Has anybody else had problems with destroying cv axles with large tires? I currently have 30/9.5r15 and even with only running 11 degrees of axle angle they still keep popping and this is after I lowered it back down from 21 degrees. Before with 26s axles would last around 6 months. Now they wont last for more then 2 weeks.I know Im not the only one running big tires. This is at highway speeds for 60 miles every day. Its on my 80 gl with ea82 control arms, ej25, and 5 speed dr. Thinking about getting some custom ones built. Either from RCV or The Driveshaft Shop. Has anybody had any experience with either of these or any others? Ive seen a couple of threads about RCV axles but never an actual response on quoted price or if they where ever ordered/quality.

are you running OEM or aftermarket axles?

Aftermarket. Import Direct Orileys house brand

aftermarket axles absolutely suck. i've had brand new ones explode in a few miles, noisy and vibrate on lifted Subaru's but not non-lifted ones...etc, and so have many others.

 

get good at swapping them and have a pile in the back?

 

OEM Subaru, MWE will last longer. i don't play offroad but i've never blown one of those on a 2" lift with no drop blocks.

I'm pretty good at replacing them by now haha. And OEM Subaru axles are like $410 a piece. No thanks. For that price I would rather have some custom made. I think my most recent cv issue was actually loose steering components but only time will tell. But I'd still like to be able to run suspension lift with the big tires.

The Oriley axles are garbage get some "OPparts" brand axles.

Edited May 25, 20178 yr by turbosubarubrat

Go to the nearest pull and save,pick a part, self service yard and find some OEM(green cups) axles with good boots.take a set or two home,repack them,and run them.They are 10000% better than any of the crap you will find at a parts store  new,remaned or otherwise.

And OEM Subaru axles are like $410 a piece. .

No they're not - they're $15 - $30 all over the place.  Local yards, pick and pulls, pull a part or order one:  www.car-part.com

 

What axles/knuckles are you running - EA81 or something else?

Check your moter and transmission mounts, I've seem Brocken mother mounts destroy axles

Edited May 19, 20178 yr by Scott in Bellingham

I'm running the same size tires on my '05 XT and lifted 2"... I'm lucky to not have had the issue you're having with axles. We have pulled many from local places and paid between $10-$25 each for them. About an hour of time and the "new" ones are in... You can pull them fast at junk yards since you don't have to be careful of the body parts or components on the donor cars.

Bad mounts where my first thought but none of them seem bad and I can move the whole car if I grab the engine/trans and shake it.

 

Axles, control arms, and knuckles are ea82.

Currently talking to RCV about getting a better cage and race for the cv's.

Have you run any used Subaru OEM axles (green inner cups)?

 

Can you swap to EJ hubs and axles? They're routinely and easily swapped into EA82s.

 

Then you'd have almost unlimited cheap 20 year newer OEM axles.

Orealy axles uses cheap boots that ware out quick and they dont use any grease in the joints add good boots and quality grease and those cheap aftermarket axles hold up just fine even with 5" of lift and 30" tires and i beat on mine they held up as long as any of my rebuilt factory axles i realy like the idea of better stronger cages though the reality of it is i would rather break a axle than my trans so stronger might not be better for the fact that the next week link is inside the transmission it self and i dont usaly carry a spare trans i like the new hd or light duty axles they came out with simply because there easyer to change if they hold up at all i think those would be the best canidate for the stronger cages

Edited May 20, 20178 yr by ferp420

Does anybody know the Cardone part number for the 23 spline axles for the ea82? Thinking I might give them a try. Blew up another Orileys set this weekend. Even after I lowered the front end down. They where 3 days old. I'll post pics later. Also, did they make oem 6 ball front cv's for the ea82 or just the tripod style? Thinking I might make a beefy set of those but an aftermarket set I could just drop in is preferred.

Axle carnage pics. This one was 3 days old. This made me miss the Walker run

 

 

Yep, that's what aftermarket axles are good at. If you're around hundreds of Subaru axles over 20 years you'll see it even on non-lifted daily drivers. I've seen them blow up in one mile, seen it a ton of times on many different Subarus.

 

Brand new axle - 50 miles zero off road miles on it yet - blew up on me a couple months ago (someone gave me the axle):

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/162152-blown-axle-and-no-toolsaka-as-if-i-needed-a-reminder-why-i-avoid-aftermarket-axles/

Edited May 24, 20178 yr by grossgary

My OPparts axle held up 5 thousand miles a thousand of which had torn boots and it still didn't make any noises. Only reason i changed it was because of the torn boots. If it happens again i'm going to put on silicone boots or park it for a solid axle swap.

My OPparts axle held up 5 thousand miles a thousand of which had torn boots and it still didn't make any noises. Only reason i changed it was because of the torn boots. If it happens again i'm going to put on silicone boots or park it for a solid axle swap.

Where can I find them?

Talked to RCV about custom races and cages. Each piece would be $105 and the minimum order is 8. That's $420 to rebuild one axle...

I think I'm going to try Cardone axles repacked with redline grease and see where that gets me.

I figure somewhere out there, there must be a spec chart for CV axles, where you could just look for the length you want, splines, etc. and get one for a Camry, or whatever. I think Japanese cars use most of the same components, and you could at least match up a center shaft and put your own ends on it. 

While googling that, I found this, VERY interesting!!:

 

http://goworldparts.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Subaru-CV-axle-Brochure_EN_20150812-1.pdf

And:

 

http://goworldparts.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Worldparts-CV-Axles_Quick-Specs_May-20151.pdf

Talked to RCV about custom races and cages. Each piece would be $105 and the minimum order is 8. That's $420 to rebuild one axle...

I think I'm going to try Cardone axles repacked with redline grease and see where that gets me.

IIRC, some one on this board "talked well" of Fenco axles long ago:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fenco-CV2531-reman-CV-Axle-Assembly-85-94-Subaru-GSP-Powerline-CV66011-/291618631556?fits=Year%3A1989%7CMake%3ASubaru%7CModel%3AGL%7CSubmodel%3ATurbo%7CEngine+-+Liter_Display%3A1.8L&hash=item43e5d32f84:g:~t4AAOSwXeJXfWp8&vxp=mtr#shpCntId

 

Edit: also made in China.....oooppss!

Edited May 31, 20178 yr by czny

Looks like they may just make these for the front?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-CV-Axle-Shaft-fits-1985-1994-Subaru-XT-GL-GL-10-WORLDPARTS-CV-AXLES/132179013315

 

Reminds me though, some of the very first 4wd Soobs in the mid-70's had slip-yoke rear axles with conventional u-joints. 

Subaru SVX front inner plunging CV's are bigger and take 30° vs 25° for standard Subaru axles. And they were built for a heavier and powerful H6. And the splines are compatible too...