Front Axles, '99 Outback

[94Loyale]

Hey guys, this is my first newer generation Subaru. I've had 4 previous EA82 wagons before this. Decided to upgrade to something a little more reliable. I just picked up a 99 Outback with an EJ22 swap. The car is damn near perfect. From sitting for about a year and a half, the cam cover gaskets were leaking a little. So I got under there tonight and changed them, no problem. However, while I was down there, I noticed that the inner boots on both my front axles are ripped very bad. I'm going to replace them, but my questions stems from owning the older wagons. When getting axles for the old wagons from chain auto stores (advanced, auto zone), they would always fail very early, or be junk right out of the box. I'm not sure if it's the same story with the newer subarus. When I'm looking to get axles for this car, where would you guys get them from? And I'd imagine they are pretty straight forward to do, I've done a few axles before. But any tips are more than welcome. Thank you.

[PAezb]

I haven't ordered yet for my 96 OBW, but will be doing so very soon. Seems to be a few thumbs up here on the board on these:

 

http://www.ccrengines.com/mwe/index.html

 

 

Previous threads on topic:

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=86449&highlight=axle+replacement

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=83907&page=2&highlight=axle+replacement

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=80970&page=4&highlight=axle+replacement

[EVOthis]

from what i have read on this board it seems only OEM axles and MWE axles are proven extremely reliable on Subis.....but i bought a new front, no name axle about 1.5 years ago for my 96' legacy from autopartswarehouse.com and havent yet run into one problem.........

[Reveeen]

My local dealer uses Fenco rebuilt axles.

http://www.fencoparts.com/index2.htm

 

Of interest to note, the Fenco axles use a different boot (cheaper to produce) than the boot Fenco sells in a box.

 

And yes, strangely the newer cars seem to "eat" the inner boots, rather than the outer boots?

[94Loyale]

Thanks for the responses guys, MWE was the way to go on the older subes too. So I'll be checking them out today. Odd, if I hadn't seen the boots ripped open, I would have had no idea. Car doesn't act up, or make any abnormal noises. I'd figure it's just because the inner boots are ripped up. I know the outers will make some noise.

[idosubaru]

it's also very easy to find newer axles in great shape for very cheap. call around some local yards, the boots on the ones i'm getting around 2000 are still in great shape.

[94Loyale]

Gary, that's a great idea, I'll have to look into that option too. How are these newer cars to replace the axles on? Pretty easy like the old ones?

[brus brother]

I recently changed the inner boot. There is a description on this site on how to do this without removing the whole axle. I had access to a lift so it was pretty simple to clean and regrease the joint and close it up. Apparenly the inner joint only moves up and down and doesn't get the workout that the outer one does.

End result is I still have an original axle and no problems.

[J A Blazer]

Apparenly the inner joint only moves up and down and doesn't get the workout that the outer one does.

 

That may be true but in my experience (2000 OBW) its the inners that fail more often than the outers; may have something to do with proximity to the heat of the exhaust system.

[94Loyale]

Could be, I'm thinking the reason these failed could be from sitting. They must have just ripped, because they really are not making any indication that they are bad. I'm thinking from sitting for a year and a half or so, the boot dry rotted some, and may have ripped on the drive home or something. I just picked this unit up last friday. Maybe it's early enough that I can get away with regreasing and rebooting. I'll check for any metal shards coming out of the boot. Thanks guys!