1998 Subaru Legacy disconnected driveaxle

JMAYBRAY

MEMBER
1998 SUBARU LEGACY

1998 Subaru Legacy 4 cyl All Wheel Drive Automatic

I was changing the balljoint on the right side of my '98 Legacy Outback. When the balljoint came out of the control arm it caused the driveaxle to pull out of the differential. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that instead of the driveaxle having a splined shaft that goes into the differential like my previous car, the shaft goes over a splined shaft sticking out of the differential and is held in place with a spring pin. Unfortunately the axle was still connected to the shaft with the pin and it was the shaft itself that pulled out of the differential. Is this as bad as it seems? Is it something I can fix or is my differential shot? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

2 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Hi JMaybray,

Thank you for the donation.

If item # 14 has been dislodged, it is not a major problrm. It is held in place by a C clip as with other models. Only difference is that it has an additional extended part.

Check the C clip condition and replace it if necessary. Reinsert the shaft into the differential and ensure it clicks in securely so that the C clip is seated correctly.