MY front drive shafts

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 10:17 am

Cleaning out and regreasing the front drive shaft CV's on the 82 MY Touring wagon is no longer keeping the CV's quiet.
We have had the car since 1998 and the same drive shafts are still in the car.
I am working up to replacing the shafts but wondered if anyone knew if the drive shaft splines are the same for all MY's/Brumby's for all the year models.
There are heaps for sale on everything from Ebay to Gumtree and a variety of spares places.
I know I could take a front brake disc off and count the splines but I don't feel like pulling a drive shaft out to count the splines on the engine side.
Likewise I don't want to buy a set of shafts, pull the old ones out and find the new ones don't fit.
Is there anything else I need to be aware of regarding the selection and buying of front drive shafts ?

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 11:40 am

As far as I know they're all the same across all years for the MY's. Be warned though, the ones you see on ebay and even the ones you might buy at the local parts joint are all mostly garbage. They all use a tripod bearing setup on the inner joints which just does not work in these old Subies. Ask me how I know, I spent lots and lots of money chasing CV noises with brand new shafts, changing gearboxes, hubs etc only to find it was the new shafts themselves with their tripod inners clicking and grinding away. Also on the inner joints the cheap ones have no allowance for the steering shaft on one side, so the boot rubs on it straight away and will split in a matter of weeks!

Best thing you can do is find some re-built Subaru drive shafts that have 6 bearings on the inner joints. Or even better if your old ones have 6 bearing inners, get them professionally rebuilt. These ones also have a smaller rib on the boot to clear the steering shaft. I think the real Subaru ones have raised ribs on the inner joints cup for identification. If you have a dedicated CV and drive shaft shop near you go to them, the one I went to knew all about my problems and sorted me out over night!

Nubaru · Post by **Nubaru** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 1:54 pm

do repco still offer five year warranty on CSA110 CvShaftAssembly ? Unless you have something odd, that shaft fits all 4WD MY wagons, 4WD MY sedans (NZ) and Brumbies with EA81 4 speed. No idea on auto 4WD though

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 9:38 pm

Rebuilt CVs have been recommended a few times on here

coxy · Post by **coxy** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 7:21 pm

Best place I have found is Turner Driveshafts on Sydneys Northside been doing them for years and all the Mechanics I actually trust only use them.

Seems they got onto ther OE suppliers in Germany, Italy Japan and Korea decades ago so they rebuild them with New OE quality CV's.

The ones in My Brumby were who knows how old Turner Driveshafts when I got it and they are still regrease and rebootable after I put on another 200k, Chinese junk off Ebay will not last like that I hope they are still keeping up the quality havent heard otherwise.

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:32 pm

Thanks everyone for your input.
I will get around to drive shafts when I can.

JP147 · Post by **JP147** » Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:28 pm

Auto-Force driveshafts are OEM spec and probably the best option. You can get them from Sprint auto parts. Don't bother with Protex or anything else with a tripod joint.
And personally I have found rebuilds to be the worst (started clicking after a few months and the boot wasn't even torn), but experiences will vary. I might rebuilt some myself next time but I wouldn't go buy some, they cost almost as much as new.