My left front cv on my 05 OB is getting worse by the week. It occurs on hard left turns more so on an incline. I can't tell if it is outer or inner. 

Not yet clicking on straight ahead.

At what point and what can be expected with catastrophic failure,

Any suggestions for replacements that won't cause more headaches than what's already in there?

Edited November 9, 20178 yr by brus brother

Boot/s torn?

 

Get a Subaru axle.  Used is fine as long as the boots are good or you change them before you install the half-shaft.

They'll typically start clicking when going straight for a little while... Once that happens. The end is near.

And the last thing you want is for an axle to blow apart...

www.car-part.com used OEM axle and you're done wasting time on junk axles for life.

 

replacements are easy - get a used Subaru axle for $15 - $40. ideally you reboot it or at least make sure the boots are in good shape and not showing signs of fatigue cracking. they're nearly a guaranteed last the life of the vehicle and make purchasing aftermarket axles a terrible idea.

 

1. is it aftermarket? if it is then there's no telling. those pieces of trash can fail any time they please. i've had two brand new axles blow to pieces within 50 miles.

 

2. if it's OEM they're fine - they'll continue to click and progressively get worse and then click while going straight. if you can pack grease up into the joint by hand i've typicallly had the noise go away or dissipate. but without a boot it slings all out and you're back to the same place in 100 miles or less.

 

They'll degrade very quickly if you drive around sand, gravel, or areas that treat winter roads with product other than just salt/chemicals - some areas use aggregate or something. but i've also made a 1,000 mile trip home after driving the sand roads of southern georgia with my axles sounding like a climbing roller coaster.

 

i've never had an OEM axle fail so i don't know how long or typical life but in my experience they're extremely robust and not prone to failure.

Edited November 9, 20178 yr by idosubaru

I have a bad back so when I discovered there was a small tear in the driver side outer boot accompanied by clicking, I had the outer boot replaced/regreased. It is original to the car at 178K miles. Perhaps it is the inner joint??

I have a bad back so when I discovered there was a small tear in the driver side outer boot accompanied by clicking, I had the outer boot replaced/regreased. It is original to the car at 178K miles. Perhaps it is the inner joint??

 

The inner boot has to be removed to replace the outer boot so presumably it should also have new grease in it when reassembled. I'd just get another used OEM axle if I were paying someone to do it. 

 

Inner joints can click as well, they are typically more noticeable when accelerating from a stop, up a hill, while turning sharply.  where the outer joints tend to sound the same only depending on turning. 

 

usually you can tell an inner because it's a different sound, it's more muffled and less high pitched, and i sort of want to say (but i've never paid close attention) they often aren't as high a frequency - like a "slower" kind of clicking...ah forget it, i can't think how to describe it!

ive nursed a rear cv along for years by repacking it with grease. it was clicking under loads going strait and turning. boot was missing completely i packed grease into it used a contractor garbage bag cut a piece out wrapped it around the cv end zip tied it in place and packed extra grease into it for good measure. that cv shut its self up for the next year and a half until i scrapped the car.

i've seen that done before as well with saran wrap. 

Question: when does clicking CV absolutely need to be replaced

 

Answer:  When it stops clicking.

I replaced CV axle on my 98 OBW. I bought a completely new axle from Advance Auto Parts, sold under their in house name labeled Car Quest. Cost about $65, and yes it is manufactured in China .I bought the same axle for my 99 OBW over a year ago, and it has performed great.

Question: when does clicking CV absolutely need to be replaced

 

Answer:  When it stops clicking.

 

Ruh Roh!

When you get to the scene of the accident. Duh!

 

GD

I was hiking in northern New England and had one pull apart on a class 4 road near Monson, somehow I was able to jack it up and temporarily get it driveable until Keith Bishop in Monson fixed it; it happened later when a friend's son forgot to put in the pin and it pulled apart, which is a fun job at the side of the road.  No hard for the experts, one guy around St. Johnsbury did them for under $100 each installed. 

heard plenty of horror stories about autozone and advanced auto axles... 

car-parts.com around here get around $75 for grade A in my MY.

will call dealer tomorrow and see what their remans are...

heard plenty of horror stories about autozone and advanced auto axles... 

car-parts.com around here get around $75 for grade A in my MY.

will call dealer tomorrow and see what their remans are...

 

they're all over ebay for $35-$40 with free shipping then reboot it.

 

dealer is roughly $200

they're all over ebay for $35-$40 with free shipping then reboot it.

 

dealer is roughly $200

dang, not seeing those deals on ebay...

2005 subaru outback automatic limited driver side...

what am I missing??

www.car-part.com is also a good source.

i think they can be used on either side i think only front or back makes a difference left and right is possible to swap them? someone will chime in with the correct answer on this im sure.

l r interchange

05-09 same front axle

refurb from dealer is $165

used on car-part.com in the $95 range in the CT area

l r interchange

05-09 same front axle

refurb from dealer is $165

used on car-part.com in the $95 range in the CT area

Type in “2005 front Outback axle” and *filter by used* and *sort by price*.

 

One problem is some only show pictures of the car so you’d have to ask about about the inner joint being green (to verify OEM) and the other have significant rust so inspect pictures carefully on a full screen or ask the seller.

 

A little effort but given that’s a 100% success rate and avoids the dealer it’s well worth it. I’ve gotten more than one before to avoid the hassle in the future.

 

free shipping on eBay and all yards now ship on www.car-part.com too so you don’t have to look locally.

 

Yes subarus have always been the same left and right for decades.

Edited November 11, 20178 yr by idosubaru

I have bought after market ones and put them on and it has been fine.  If I do that, I usually them in pairs and then the vibration at idle of having one oem and one replacement doesn't seem to occur.

If you buy "new" Axles from autozone, Napa, FEQ, wherever, there is a critical step that will make them last longer.

 

When the new axles are assembled, they shove the grease way down into the bottom of the cup, before inserting the guts and shaft and clamping it closed.

 

This means that while there is grease at the bottom of the cup, the joints are still mostly dry.

 

What I do is spend about 3~5 minutes bending and rotating the outer ends, and plunging the inner joint all the way to bottom and back out a few dozen times.  You will hear and feel the grease spread around in the joint and ease up the motion.

 

I have never had problems with "new" aftermarkets axles after I started doing this with every one I buy.  I recommend OE axles to my customers, but they usually opt for the sub ~$100 dollar axles rather than pony up $250+ for new OE Subaru.  

 

I won't reboot old axles for customers. Maybe for my own wheeler.

 

I will install a rebooted or used pull out if they supply but with no warranty.

What I do is spend about 3~5 minutes bending and rotating the outer ends, and plunging the inner joint all the way to bottom and back out a few dozen times. 

wow, that's the majority of the issue? that's worth it's weight in gold given the extent of issues. 

 

I've always wondered what shops are doing because they see more than i do and I've seen plenty of failed new axles.  seems like you'd be seeing them fail when installed by other people/shops too, like i have.