steeze

iTrader: (12)

Hey everyone,

So I most likely will need to replace my front passenger side axle since it's making a clicking sort of noise(kinda like spinning the wheel on wheel of fortune).

I looked at Kragen-O'Rielly's website and under the axles they have for sale, there are two types, a brand new "Masterpro Select CV" and a re-manufactured "Master Select CV" which, under the description, says it's supposed to be stronger than a brand new unit because it strengthened the weak points of the axle...?

the brand new one is 65.99 and the re-manufactured one is 72.99

Also, they have two lengths, a 681mm and a 693mm length. Which one is for the 2003 wrx sedan? I'm thinking the longer length is for the sedan?

And lastly, any tips on making it easier to replace the axle?

DemonPossessed

iTrader: (13)

I would never put kragen-orielly's axles on my car....
you should look around and ask people on i-club if they have a female style axles for your bugeye for sale. Or call the dealership for one.
tips for making it ?.... make sure you buy a new axle nut(and stake it down), have a punch to knock out the pin(and don't lose it)

JelloChex

iTrader: (6)

I got a brand new axle from Monument Car Parts for I believe it was around $75-$90. They had not had a single return on them since using the brand and it's been perfectly fine in my car for the past year or so. I'd recommend contacting them.

steeze

iTrader: (12)

See, that's what everyone says. But I'm not going to be hardcore tracking my car or anything of that sort. It's going to be my daily driver and I can't afford the $300 axles that Subaru sells...

My car is pretty much stock in terms of engine/suspension except for a Cobb Catback. I might go stage2 this summer, but I might not.

Flukewrx said his has been holding up fine. I remember reading on Nasioc that Turninconcepts hasn't had much trouble tracking their car with remanufactured axles though.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2019936

Unit 91

Subaru remans aren't $300. Sure, they aren't super cheap, but they have a good warranty and Subaru endorses them. Never had issues with them either.

CharT

iTrader: (3)

I used a Kragen axle in my 03 wagon, also passenger side. It won't stop making clunking noises. Other than that, it's worked fine for the past 3 years. Just makes my car sound like it's falling apart.

If I could do it over, I'd get an OEM Subaru remanfactured axle. I think the reason aftermarkets don't get returns is because it's such a pain in the *** to remove and not worth immobilizing your car to return a $70 part.

JelloChex

iTrader: (6)

Nope, mine never makes any noises or had any issues such as you are describing. It seems like the one you got may be defective in some way though.

It really is not a "pain in the *** to remove" as you described and is actually pretty straight forward if you are mechanically inclined to replace the part yourself.

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

This is the best advice here for the OP. I will re-state to use new wear items (axle nut, and spring pin).

Good for you, but this is unusual. Also, going through the 5x sets of reman front axles we went through on my '91 Justy in 2007, the shop returned the axles to the manufacturer - NOT the parts seller so that makes the number of returns to the store meaningless. This car received a set of OEM Subaru axles in 2008 and the clicking has not returned.

Absolutely, and along those lines in "the old days" when my family was servicing older Subarus, we would favor a used axle from a wrecking yard over a newly NON OEM reman axle. Not sure if that is still the case but I would not be surprised.

It's also "more than just a good idea" to get an alignment afterwards. And yes, it's a bit of a pain in the *** unless you have been training your brain, hands, and game to become an automotive mastermind or something. In the last year I have done a couple timing belt jorbs and swapped my '95 Impreza over to WRX mechanicals and have changed loads of axles. It's more involved than changing brake parts, which is not trivial. Also, you should get an alignment after the job which adds expense/etc.

Your comments are misleading. It's a fairly involved process that if done incorrectly could kill you and/or others. Be careful following advice on the internet. Your mileage may vary. My advice is also worth what you paid for it.

CharT

iTrader: (3)

Let me put it this way, I studied mechanical engineering and consider myself mechanically inclined. I replaced the axle and did it properly. It was a pain in MY *** and I wouldn't go through it again just to jump through hoops in getting a replacement axle that may or may not make the clunking noise. I don't know how much money I saved with the Kragen part over OEM, but I bought it more because it was available that weekend than for the savings.

As with all manufacturing, you run the risk of a defective or non-conforming part. The real question is whether that risk is greater with aftermarket parts given the difference in costs. My experience with the Kragen part is just my experience and I'm merely stating it as that.

FXTbrah

iTrader: (17)

I got horror stories about my aftermarket power steering pump too. Its better to just buy a used or new subaru part than having to do the job 5 times and still getting a bad part which in my case is a whiny power steering pump.

Some people get lucky, unfortunately I wasnt one of them.

JelloChex

iTrader: (6)

You going through 5 sets of axles that didn't work (i.e. what sounds to be a bad or defective batch) is a lot more unusual than me having an axle that worked correctly from the get go.

Yes, OEM included in there with the "risk of defective or non-conforming parts".

I am by no means saying that OEM axles are BAD or that aftermarket axles are SUPERIOR to OEM, but it definitely seems like there are a LOT of people that are putting out almost "Horror Stories" against aftermarket companies axles when I don't see a lot of evidence backing up the claims.

From what I have seen the people that have problems with the aftermarket axles typically have been a higher proportion of race teams and not the typical Daily Driver setup cars. That being said though, they obviously were replacing the OEM axles for a reason as well.

There is a difference between being capable of doing the work yourself and trusting that you actually do quality work. While you may be capable, you may not feel comfortable doing it yourself and may feel far better having someone else do the work for you (and hopefully that person is doing the job correctly). I also never said the OP SHOULD do the work themselves, just that they Potentially COULD do the work themselves. However, just like changing brakes, if you jacked it up of course you could potentially kill yourself and/or others which is the reason to make sure you are doing the job properly.

If you feel better getting an OEM axle (or whatever OEM part for that matter) then by all means do that, but even the OEM manufacturers get changed over time between different vendors.

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

Defective batch? Interesting idea, but even if that made sense it should be obvious that these axles were not all purchased at one time. Also, all of these axles worked correctly from the get go.

I am not relaying a "horror story" rather, I am sharing first-hand actual experience, albeit with a different car. It was an ACTUAL pain in the *** to get this car to/from the shop every time the axles started clicking again (500-1000miles). Each set and the labor was covered under the shop's warranty but I would have preferred the problem be fixed the first or at least the second time.

I cannot speak to what percentages fail out in the field and race teams vs daily drivers. Also, this particular Justy was not a track car - occasional daily driver. This car currently has almost 20k miles on the OEM axles that were installed in 2008. It now is a daily driver that gets driven through SF like a rally car by it's new owner.

Incidentally, and maybe Unit 91 can confirm this, those axles were the LAST set of new Justy axles from Subaru. You cannot get them anymore. Now, Justy owners are hoarding used OEM axles.

See above. See also other posts in this thread. At this point the OP hopefully has enough info to make their own decision.

steeze

iTrader: (12)

I looked online at subarugenuineparts.com and they list it as $315..Is that different from what you talked about? Subaru remans are different from brand new subaru axles?

sent you a pm btw!

Thanks everyone for their responses, I also wanted to ask, 02-04wrx sedan axles are interchangeable? I found a used axle with 70k miles on craigslist for $50 but it is from an 04 wrx sedan.

On another note, I took a look at masterpro cv axle(the one you buy from kragen) and it comes with a new axle nut and pin if anybody was wondering. I looked online at NAPA and the axle they sell there also has a green cover like the OEM part. I'm assuming that is just a coincidence right?

Gancherov

iTrader: (13)

I think you did the search wrong. When I searched for 03 subaru impreza axles i got this result: LINK

Your options are Master Pro CV or Master Pro Select CV. The Select series (sedan part #SB8014, wagon #SB8011) is new parts while the regular MasterProCV is remanufactured parts (sedan#60-7280 wagon#60-7259).

The new ones cost $10 more but there is no core charge. The new ones are a little bit thicker through the length of the shaft, have burlier CV boots, and slightly different clamps holding the boots in place.

The general consensus with the rally folks at DirtyImpreza is that the ~$60-$90 axles work just fine unless you have a ton of horsepower.

Unit 91

Believe it or not, depending on the year Justy you have there is ONE set of axles in the country brand new.

The part numbers are all active, good numbers also which means that one could actually procure a set if they were willing to wait a while. Granted they aren't even remotely cheap.

steeze, you're probably looking at a brand new axle. With Subaru offering factory remans I see no reason to buy new.