deal for 3 days and a few miles.

 

It will bind as Gloyale said above - not great for the driveline but for only a couple days be gentle and it should be fine.  turning is what increases the binding.

It would be best to remove both front axles to prevent binding but then you'd have no CV joint in the front hub - which you need. 

If you can disassemble another joint and stuff it in the front axle that would be the best.

 

Or disconnect the Duty C wire.  Same deal with binding is still an issue.

 

It will bind as Gloyale said above -

with a busted axle it probably will not bind.

no power to the front, so no binding.

right?

with a busted axle it probably will not bind.

no power to the front, so no binding.

right?

 

i'm not sure what happens when it's "locked".  is the stubby shaft side or the one with the axle powered or "locked"?

guess it's the stubby shaft and it won't matter, and you're probably right, but i'm uncertain.

 

i've always wondered when torque bind happens - which axles are binding and does it change?

with a busted front axle and an open front diff the front wheels are going to be free wheeling.

think of it in reverse, a rear axle is busted.

no mater how locked the center is, the good rear axle will have no torque,

no torque means no binding.

 

 

i've always wondered when torque bind happens - which axles are binding and does it change?

 

i don't know and have zero experience,

but if the front and rear diffs are open,

the binding must be caused by the average number of turns front vs. rear.

in effect, the rear drive shaft vs. the front pinion shaft.

seems logical.

Just go and find a used axle at a bone yard or pay up for a reman or new. Rent an econobox for $20 a day if it's the only car or ask for a ride until fixed. It's not worth damaging anything else just to limp around a couple days and possibly have more $$$ into repairs. If you go for used, inspect the rubber boots on both ends for excessive dry rot. If the rubber is really cracking, pass on it. Also try your local cragslist->auotparts->Search Box = Subaru and scour through and you might get lucky. Often craigslist stuff will either be pulled already or the seller will pull. Get an idea on price and haggle if needed. Don't let on you are desperate, or you'll hurt your leverage to haggle if they are shrewd.

 

Next time, when you hear a clicking sound on turns while moving, pay attention as it'll be your other one going. Also get in the habit of turning the wheels hard left/right and visually inspecting the boots for rips. My Legacy was bought with a missing metal band and the boot was just sitting there. Thankfully I caught it quick enough and stuck a new band on after packing fresh grease in. Saved a potential premature failure.

Edited April 15, 201411 yr by Bushwick

Yep, a good Used Subaru Half Shaft is better than a new Aftermarket any day!

 

www.car-part.com will help you find one in a local yard.  You pull and Pay yards will be about $35-40 each and you can pick one with good boots.