damien Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Hi guys. I'm new to subarus...never owned one before and I'm looking at buying a '98 legacy GT. I've been told by the owner of a car I'm looking at that I will probably need to replace the front axles. yikes! I want to know if I should run in fear or whether this will just be a 500-600 dollar repair. I'd appreciate the answer to that question and I'd also like any other recommendations you all might have. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPX Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Might end up costing a bit more if you consider that replacing the wheel bearings would be a good idea while the axles are out.:-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smpol19 Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Almost every car I've ever had, or worked on has needed new axels somewhere between 110,000 and 150,000 miles. I don't think this is a sign of abuse or other bad things to come. Obivisoly look the car over carefully but I wouldn't run from this car based just on its needing new axles... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 If the bearings arn't bad.. don't worry about them, if you do up the axles yourself you're most likely looking at about 120-200 bucks in parts, including the core return.... all you need is to get that axle nut broken off, and the whole process can take something like 30 minutes if you know what you're doing.. Pop the nut off, smack the pin out, undo the controling arm, pop it off the ball joint, wrestle with the controling arm to get it to stay down.. ratchet strap the arm to the other side of the car... sometimes it helps to loosen the top strut bolts, pull the strut away, pop the axle out... and the installation is pretty much the same.... I'd recommend doing it yourself... you only get smarter by doing it, and you get a feeling of accomplishment when you're done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctoth Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Axles are no biggie at all. Chances are the bearings are good. They're sealed pretty well. Even if you had a shop do it I can't imagine it would be anymore than $300 but it's a pretty easy do it yourself job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 not a big deal. the CV boot at the end of the axle is just rubber, they break all the time. they only last so long and are replaced on nearly any subaru at some point. it's not a big deal. they run about $80 each, plus labor to install. be sure to replace with Subaru OEM axles, rebuilt axles are risky. very doubtful your wheel bearings are bad if it's just broken cv boots and axles clicking. you could drive this thing for thousands of miles without replacing them and you'd be fine. i've put 50,000 miles on a broken cv boot (bad axle) before with no issue. even when they start clicking it's not a big deal if you can tolerate the noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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