I’m in the middle of doing both axles on a 97 L sedan (168K). I have the right axle out and doing a comparison to the new axle I have noticed a difference. Now the old one is actually the original Subaru axle and the new one is a new EMPI axle. Now the old one has the baffle plate (I think that is what they are called) on both ends. The EMPI has it on the inboard side but on the outboard side, they have an ABS tone ring, which in this application is not needed. I have double/triple checked the part number going right to the EMPI site and it is the correct part. Everything else seem fine, length, spline count, etc., it’s just the outboard baffle plate that is missing and that is making me nervous. Now a few questions, what is the purpose of the plate? The EMPI tone ring is about the same size as the baffle plate, so I was thinking about knocking off the ring and replacing it with the baffle plate. I have tried to attach a pic of the two axles showing the difference.

 

Anyhow, any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Not what I wanted to deal with while doing both axles in an unheated garage in Maine.

 

Thanks.

I think you could switch them if the diameter of where they press on is the same. I bet it is.

I think you could switch them if the diameter of where they press on is the same. I bet it is.

subaru360,

 

Thanks for the quick reply and I think I will be doing the "swap" but am still curious about the function of the baffle plate. Does it work in conjuction with the oil seal in the hub? or is there some other function?

yeah that plate helps seal behind the hub. if you can swap those plates you should be fine. i have heard of people knocking off parts of an axle, i am pretty sure that is the tone ring. but you could do some searching here and find those posts to be sure.

 

i just looked it up and someone mentioned they knock the tone ring off, so it does come off which is what you would guess. hopefully getting that plate off and back on won't trouble you too much.

It keeps rocks and dirt from getting into the seal.

OK, got the baffle plate off of the old axle, was able to knock the tone ring off the new axle....and yippee, the diameters do line up. I think I will wait till the light of day (and the warmth) to see if the modification creates any issues on assembly.

 

Again, thanks for all of the input. I will give you updates after I complete the R&R on both sides. Oh I did check, you can purchase the baffle plates (which are called "Outer joint Back") for about 5 bucks each but I was able to get the old one off without too much difficulty or damage.

you can purchase the baffle plates (which are called "Outer joint Back") for about 5 bucks each but I was able to get the old one off without too much difficulty or damage.

nice hit! where did you find those? glad it all worked out.

My favorite three all list them in their parts lookup function:

 

http://www.1stsubaruparts.com/

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=214077

https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html

 

 

And we shall see about "it working out". I know they have to make some concessions when they are manufacturing to reduce the overall number of part numbers, but I hate it when there are differences between old and new parts. Again, I will update you on my overall EMPI experience.

Sounds good! Haven't heard of EMPI before. Would be interested to know if you experience any odd vibrations with these axles?

i wasn't able to get it to come up on the online subaru sites. it's not under the front drive axle parts and didn't come up with a search. how did you find it?

 

Sounds good! Haven't heard of EMPI before. Would be interested to know if you experience any odd vibrations with these axles?

if it sucks that tells us something, but if it's fine that doesn't tell us much, even the worst axles have some that work fine!

True any single experience is anecdotal at best but at least it's something! So far the viration thing after replacing axles people sometimes report is the most mysterious soob problem I've seen posted.

So far the viration thing after replacing axles people sometimes report is the most mysterious soob problem I've seen posted.

mysterious in what way? with Subaru only axles or MWE you won't have any problems. guess it's lower quality parts or assembly process, they probably try to reuse as many parts as they can rather than replace.

Guys, sorry when I answered grossgary, I thought he was interested in where to get the backing plate (nice hit! where did you find those?). The EMPI axles were bought at http://www.autohausaz.com/. They were the cheapest out of about ten different locations that sold those axles. In this case they were like $86 with free shipping over $50. Again, I wanted to try a new versus rebuilt. We shall see how "smart" I was.

Guys, sorry when I answered grossgary, I thought he was interested in where to get the backing plate (nice hit! where did you find those?).

i was, and could not get them to come up on the online search engines. i searched under "drive axle front" or whatever and they didn't come up? if you end up ordering or looking them up again, post the part number here.

grossgary,

 

Go to any of those sites I mentioned and then start with the collision catalog, then:

 

Front suspension->Drive axles->Baffle plate->outer joint

 

Again, the key is to start with the collision catalog versus the mechanical catalog.