Center diff or CV joint??

[therieldeal]

Alright, my car runs and drives fine on dry or wet pavement. No funny sounds, vibrations, nothing. (aside from the rear diff clunking up and down, worn bushings)

We finally got some snow the other day, so I finally got to enjoy the awd and pitch it sideways a couple times around a few corners. On the throttle with partial traction while moving at an angle I get a clicking sound. From my extensive (lol) experience with FWD mazdas/fords it sounds just like a bad cv joint... but I feel like in that case it should make noise with normal driving on dry pavement too?

Is my center diff shot? When I bought this car the only thing the guy had receipts for was a full transmission rebuild. He spent more on that than I paid for the car... could they have screwed it up that badly?

Thanks!

[jey]

Auto or manual transmission?

Bad CV joints initially only make sounds when the steering wheel is turned quite a bit.

[therieldeal]

manual trans

yes the noise is mainly (only?) when the wheel is turned, but i found it odd that it is only when the wheels are spinning. i can go WOT around sharp corners in the dry, and there is no noise.

[jey]

Are you doing a LOT of spinning? Maybe the speed at which the axle is turning when drifting in the snow is way more than when you are turning on dry pavement.

[therieldeal]

hmmmm thats a possiblity, increased rotational speed at x* steering angle. i'm not taking sweepers completely sideways at highway speeds or anything... generally just 1st or 2nd gear in driveways/lots or deserted roads. no doughnuts or other stupid stuff with the steering at full lock.

i just got the car a couple months ago and it's my first AWD vehicle, so i'm taking it easy. at least what i'd consider easy...

[therieldeal]

alright, i'm fairly certain it is a CV joint - i just need some warm weather and/or a garage so i can get under the car to investigate haha. it's making noise now even even on dry pavement, but only at low speeds and only during left hand turns under power.

i definitely cant think of any reason why the center diff would make noise only turning one direction with full traction, so i guess its time to check for torn boots and loose joints.

thankfully, replacement front axles are only like $50 at the parts store - nice!

[impreza_GC8]

Go to a parking lot and turn your wheel all the way to the left and make tight circles. Listen for the clicking. Its probably your drivers side axle. They are $60 from an auto parts store. You usually have to pay $120 up front, then you get $60 back when you bring your old worn out axle back in.

[jey]

Find a good axle rebuilder. The stuff they sell at Autozone, etc. is garbage! Most people I know have gone through the work replacing the axle with a rebuilt Autozone axle only to discover it's clicks from day 1.

[therieldeal]

i dont think an axle rebuilder is an option... during the winter this is my only car, the other one is packed away in the garage. not to mention the fact that i dont know of any!

i'll buy a brand new GSP brand axle if i can find one. thats what i ran in my escort, they never clicked and they put up with 7200rpm clutch dumps at the drag strip with 24" drag radials :)

i checked quickly last night after work (in the lovely 10* F / -2* windchill weather) and none of the boots appear to be torn. both sides have a little play in the outer joint, neither one is significantly worse than the other though. maybe i should do both?

i was also thinking - how common is a failure of the spider gears in the front diff? i cracked the spider gears in one of my old escorts before, the results were a lot more dramatic and noisy though...

[jonburu]

hi guys just bought first legacy a gt twin turbo 1996, needs cv joints. having problems scourcing correct joint my one is 10mm shorter than any of the replacement ones thus putting extra pressure on shaft when on lock with new joint fitted. total length is 145mm ,85mm from top down to oil seal step. 45 mm cup size ,non abs.80mm approx round bottom off joint. car may have a personal plate but dont know how to find out so could be a later model,new joint is 155mm long standard replacement i have been told. anyone any ideas. helllllp :smt013 :smt023

[therieldeal]

well, i was planning to replace the front CV joints this weekend anyway.... but on my way home tonight the front left/outer completely exploded on me. ballbearings everywhere. at least its not my diff.... hopefully this sucker isn't too hard to replace.

[green97gt]

if youve never done one before, plan an afternoon for it.

try not to mess up the ball joint while your in there...or just replace it.

the hardest part is removing and re installing that little pin.

[therieldeal]

yeah that pin sounds like a pain! it looks like a pretty average axle swap otherwise, but we'll see what kind of snags i run into.

i've changed a snapped axle on my escort in 20 mins before (in the dirt parking lot of the drag strip, between rounds!), but i know that car inside out and upside down. i've yet to do much work on the subaru besides rear brakes, which were a piece of cake.

[jey]

I found it easiest to disconnect the ball joint from the hub instead of the control arm. You can also disconnect the hub from the strut, just make sure you mark things so you don't mess up the alignment. Once you've done it once and are familiar with it it's not bad at all.

[therieldeal]

well it was mostly no problem except for that damn roll pin. i unbolted the strut from the spindle, as the balljoint nut was looking pretty rusty.

back to the roll pin... it came out no problem. on the way back in, i got it all but 1/4" of the way in and it stopped. it seems the hole doesn't quite line up on the far side, no matter what i do! so... i left it like that. the pin fits snugly enough i dont think its going to fall out... but my fingers will be crossed at least for a couple days.

[green97gt]

was it a cheapy parts store axle? ive had that issue with those.

[therieldeal]

its a reman from napa. it was the only one anyone in town had in stock.

what did you do? leave it/deal with it like i did, or exchange it?

[green97gt]

i took the little stub out of the diff when i did mine, and did the seals as well.

so i just pressed the pin in on a bench. it went, not well. in fact, i may have to find another diff stub, if i maul this one getting the pin back out next time i do it.

so i wouldnt recomend that. if it really bugs ya, maybe find a smaller diameter bolt and locknut?

[therieldeal]

that's not a bad idea, i'll see if i can find a bolt at the hardware store that's small enough to fit.

no signs of leakage on the trans, so its not coming apart any farther than it has to lol

[Sarra]

Just for future information for people who search (hahaha, that's a good joke...), if it only does it when you turn one way, then it's a CV. If it does it both ways you turn, it's more likely to be a center diff or coupler.

[decke48]

back to the roll pin... it came out no problem. on the way back in, i got it all but 1/4" of the way in and it stopped. it seems the hole doesn't quite line up on the far side, no matter what i do! so... i left it like that. the pin fits snugly enough i dont think its going to fall out... but my fingers will be crossed at least for a couple days.
subaru axles dont have a exact straight drilled hole for the axle and stub, its has a minor angle. you probally need to rotate the axle 180 degrees for the roll pin to slide threw

[StatGSR]

^ what he said

[Big_Dave]

Did replacing the CV joint fix the problem you had? Did you replace both of just one - i've got a similar problem with my legacy