Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Depending on how long your buddy is going to keep the Subie, is whether to get aftermarket of OE. If he is keeping the Forester for the long haul, get OE. Also, does the car need the cv joint or the whole shaft? I have seen both listed.
ROCKAUTO has these however, I have no experience with them:
http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=6586020&cc=1411041&jsn=352
I put a pair of these in a Subi 6 months ago, they fit good and appear to be well assembled and run true with no binding or vibration. I cant speak to the longevity or quality of the joints, time will tell.
OP
The Subaru CV axle is very easy to do but there are a couple of things you should know. First you need a long punch, these from HF do the job, they are cheap low quality tools but the punch you need is in the set and this will probably be the only job you need it for.
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/punches/5-piece-long-drive-pin-punch-set-93111.html
Buy new roll pins from Subaru, don't use the ones that come with the axle, you can get away using the old one if its not weakened.
Loosen/remove the axle center nut but before doing anything else [censored] punch the upper knuckle to strut bolt and strut, mark it well and straight as this is a camber adjusting bolt that needs to go back in exactly the same position if you want to avoid an alignment after doing the job.
Remove the 2 bolts from the strut and turn the shaft until you see the
none chamfered hole on the bottom, look at the inner joint and you will notice a hole through it, one hole is perfectly round and on the opposite side it is chamfered.
Use the long punch to hammer it through the top, it will just fall out and down. This is the important part, turn the shaft until the chamfered hole is on the bottom before removing the shaft. Remove the axle.
Start the new roll pin in the shaft off the car just deep enough to hold, you should not feel it protruding inside, too deep and it wont go on. Now put the shaft in aligning the hole in the shaft to hole in the output shaft, you can check it from above with a small screwdriver or similar tool slightly smaller in diameter as the pin.
Once your sure its aligned use the punch to drive the pin in until it is flush on the other side.