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shazapple
11-17-2006, 10:02 PM
Im trying to remove the front left axle out of my BD. I read the DIY about removing them, and I even have the subaru FSM. It wont compress enough for me to remove it. Ive tried having the suspension compressed, uncompressed, steering turned left or right. ive even tried the damn axle puller but it just wont go.

The same thing happened with my friends impreza. We tried everythign but luckily we were pulling the transmission anyway so they fell off when that was pulled back.

Any other tips or tricks for this?

ivwarrior
11-17-2006, 10:19 PM
What all do you have loose/disasembled?

I always remove the bolt from the sway bar endlink, so the control arm is easier to move around, and pop the spindle loose from the ball joint, so I can pull the strut/spindle out far enough to get the axle out of it, then pull it from the transmission end.

shazapple
11-17-2006, 10:56 PM
I took off the steering arm, but now that wont go back on because the thread is being a bitch and the pin broke off inside the bolt. I dont know what im going to do about that...

I had the 3 bolts off the tophat to lower the whole suspension but that didnt work. I have the bolt off the swaybar too.

I cant get the pin out of the 19mm bolt on the bottom of the A arm. The only other thing i can do is to take the two strut bolts off and hope I can make some good marks to get my alignment back.

I dont know what you mean by 'pop the spindle loose from the ball joint'

shazapple
11-17-2006, 11:07 PM
do you mean remove the 14mm bolt, like in this picture?
http://www.revo1.com/subbiebearing/images/IMG_8303.jpg

ivwarrior
11-17-2006, 11:27 PM
Your picture is what I was referring to. I usually take the 19mm off, and completely seperate the the two pieces. If you can't get that one off, you can do the same thing by taking out the 14mm bolt, but it's usually a little easier from the 19mm one.

You're going to need to get a small punch or something an get that broken pin out, too. Either that, or replace the part.

shazapple
11-18-2006, 12:07 AM
Well, i took the 14mm out and nothing. I give up for tonight.

Lots of work and fuck all to show for it. I hate axles.

How do I get the pin out of the 19mm bolt?

SHOfast
11-18-2006, 08:43 AM
If you cannot get the pin out do the following.

Try to knock the pin out with a punch or something else like that.

If that fails drill it. All you need to do is get the ends flush to the threads so you do not need to go all the way through, yet.

xcntrk75
11-18-2006, 09:33 AM
Man this is an axle install gone wrong…

As mentioned, you need to remove the knuckle one way or the other to allow it enough room to swing out of the way allowing the axle to compress and clear the hub. You can either remove the 14mm ball-joint “stay” bolt then remove the knuckle from the joint (which is supposed to stay in place).

Don’t worry, I never do it that way either, since you already moved the strut around you’re obviously not concerned about alignment. That said, just pull the two 19mm bolts holding the strut to the knuckle. This will allow the entire knuckle/control-arm to swing down allowing enough room to pull the axle out. Note you’ll also have to remove the sway-bar endlink bolt, and ABS sensor. Pay attention to the camber adjustment bolt which occupies the top bolt hole of the strut/knuckle. Upon reassembly you’ll have to readjust your camber for that wheel by hand ;) This is how I do it every time and have it down to about 20 minutes a side. Of course I dial-in maximum camber so it makes it easy... :cool:

xcntrk75
11-18-2006, 09:40 AM
Oh yeah, don’t worry about the cotter-pin and castle nut (proper terminology there). Just don’t damage the castle nut while attempting to remove any pins. Since you’ve already foobar’ed a couple pins, just stroll on down to Home-Depot or Lowes, in the hardware section, usually in the steel-drawer cabinets are replacement cotter pins. Just find one that should fit, jam it in there, and bend it around so it can’t back out.

On my Jeeps, I’ve even gone as far as using coat-hanger to hold me over until I obtained “actual” cotter-pins…

Note that by removed the strut from knuckle as I recommend above, you don’t mess with any of these ball-joints, steering knuckles, etc… Just your alignment…

shazapple
11-18-2006, 05:28 PM
Well I drilled out the broken cotter pin on the steering arm. Then I had to use a vicegrip to keep the bolt still while I put it all back together.

I took off the two strut bolts (and was sure to mark them) and voila the axle was out.

Now I didnt listen to everyone else (which I should have) and just bought the boot. It wasnt that bad, but in the future im just buying a whole new axle. At least I got to see what a CV joint looks like.

reassembly went much better, except I broke the bolt on the ABS sensor :evil:

My suggestion to anyone who is going to do this in a rusty enviroment, go straight for the two strut bolts, dont bother with any of the other techniques cause they just wont work. its not that hard to figure out how the camber works, and pretty easy to reset it.

voorhees
11-18-2006, 09:10 PM
Guy is such a douche! I was in Portland on the 6th when the show got cancelled.
Then I just went to MSG on the 10th instead, 5hr drive was worth it!