Subaru XV Crosstrek Axle Replacement

[@alex59248]

Underrated video. I know what im doing and just wanted to make sure there wasnt a speed sensor or something weird, not a subaru guy. All of these tips and advice is so good for anyone who doesnt have the experience, this addresses alot of the pitfalls and mistakes a newbie could make. The only thing i would add is that getting axles out you sometimes have to get creative, i sometimes wrap a rachet strap around the axle and yank on that, sometimes with the other end tied to a sledge hammer a few feet from the car for more momentum kn the tugs

[@elpinchediablo6666]

Great video brother, you just made it that much easier...

[@ztog]

Excellent video. I had the right CV Axle changed yesterday in Toronto on my 2013 XV. CDN$625 including labour and tax.

[@bobhuth]

Awesome vid. Extremely helpful and my question about replacing lost fluid is already in the comments. Ya'll rock!

[@SLOTR32]

Bro thanks so much you make it look so easy.

[@shirtycorndog]

Thanks for the video, very helpful when did you take the axle nut off? Is it better to do be for the 2 strut bolts?

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

It’s the first thing I would do. If you have an impact driver drill, you should get it off right when you jack up the car. If you don’t have an impact driver then you need to have someone step on the brakes and keep the car on park to break that nut free.

[@jetlag410]

Thanks for posting this. I appreciate that, it’s going to be very helpful and shave lots of time off.

[@davidmckinney1789]

Also thanks for the extremely helpful vid. I watched it a couple times before I changed mine out

[@sulin422]

I do cv alxe my 2017 forester Thank you so much save my money and time.

[@briang4225]

thanks man, great video

[@Dark30Outdoors]

Good video. Helped me do mine. Not terribly difficult to do at all.

[@dbear3]

This is life saving content

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Lol.

[@Eastnystunna]

After you loosen your strut bolts how are you able to move it left and right so freely? Mine is hard to move like with tension

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Not sure. It should be able to rotate around without much trouble. Unless your strut mount up top is possible damaged or you live in a “rusty” area. Could have some corrosion of sorts.

[@Eastnystunna]

@HelpingHandAutoRepair the front sway stabilizer is messed up. That was the clicking and clunking noise going over the bump. Apparently that's supposed to get loosened to let it move freely

[@chrisdsean1504]

If you lose some CVT fluid when you pull out the CV joint, do you have to refill it?

[@tylerwhite4111]

Would the process of installing a new axle on a 2014 Crosstrek be the same as a 2012 Sport Premium Impreza?

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Tyler White essentially. About 95% the same

[@victormendez.05]

Awesome! I love videos like these lol. Question did you only have to replace driver side or both? TIA Sucks I just passed my 70k mark and warranty expired at 70k smh. Not sure if it would’ve been covered anyways. O well. DIY it is. Thanks

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Only replaced the driver side on this car.

[@victormendez.05]

@@HelpingHandAutoRepair thanks for the reply. One more question where did you get the parts? Local auto shop? My local autozone and o Reilly don’t carry those parts I guess for my 2018 crosstrek. Subaru dealer or Amazon lol if Amazon feel free to drop your links haha. Thanks again.

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

@@victormendez.05 I believe this customer got it from Amazon. It was an OE Subaru part.

[@zapotlancity]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge, really appreciated

[@NotMe-uf5wj]

So should I bleed the brake line that was removed first then follow regular bleed procedure? I don't want the air to travel thru the system

[@alex59248]

I think your reffering to removing the brake line from the strut if he did that, i dont believe he removed it from the caliper, but if i missed that than yes, just do a quick 5 minute brake bleed and send it

[@rrios23479]

When installing the cv axel, did you need to coat the ends with grease of any kind? If so, is there a specific one?

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

rrios23479 I put a very small amount of wheel bearing grease on the splines purely to help ease them sliding into the hubs. Very small amount

[@rrios23479]

Thank you so much for doing this! Just finished and got done with the test drive.

[@2030michael2030]

with transmition oil

[@agoodjuan]

How'd you know it was time to change?

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Axle clicks when turning hard

[@agoodjuan]

@@HelpingHandAutoRepair hmm my car clicks when going from a complete stop to 5 mph.

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

@@agoodjuan it’s possible that the inner cv joint is bad. You would need to Jack the car up and have a peek around the rubber boots to see if any of them are torn and have been leaking out the grease.

[@ReedParkinson1974]

Very helpful! Thank you!

[@JohnBaker3000]

Nice tutorial! Thank-you very much.

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

JohnBaker3000 You’re very welcome!

[@3kkk514]

Nice video but it is much better if strp by step manually removal of axel.

[@sweatstallion8437]

Do you know the torque values for the strut bolts?

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

I don’t off hand. Google search would probably help you out

[@drewbachinski1599]

The video is brilliant. However I am struggling to get the 2 19mm bolts to match up. It seems the suspension has dropped down a bit. Any idea how I can get the suspension to go up a inch?

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Just push the knuckle down and line them up. Have a friend step on the top of the rotor/knuckle while you get the top bolt in. The heavy the person the better 🙃 just saying.

[@drewbachinski1599]

1 more question if you dont mind. I changed the part and its squealing like bad brakes but it drives. Not installed properly? I felt the lock when I pushed into the transmission

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Like a grinding or scraping sound? Check the metal splash/dust shield that is behind the rotor. Make sure it isn’t rubbing on the rotor.

[@drewbachinski1599]

That's the first thing I checked. It appears ok but when turning i hear a knock or clunk sound

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Check all bolts. Make sure they’re tight

[@flukeofficial]

Did you need to replace the roll pin or the axle nut or can you reuse the original ones?

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Fluke what roll pin? The new axle will come with a new axle nut.

[@flukeofficial]

Never mind. I didn’t realize the axle didn’t have a roll pin. I’m mid repair though and it seems the springs at the top of my strut have decompressed since I unscrewed the hub from the strut. So now I can’t push the hub back up into the strut

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Fluke put a jack under the brake rotor/lower ball joint area. Jack it up to meet the strut.

[@brettw2994]

Where was new CV axle assembly purchased? Aftermarket or OEM? Thanks!

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Brett Wellington This was an OEM Subaru axle purchased online. An aftermarket axle will work just fine as well. This customer had already purchased this axle so that’s what I installed.

[@brettw2994]

Helping Hand Auto Repair - Thanks for replay! Video was very helpful. It’s time for me to change mine and I’m finding out the hardest part of this replacement is making a decision to go OEM ($400) or aftermarket ($100). Again, thank you the video was very helpful!

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Brett W No problem! If it were my car, I would go aftermarket. $400 for a CV axle is insane.

[@brettw2994]

Helping Hand Auto Repair - I’m with you ! $400 hurts! I’ve just read a lot of horror stories with people going aftermarket and the assembly not being up to specs. Complaints of vibration and clicking with new aftermarket assembly. So it’s tough call but def leaning towards aftermarket. Thank you for all your help!

[@alex59248]

@@HelpingHandAutoRepair they are over $500 now, doing this for a customer in about a week.

[@ryantw8132]

Thank you!

[@IvanVargas-uo8hn]

Is this the same for 2015 wrx?

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Ivan Vargas More or less the same. About 90% similar.

[@IvanVargas-uo8hn]

Awesome. Thanks for replying so fast!

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Ivan Vargas you’re welcome. Good luck.

[@drewbachinski1599]

Ok that's alot I'll try that now.

[@kellmurphy1344]

Skipped the only part I needed

[@davidmckinney1789]

Where do replace the lost fluid?

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

David McKinney Sorry I did not mention this as zero fluid came out when I swap this one out. On the passenger side of the car you have to jack up the car and remove the wheel. Looking at the passenger side front axle that enters the front differential there should be a 8mm Allen hex screw slightly up to the left of where the axle enters the diff. You can loosen this fill plug and using a small fluid hand pump (www.google.com/search?q=fluid+hand+pump&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=sivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjknraO6LDYAhUEHGMKHePCAvMQ_AUIEigC&biw=375&bih=553#imgrc=HSTr4bo0Mht_6M:) you want to fill the diff ON LEVEL surface just until some fluid comes running out of the full hole. Reinstall the fill plug and torque it down to 36.9 ft. Lbs. That’s it! You may have to remove a black plastic cover that may be blocking your view of the fill plug but if I recall you should be able to fill the diff without removing it.

[@ifitrocks]

What gear oil do you use?

[@bobomaxable]

@@ifitrocks sorry I don't remember. Traded it in after too many issues

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

Best to consult the dealer or the owners manual for this information.

[@ifitrocks]

@@HelpingHandAutoRepair its the exact same car

[@twrecks4598]

uh.. why are you replacing an axle on a '14 Crosstrek???

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

T Wrecks because it was failing.

[@vs8580]

Because newer Subaru cars (like the XV Crosstrek) front axles shafts and rear wheel bearing hubs go bad frequently. Don't believe the hype (online) Subaru cars are not very reliable, I had rear 2 WB hubs and a left front CV axle go before 70,000 miles. I need to mention the CVT transmission has shuddered with drive train vibrations since new. PZev junk!

[@selvync.9531]

My 2015 only had 30000 miles when it went bad. Very disappointed.

[@gamblinfool777]

@@vs8580 My 2014with 60,000 miles did the same thing - this is my first and last Subaru. I got lured in from all the hype too. Honestly the worst new vehicle purchase I have made to date (I'm 54). Even the dealership technicians that work on them admit it.

[@killfish76]

All my Hondas were the same way with cv axles going bad at around 60k. Replacing these things is just expected with the Japanese cars I have owned, Toyota too.

[@Eastnystunna]

Does this apply to 2019 crosstrek?

[@HelpingHandAutoRepair]

You know I can’t say for certain since the 2019 is a different model (looks wise) but I would imagine the procedure is very similar.

[@Eastnystunna]

Thank you will attempt it today ​@HelpingHandAutoRepair

[@Eastnystunna]

@HelpingHandAutoRepair i tried it and it think I got a messed up part since it was used and it leaked so now it's really bad