Hey guys, I'm sure this topic has been spoken of many times in this endeavor, but I found nothing by searching. My apologies. 

I bought a 2002 Outback H6 VDC with a bad 4EAT, aspiring to 5-speed swap it.  Today I snagged a 5mt out of a 2004 forester XT.  Upon looking at obvious differences between the two trans's, the most blaring is that the FRONT axles are two different styles.  My 4EAT's axles have female inboard ends and stub shafts that plug in to the diff, whereas the 5MT is simpler, with the inboard axle ends being male and just plug right into the diff. Spline count is the same between the two, but I'm unsure of the difference in length, if any, between the axle stubs on the 4EAT, and the FXT axles' own input shafts(FXT didn't come with axles to compare). Has anyone done this swap that can verify the two match, or do I need to frankenstein the two styles?

Also....what are you guys using to pry out the staked indent in the 32mil axle nut?  I've tried hammering both a flathead screwdriver and a chisel type punch, and quickly abandoned the idea in fear of damaging the threads.  In the past, I've just run an impact on them , but that was on already damaged axles I did not intend to ever use again...

 

Thanks!!

For the axle nut, a center punch works fine.  Just drive it in a little.  If you have a 6 point socket and large breaker bar you can just back it off.  No damage to the threads.

Best bet for the axle, would be to get a set of both and take the inner CV joint off and swap them.  I believe the spline count is the same, but I could be wrong.  A bit of time at the you pull and pay where you could investigate would be best.

Thank you kindly!  I AM due for a Pull-A-Part day....😉

The stubby shaft out of the 00-04 trans pops right out, it's only held in by a circlip and readily pops out.  Put the axle on it with roll pin and yank or use suitable tool to pull it out. Put the 00-04 stubby shaft into the 00-04 axle and you then have an axle with a stubby inner shaft.  I'm not positive it fits into the later 05+ trans but I think they do and it should be really easy to check. 

Someone once was telling someone I know that you need a pair of the automatic transmission stub shafts to fit some brand of locker into the 5mt, so I'm assuming everything is typical subaru lego.

I think you’d also need the sundials to run the correct oil seal on the shaft. Male CV shafts require a larger seal, the male stub axles need a smaller diametre seal. 

Bit of a stuff around but worth the effort to work with what you have. 

I’m unsure if the auto box’s sundials will fit the manual, I’ve not tried that. The early phase 2 gearbox with stub axles and all phase 1 gearboxes’ sundials will fit your later phase 2 gearbox that takes the male CV shaft setup. 

Yeah, looking at the transes side by side, you can see that the sundial is considerably larger on the 4eat than the 5mt. 

 

I ended up just buying a pair of 5mt axles... Will report after install. 

On 1/9/2026 at 1:04 AM, punx2400 said:

Yeah, looking at the transes side by side, you can see that the sundial is considerably larger on the 4eat than the 5mt. 

 

I ended up just buying a pair of 5mt axles... Will report after install. 

Yeah the sundials are different- the stubby shafts on a manual trans don't pull out of the front diff from the outside like the auto's.