2018 Outback - front axle - alignment ?

[craigmcd]

I recently had a whole super negative experience when DIY replacing the REAR hubs and CV axles on this 2018 Outback. The electronic parking break needed to be reset by the dealer and other issues. It was costly. As a result, I am a little gun shy to replace the front axles on this Outback.

Q1 - is it advisable to get an alignment after an axle replacement? 

Q2 - is there anything which needs to be turned on, shut off, reset or otherwise completed with an OBD2 scanner when replacing the front axles? I have a decent scanner.

Q3 - I have done front axles before on Subarus, but is there anything I should be preparing for or anticipating before I start with the nuts and bolts ? (insert your sage advice here)

Thanks,

Craig

[88SubGL]

I replaced the front axle on my son’s 2017 Legacy and it’s super easy. No alignment necessary if you undo the lower ball joint from the control arm and then just pop it out. Probably the most difficult thing is separating the ball joint from the control arm. YouTube removing lower ball joint and you’ll see what I mean. It’s more difficult for me to describe it than for me to do it.

On 11/19/2025 at 1:52 PM, craigmcd said:

electronic parking break needed to be reset by the dealer

That’s weird. I’ve replaced rear brakes and a rear hub on two 2017 Legacy’s and never had a problem. I wonder if the 2018’s are different?

[craigmcd]

Thanks for the tip with the ball joint. I think they are different in 2018. The first step (which I missed) is to use the OBD scanner, and in the menus, select to release all the pressure. What happens is that the parking brake electronically unscrews itself to release all pressure off the rotor. Then you do the brake job. At the end, you use the scanner to reset the electronic parking break to normal position.

The guy I was working with showed in a good trick to mechanically release the EPB with a socket or allen head. Good hack for sure, I used it several times. I ended up at the dealer trying to get all the dashboard lights off. That is why with the newer cars I just want to make sure I am not stepping into the abyss.

[nvu]

I don't think I've ever seen a car with front parking brakes so you should be fine on that aspect.

Probably a good idea to remove any abs sensors from the hub beforehand to avoid damaging them.  Also avoid overtightening them when installing.

If you get both wheels off the ground, test the bearings.  Hold onto the spring while turning the wheel by hand to feel any vibrations, they should feel similar on both sides.

Unhook the sway bar links to get that extra clearance on lower control arms

[craigmcd]

Thanks again, I will check out that bearings. I will do this job in the first week of December I think. Gotta order parts soon.

[idosubaru]

On 11/19/2025 at 1:52 PM, craigmcd said:

I recently had a whole super negative experience when DIY replacing the REAR hubs and CV axles on this 2018 Outback. The electronic parking break needed to be reset by the dealer and other issues. It was costly. As a result, I am a little gun shy to replace the front axles on this Outback.

Q1 - is it advisable to get an alignment after an axle replacement? 

Q2 - is there anything which needs to be turned on, shut off, reset or otherwise completed with an OBD2 scanner when replacing the front axles? I have a decent scanner.

Q3 - I have done front axles before on Subarus, but is there anything I should be preparing for or anticipating before I start with the nuts and bolts ? (insert your sage advice here)

Thanks,

Craig

 

Your biggest potential (though unlikey on a car this new) issue will be trying to get the ball joint out of the knuckle. It will all depend on how much rust/salt that thing has seen. The guys out west and down south don't have to worry about that and can pop ball joints all day long. The ball joint just pops out.  Up here....sometimes they pop out, sometimes they don't.  I've ripped t(metal shards and all) the ball joint shaft right through the actual ball itself which was left rust welded into the knuckle, then you're spending a lot of time chiseling/drilling to get the remnant of the ball joint outer casing separated from the knuckle housing and you'll need to replace the ball joint.  Good chance a 2018 isn't that bad and comes right out...but if you ever do experience a rusty ball joint you will curse everyone who says "oh just pop the ball joint out" and realize they often live down south/west or are dealer guys only working on new cars under warranty.

Are the current axles bad, these newer axles often run a lot of miles without issues and almost never fail. An aftermarket axle may very well fail before the originals with 200,000 miles. 

In rust prone areas many of us avoid the ball joint and just undo the lower strut mount bolts to replace an axle.  The top bolt impacts camber, so you mark the HEAD (not the nut) of the bolt relative to the knuckle housing and make sure you install it exactly where it was before you did the work. 

 

On 11/22/2025 at 7:34 AM, nvu said:

I don't think I've ever seen a car with front parking brakes so you should be fine on that aspect.

 

EA81, EA82, ER27's are all front parking brakes, so yeah nothing newer than 1994!

[craigmcd]

Thank for the tip. We live in Maryland, top of the Chesapeake Bay. They salt the roads, but not very often. I recently did have a huge problem getting rear hubs off the knuckle, so I know things can be frozen on pretty good.  I'll be doing this job in the next week or so, need a clear weekend day.