Dave P Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Thanks to your help on replacing my front half shaft(97 outback) the job went really well. BUT,I bought NEW shaft from NAPA(family business) and not from Subaru.You guys told me not to buy after market and now it knocks almost as bad as before. My question is:what problems will this cause me if I just put up with the noise and use the car as is?.I hate to think of getting into that job again. Thanks, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 not a good solution. i tried the same thing last year. after a couple months my speedometer quit working. what i didn't know is that just on the inside of the transmission is the speedometer gear that drives your speedometer. it's plastic and doesn't take well to the vibrations, mine broke and now doesn't work at all. due to the placement of that gear inside the front diff (which is essentially part of the transmission assembly), it basically means i need to disassemble the transmission to repair that little tiny gear. but... it's far easier for me just to swap transmissions, so that's what i'm going to do about it. i guess if it's the "outer" joint that knocking and problematic then you won't have an issue with it harming the trans side of things so you can try that. but it's likely to get worse and i wouldn't leave it. i learn from my experiences and this is one case where it's not a bad idea for others too as well! get a used Subaru axle or MWE only, don't waste your time with after markets. you can always keep exchanging it until you get a good one but that's annoying and how good can you really trust it to be? if there's so many sucky axles out there...then even the "good" ones probably aren't all that good. many are probably "just barely" good enough to not have noises or vibrations. just not worth it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave P Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 I called the manufacturer of these new shafts and they said out of 800,000 they sell to NAPA, 4% are returned.Could I really be that unlucky? The worst part of this job for me was the removing the pin. Any further tips to help knocking that out from above? Thanks again, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I called the manufacturer of these new shafts and they said out of 800,000 they sell to NAPA, 4% are returned.Could I really be that unlucky? The worst part of this job for me was the removing the pin. Any further tips to help knocking that out from above? Thanks again, Dave Get the correct drift tool; a Craftsman 3/16" version (Sears #42885WF) works for me and buy a cheap 12" long 3/8" socket extension. Jam the drift tool into the extension and that will allow you to knock the roll pin out more easily. The 12" extension will not be good for anything else, but that's why you buy a cheap one. Good luck with the repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I called the manufacturer of these new shafts and they said out of 800,000 they sell to NAPA, 4% are returned. i doubt that's accurate myself, but 4 out of hundred isn't great regardless. statistics are what you make them and i'm doubtful they look for "the worst" statistics so to speak. you've seen all the warnings on here...it doesn't come without reason. Subaru's off the lot have far fewer than 4 out of a hundred coming back with bad axles...so apparently someone can build them properly. they also make really long drift pin tools that help as well and i think i usually do it from underneath. annoying but easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 they also make really long drift pin tools that help as well and i think i usually do it from underneath. annoying but easier.Hard to do from underneath with an OBS since the catalytic converter is just where you want to use the drift tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Hard to do from underneath with an OBS since the catalytic converter is just where you want to use the drift tool.got ya - i've only done one side on an OBS...probably the "easier" side? guess i have something to look forward to next time! like using your extension trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one eye Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Mac tools makes a special "Subaru Roll pin punch" they are 13 or 14 bucks you can get them off their trucks. Well worth the money, makes life a lot easier. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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