Hi all!

 

A friend of mine just bought a 1993 Subaru Impreza (looks like an Outback Sport) with an EJ18 Engine and a 5 speed manual transmission.

 

It seems that one of the outer CV joints is bad. When going through a right-hand turn the front axle creaks and makes noise really bad, and when on the freeway beyond 60 mph the axle makes noise and the car pulls hard to the right (scary!).

 

The previous owner said he took it into a mechanic who confirmed that it was a bad cv joint. BUT he didn't specify which one it was, or if it was both. We are assuming at this time that it is the right side (passenger's side) cv joint. Is there any way to confirm this, via visual inspection or some sort of test? ALSO, is replacing the cv joint basically the same as replacing one on a Legacy? You need to replace the whole outer CV joint and driveaxle shaft as one piece, correct? Any small bit of advice is GREATLY APPRECIATED!

the boot on the bad cv is most likely torn, so that would be a good way to check. There is a place I've seen advertised here that sells remanufactured axles, or you could get one from somewhere like subarugenuineparts.com. They're significantly less expensive than a dealer.

 

Replacing the axle isn't all that difficult.

Hey Thanks Jamal!

 

Yes! The right-hand CV axle boot IS torn, while the left one is not. So that answers my main question!

 

I won't need any special tools to replace the axle then I assume. Could I use my Haynes manual for my Legacy as a guide? I assume the procedure is pretty much identical. Thanks for your help so far! I'm checking out that parts site right now...

It's really easy, just crank off the axle nut, pop the pin out, loosen some stuff on the hub/strut and it pops right out.

exactly the same as the legacy.

you might want to get a punch or something for the pin.. i didn't i just PB Blaster'd the crap out of it, and then took my really bad drill bit set, and hammered one of those through to get the pin out (no not drilling.. just hitting it, with a LONG extension)

the pass. side seems to be alot easier from the top side of the engine, where the drivers looks like it's be easier from under the car...

eh.. that's my experience w/ em.

Loosen the big nut by one turn first but don't remove it yet. Then knock out the roll pin at the transmission end (Sears Craftsman #42885 WF works perfectly). Note the hole has a beveled side and a non-beveled side; knock it out from the non-beveled side and when re-placing it insert the pin from the beveled side. If your new axle comes with a new roll pin, use it; if not, I've always re-used the same pin without any problems. Also remember which way it was for installing the new axle; if the axle is rotated 180 degrees (i.e. non-beveled hole to beveled hole), you'll be 1/2 spline non-aligned and won't be able to get the roll pin back in. You'll have to see what else on the suspension you'll need to loosen/remove the inner joint (I can't picture it enough for this), but pull the axle away from the transmission and remove the inner joint first from the stub axle on the transmission. Then remove the big nut and push the axle shaft out of the wheel hub. Re-assemble in the reverse order. Replace the locking nut with a new one and tighted to 145 ft-lbs of torque (or more) and peen over the locking tab. This is much easier than on the older GL series. Good luck with it.