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HELP...drive axle replacement problem...


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Ok, I am changing out the halfshaft (driver's side) on my 92 Legacy. I got the axle nut off no problem. Then I loosened the castle nut on the steering (tie-rod) knuckle but left the nut on as Haynes said. Used a puller (or whatever that thing is called) to separate the joint from the knuckle.

Now the trouble starts...I went to take the castle nut off and it wont come off, the "bolt" it is on spins but the castle nut does not. ANY ideas?

Thanks a bunch!

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Ok, I am changing out the halfshaft (driver's side) on my 92 Legacy. I got the axle nut off no problem. Then I loosened the castle nut on the steering (tie-rod) knuckle but left the nut on as Haynes said. Used a puller (or whatever that thing is called) to separate the joint from the knuckle.

Now the trouble starts...I went to take the castle nut off and it wont come off, the "bolt" it is on spins but the castle nut does not. ANY ideas?

Thanks a bunch!

yo, bro, you are spinning the joint in the housing. try coaxing a floor jack up underneath the ball joint or tie-rod end or what ever it is you are toiling with to put some pressure on it to stop the spinning and the bolt should then be removable. this is very common. if you can't get to it from the bottom with a jack, use a c-clamp or something from above to put some pressure on the joint. you'll get it loose at some point.
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Let me see if I correctly understand what you're doing. You're trying to remove the nut from the tie-rod end, but the bolt spins inside the tie-rod instead of staying put so you can loosen the nut?

 

In the first place, there's absolutely no need to remove the tie-rod when doing an axle replacement :) The only thing you need to do is pop the balljoint out of the knuckle, then you can swing the whole hub and strut assembly out and then will have enough room to pull the axle out of the hub.

 

But if what I said is correct, you might need a new tie-rod end. They're not expensive, I remember $40 and that was the dealer...

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Cool, got it! Thanks!

 

 

Another problem.....

 

Okay, the outer part of the drive axle is out, now for the inner. I wish I would have thought to make the spring pin more accessable as it is in the worst possible position. Any ideas on getting the spring pin in a better position? I guess if the car were in neutral and both wheels of the ground, I could spin the axle? True or false?

 

Thanks again!

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True. Get both wheels off the ground, put the tranny in Neutral and turn the axle any way you want.

 

And it doesn't matter which way you hammer the old pin out, or which way you hammer the new one in. Just make sure the hole on the axle is lined up with the hole on the stub.

 

Start hammering the new pin in with a screwdriver that takes bits, so it has like a socket on the end of it. That will hold the pin in place well enough until you get it started in the axle.

 

And remember to stake the axle nut back into the notch on the outer axle stub when you're done.

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your Subaru has an open front diff, no need jacking the other wheel off the ground, simply put the tranny in nuetral.

The spring pin and the hole in the tranny stub axle are slight off set I believe, I always mark both when removing the axle to keep the orientation.

Paint stick works well.

You may also find one opening to be beveled, drive the out from the other side.

A pin punch 9/32" IIRC is the proper tool and will

bottom out when the pin is out far enough for alxe removal.

Hope this helps

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There is a big hole in the tranny! No really it appears that as I took somethin out that I did need to....

 

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=1054&sort=7&size=medium&cat=500&page=1

 

This picture shows a short stubby thing coming out of the tranny, my short stubby thing came out with my axle.

 

Any help appreciated!

 

Thanks again!

My karma owes...

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That's the way it should happen. That's the tranny stub. Your replacement axle should look identical to that.

 

It would be different if you had pulled the tranny stub out itself! :eek: It's not that big a deal, I think you can just snap it back in. But that would mean you would have to separate the tranny stub from the axle, which probably will be difficult since you yanked the tranny stub out anyway.

 

But no, that's fine. Just put the new axle on and you'll be cherry :-)

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Ok, got the new axle and it did NOT come with the tranny stub, so I still need to get the spring pin out, and I am having troubles with that. It is 2/3 of the way out and I cannot get it to go any further. The hole apears to be 15/64", just under a 1/4". So I have tried using a 1/4" bolt and many other items of that size to push out the old pin, but no luck. GEEZ! This is a bummer, the punches I have all are bottomed out at his point.

HELP!

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you have it moving so you could grind the point off of a nail the approx dia. use it for a punch.

or

use a pair of diagonal cutters

grab as if to cut the pin as close as possible to the DOJ housing then push the handles toward the housing thus levering the pin out of the hole.

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Ok, well I got it, the pin was a "zig-zag" style pin and apparently it BROKE in there. I was able to get most of it out with the diagonal cutters as Skip said. From there I got the tranny stub out (which still had some pin in it). Then I got the rest of th pin...whew.

 

 

Now, should I put the stub in the tranny then whack the pin in, or should I put the pin in first?

Thanks!

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Bah! I misread your post...

 

You said the stub in the axle came out with the tranny, so when I said this:

 

It would be different if you had pulled the tranny stub out itself! :eek: It's not that big a deal, I think you can just snap it back in. But that would mean you would have to separate the tranny stub from the axle, which probably will be difficult since you yanked the tranny stub out anyway.

I was dead on.

 

Okay, you already said you got the pin out and the tranny stub separated from the old axle. Put the stub back in first, I think it just pops in once you have it lined up. Then line the hole on the axle up with the stub and slide the axle on, and put a new pin in. You should always put a new pin in when you do this, I myself have some 10 pins that I ordered from the dealer to have on hand...

 

Let us know how it turns out!

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