Subie CV joints

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My buddy's 2003 Forester needs new front CV joints. He's getting an estimate from our trusted local independent, and I'm looking into doing it ourselves. I have air tools and have done just about every other front-end and suspension job, struts, bushings, ball joints, end links, etc., just never had to do CV joints before. Looking for tips, tricks, suggestions.

Any recommended brand of CV joint? (Will avoid Cardone on principal)

Any special tools we would need to get, might want to get, can easily avoid getting?

Any other job we should do while we're in there?

It's not a foregone conclusion we'll do the job ourselves. If the estimate comes in at an affordable level, we'll let the pro do it.
 
New aftermarket CVs are typically the wrong length which can result in issues. So get reman ones. I haven't had an issue with reman ones from Napa.
 
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.
 
I own a 2001 forester with approximately 400K miles. A friend of mine is the head mechanic at the local subaru dealership and did all of my axles on his lunchbreak approximately 120K miles ago. At that particular time he said that the axles with the fewest comebacks were the Driveworks. This was probably 7 years ago and all the axles are still in great shape and make no noise. If you do it yourself dont forget to mark the eccentric bolt or you will have to get an alignment.
 
Does Raxles do rebuilds for your car?

Otherwise, get any Cardone reman (even though you;re against them). Cardone's reman A1 Cardone axles use OE cores. Most rebuilt axles are Cardone, so just get the best price with a lifetime warranty.

Even the "Subaru" dealer axles are rebuilt by Cardone.
 
Talked to the owner again, he's looking to coax the car along for just another year, so NAPA ReMan's are what we are looking at. He'll take his time making a decision, so I'll update this thread whenever that happens.

Thanks to everyone, especially Trav for the details (and the naughty language!).
 
Estimate is in at about $400, 200 parts/200 labor. Quite reasonable, but we can still save a lot on doing it ourselves, and it looks like we just might.

I'm having trouble finding Driveworks axles. It seems to be an Advance Auto brand they no longer carry? Any links? Or just who sells them?
 
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