Hey all

 

I'm going to be replacing the front axles in my 83 wagon this weekend. I have never done this before... is there anything i should know before i get started?

 

Thanks

Some things we have covered a great many times. Here's a great thread about that, and if you try out the search function up at the top of the page, you'll find other threads that cover this procedure too. I'm sure everything you need is to be found in them somwhere.

 

http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2576&highlight=axle+removal

 

GD

Thanks GD.

 

Kudos to EdRach for his quality replies in those posts too, lots of excellent tips. If you skim thru the posts be sure to stop on any that he wrote for sure!

will i need to replace the castle nut?, i vaguely remember hearing somewhere that your suppose to replace it if you take it off

You should replace the cotter pin with a new one if you take the castle nut off, that is probably what you were thinking of.

The 5-lug Subies you should replace the castle nut, because you stake it into the notch on the axle to lock it (in other words, bend the edge into the notch). The 4-lug Subies use a cotter pin, so the nut is fine after you remove it...

the most important part is removing the axle without boogering up the htreads/

 

you want the whole strut assembly to pull away enough for the axle to slide off the tranny end(after the pin is removed)

 

then you want to pound the axle thru the knuckle till it pops out.

 

thread teh castle nut on BACKWARD intil its flush with the axle stub. use a 3 poind hammer and a block of wood to start pounsing it thru. it has to pound thru 2 bearings, pouns it thru so far and remove the nut. then use a pipe, or hold the round end of a ball-peene hammer against the axle, pound on it with the fat hammer.

 

to reinstall the axle, but it on the tranny end first, then slip it thru by hand what you can, and tap around the knuckle to persuade the axle thru.

 

once the axle is thru enough, you can put on the rotor and then the nut, and use the nut to draw it thru. you will have to use the nut with no washers to catch the first thread, draw it thru, then remove the nut, put on the washers, then draw it all the way thru and torque it down

 

people will tell of several ways to pop the ball jount, take off the lower control arm, etc. but the main objective it to be able to pull the strut assembly away from the car enough to slide the axle off the tranny, and enough to let it dangle and pop thru without the car being in its way

Most times a rebuilt axle comes with a nut anyway. Still up to you to find a cotter pin. Never have figured that out. Seems like they could toss in a cotter pin, and let ME decide if I needed a nut or not. (I've bunged a few castle nuts too - had to beat em off with a coal chisel).

 

GD

Thanks, whit those instructions it was easy to do it. but now i have another problem, when i took it out for a test drive, something started ticking when on the gas, as soon as i let off it stopped, i went back through everything i had done, i couldnt find anything, so i took it out again, and it was doing it again, the faster went the faster it ticked. I was thinking this is the inboard joint. What do you guys think?