How often do you replace your front axles?

bflan2001

Forum Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2015
Messages
8
Location
SF Bay Area
Car Year
2009
Car Model
Forester
Transmission
Auto
I lifted my old 2002 Forester a few years ago and I would go through front axles about every 20-25k miles. I was hoping my '09 would be a little better. I lifted the '09 about 5k miles ago and replaced the axles, tie rods, control arms and ball joints all at the same time. I can already feel the axles wearing out. I went with the factory rebuilt axles instead of new aftermarket. So my question is, for those of you with 2009+ Foresters lifted 2” of more, how long do your axles last? And is there anyone out there producing a decent axle for lifted Subarus??
 
Never replaced axles. The consensus is not to lift over 2".

I have never heard of "upgraded" axles for Subarus.
 
I’m only lifted 2”, same as my old ‘02 and both ate up axles.
 
The only long lasting axles are OEM Subaru ones. Better find some used ones in car demolition yards.
 
Seems lifting 2 inches is a bit of a lottery as to whether or not you wear out your cv’s. No doubt many have had no problems. Probably more to do with where and how often the car is driven than a lottery really. My own car is only an inch or so higher although not when loaded up and I’ve had no problems. It won’t really matter what model you have, the basic design of independent suspension limits your options. Does the car really need to be lifted?
 
I’m sure my driving style doesn’t help, I know I drive it pretty hard and I take it on rough roads. I guess I’ll just have to consider replacing the axles as part of the regular maintenance until someone comes up with something decent. :sad:
 
Driving hard with the steering on full lock or close to it such as when negotiating slippery, rutted mud tracks or just hooning around in the mud causes more wear on CV joints than a 2 inch lift will in normal driving. If you are using full lock frequently, especially under power it will reduce their life.
 
[MENTION=14442]bflan2001[/MENTION] So what are you actually wearing out; CV joints?
 
And is it front, rear or both?
 
bflan2001 said:
I’m sure my driving style doesn’t help, I know I drive it pretty hard and I take it on rough roads. I guess I’ll just have to consider replacing the axles as part of the regular maintenance until someone comes up with something decent. :sad:
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I doubt that more than a couple of people have done in 1 year what I did with my OB after I lifted it 2". So that alone is very unlikely.

How many miles when you put the 2" lift?

I have read on the 4Runner forum that many people who lifted older vehicles had their CVs blow after the boot tears up first. The issue is that the old rubber does not survive the change in angles and tears, taking the axle to the grave, if you do not notice in time.

Is it possible that this is what is going on with the '09?


Other options include going to a total of 1.5" total lift; 1" from spacers and 0.5" from tires. Realistically, 2" is more lift than a Subaru can use in real life. I have 1.5" less front clearance under the 3/16 steel plate of my 4Runner that I had on my lifted OB yet I can get places no Subaru will. On the Outback, the 2" lift helped a bit with the abysmal angles, but a Forester is not so bad, so I would venture a guess that there is very little you gain capability wise at 2.5 vs 1.5 total lift.

Once you have about 9.5" of true undercarriage clearance to skid plates, that issue is very much solved for anything up to mid-range difficult trails. Very difficult and extreme trails are really only for dedicated trail rigs or people who make money off youtube and instragram.

Beyond that, we are talking traction and angles, not undercarriage clearance.
 
If you keep original axles and good quality or better original boots then thete wont be any problem . aftermarkrt stuff wont hold at all.
 
I know with my wrx, I give my axles hell. Launch control 6000 rpm dumping of the clutch repeatedly over a 6 years of competition, and lots of handbrake turns and power out of those turns it must be hundreds of times. And they were second hand to start with. And I still haven’t killed one. It’s possible though unlikely anyone in an off road situation has been harder on cv joints and axles than me. So I see 2 possible explanations. One being the R180 axles are SIGNIFICANTLY stronger than r160 axles. The other being the increased ride height is the problem. In which case the problem is at least fixable
 
Yes it’s the CV joints that wear out, and only on the front axles.

I’m super careful not to drive hard at full lock, I rarely will even hit the locks because I know that can be tough on already stressed axles. These are factory refurbished axles that I installed along with the lift kit, ball joints, control arms and tie rod ends only a few thousand miles ago. They do have a warranty so I guess that’s something, hopefully the next pair lasts longer than 5k.

If I could go back I would definitely go with a smaller lift, but the cost to change it out now is just not worth it. I’m better off swapping axles once or twice a year. I was told I’d be fine at 2” but as you guys have said that’s more of a crapshoot than a sure thing. My approach and departure angles are good, I had a custom rear bumper made and am having a front done in a few weeks.

Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate the advice!
 
Try getting some sti axles, that’s what I use. They should fit your existing hubs, although you need may need to remove the abs ring as it might not be necessary. Then you might need some dumpy axles for the gearbox end.
 
Is it the inner or outer CV joints that are wearing out?

If it's only the outer on the front I fail to see how the 2 inch lift can be to blame. If it was, both inner and outer should wear and the rear should be affected too.

There are plenty of Subarus getting around with a 2 inch lift that don't have problems with CV joints. I suspect that the problem is poor workmanship on the recon job and perhaps faulty CVs before that.

Rather than spend big dollars upgrading to STI axles and CVs I would be more inclined to fit some new genuine OEM CV joints.
 
Beachworm said:
There are plenty of Subarus getting around with a 2 inch lift that don't have problems with CV joints. I suspect that the problem is poor workmanship on the recon job and perhaps faulty CVs before that.

Rather than spend big dollars upgrading to STI axles and CVs I would be more inclined to fit some new genuine OEM CV joints.
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I agree. I would keep trying to identify the primary cause. Try the Heuberger motors Subaru online store in CO, all parts are always 25% off and no tax. That's all I use. I just email them and get an ebay invoice when not sure about the part number.
 
I’ve read that other people have had issues with the reman’ed axles from Subaru, hopefully that’s what happened to me. The rears aren’t an issue because I have the trailing arm spacers so the axles are at stock angles. It’s probably a combination of the lift kit, crappy reman job on the axles, and my slightly aggressive driving.

Just to clarify, I don’t mean that my axles are failing completely. In fact I suspect some people probably experience the same thing but just don’t notice it. The car still drives fine, it just has a very faint clunk once in a while and the tracking issue which is also pretty minor. But after going through 4-5 sets of axles in two different lifted Foresters, I’m pretty sensitive to the symptoms.
 
It's a shame I didn't see this earlier. As you can imagine this is something I get asked on a daily basis

scalman said:
If you keep original axles and good quality or better original boots then thete wont be any problem . aftermarkrt stuff wont hold at all.
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This is spot on! OEM Subaru axles & OEM Subaru CV boots are the only way to go. Don't use aftermarket axles, they simply don't last, this is where you hear of people having issues.

Reman axles in the US apparently are outsourced & I don't recommend them

bflan2001 said:
I’m super careful not to drive hard at full lock, I rarely will even hit the locks because I know that can be tough on already stressed axles
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I'm running 20 year old OEM axles that I've rebooted with OEM CV boots with 2.5" extra CV angles front & 3.5" rear. Still going strong & I abuse the hell out of them!!

If I could go back I would definitely go with a smaller lift
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Not needed. With a healthy car, 2" lift is totally reliable

I was told I’d be fine at 2” but as you guys have said that’s more of a crapshoot than a sure thing.
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There's nothing "lucky" about it. It simply comes down to sticking to a few rules:

1. Use only OEM Subaru axles & OEM Subaru CV boots with quality CV grease
2. Make sure the transmission mounts are in good condition. Worn mounts or loose trans mount bolts are the #2 cause of CV issues
3. If you're still having issues, replace the mounts with HD mounts & HD mount inserts (see photo). This has saved several people I know who had been tearing their hear out with CV issues

The idea behind the mounts & insert is that as the transmission leans to one side under heavy acceleration, esp in 1st gear, it stretches the CV out plus puts it at a bigger angle. This causes vibrations & excessive wear
 

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Thanks for the info, I guess my mistake was assuming OEM reman'ed axles from Subaru would be decent quality. When I saw the warranty I thought 'Oh great, they stand behind their product!' but now I'm realizing that they give the warranty because they have so many axles coming back with issues. I guess I'll just keep running these until they are completely shot and then spend a fortune on new OEM. Lesson learned!
 
Yeah new OEM are shockingly expensive but no need to do that.
Find a set of OEM axles from a low km car at a wrecker (should slide in & out smoothly and have zero free play when twisting back & forth) & get the inner CV boots replaced with OEM Subaru CV boots & quality CV grease. That's what I've done, 20 year old 2nd hand axles still going strong!

The outer CV boots rarely go but check them anyway. The rubber goes hard & brittle with age (this is why original inner boots often crack soon after lifting). If they have 1000s of tiny little cracks, replace the outers too
 
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