"Do not try to seem wise to others." - Epictetus
This post is a follow-up to the previous "Subaru Stinks" post.
So on my only day off, I strolled through the snow out to the shop and turned the thermostat up to 65 degrees and went back into the house to finish a cup of coffee and read the news. After about 30 minutes, I returned to the shop. I drove the plow truck outside and plugged in the engine heater, then pulled the Subie in. It took several minutes to get the shop warmed up again after having the big door open.
The previous time when I had to replace an axle, it was a difficult project, because I screwed up the threads on the ball joint. This time I was much more careful with the cotter pin, used a lot of penetrating oil several times, and was able to get the nut off without boogering up the threads. However, when it came time to get the lower control arm loose from the ball joint shaft, I tore the rubber boot of the ball joint with the pickle fork. So I had to replace the ball joint anyway :(
And, just like last time, it was an absolute nightmare to pull the ball joint out of the socket, due to rust. What is weird is that unlike the last replacement, the new one requires a cotter pin. In the image below you can see the tear I made in the boot, and the rust that helps keep it from sliding out. It's nice to see that the replacement has some paint to hopefully cut down on corrosion.
The axle itself was tough to get at on the inboard side. The catalytic converter is right in the way. It is impossible to reach the spot where you extract the pin from the transmission output shaft. There was no way to get a punch and a hammer in past the interference to drive the roll pin out, so I had to improvise. I cut the tip off a flat-head screwdriver to make a super-long punch. I threaded it between the catalytic converter and one of the exhaust pipes, and was eventually able to drive out the retaining pin. All this while barely being able to see where the pin was located due to all the interference. So... another shit-show.
Below: The roll pin I had to drive out to release the axle shaft from the transmission. This picture was from the previous axle replacement on the other side of the car, where there was room to see it, take a picture, and to work on it.
Anyway, after a long struggle under the car during which I got incredibly greasy, the pin came out, and the axle came free. The extra hundred miles or so that I've put on the car have not been kind to the rubber boot on the CV joint. It's now torn nearly halfway around. I suppose once a tear develops, it spreads pretty quickly. Especially since the speed limit on part of my drive is at 70 MPH.
It was a little bit difficult to get the new axle in, but not as awful as I feared. I put the roll pin halfway into the new axle, then slid it onto the transmission output shaft. I got a long 1/4" socket extension, and put the female end over the roll pin, and drove it in from underneath the exhaust piping. The only difficulty was making sure the holes were aligned when I slid the shaft on. It was really difficult to even see up in there.
After that, things went together pretty smoothly. Once again there are no funny sounds, pulls or rattles, so I guess it turned out OK. Turned down the shop heater and put the truck back indoors. The odor from the car is beginning to fade, so most of that has burned off at this point too.
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