Aftermarket donor CVs?

[suttonb3]

Hey guys,

I'm assembling my axles and I've hit a snag. The Factory Five supplied axles slide right into the rear outer CVs, but they're not even close to working on the inner side. The "tri-lobe" from my 2006 WRX donor has fewer teeth. I'm hoping one of you keen-eyed knowledgeable types will be able to look at these pics and tell me how I've made an easily-corrected mistake, but I'm afraid that at some point in my donor's 142K mile life it's had aftermarket CVs put in. I've double checked the inventory list and it appears that these are the correct axles for my 2006 WRX donor. Any advice or even guesses are appreciated!

[RM1SepEx]

I found that my "new" axles were wrong, I bought rebuilts from NAPA and they were correct... many have had problems, you need OEM splines. I was told NAPA only used OEM splines but others have had issues. good luck, it can be a crap shoot

[Hindsight]

I havent got to that point so cant confirm pics but if you end up needing new joints, "Febest" brand is cheap and good quality.

[Buzz Skyline]

One of my axles was a replacement, and the CV joint wouldn't work because it had the wrong spline count. So I bought a new replacement axle from Advance Auto - it had the wrong spline count as well. Then I bought a re-manufactured one from Napa - it also had the wrong spline count. Finally, I found one on Ebay from a wrecked '02 WRX sedan. It was green, indicating it was an original piece with the correct spline count - that one worked. I recommend only buying ones you can see in advance that are green, original parts, not the supposedly OEM pieces available most places.

[freds]

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?11112-Internal-CV-Spline-Mismatch

This thread chronicles the start to finish of the axle investigation

fred

[suttonb3]

Well Fred, now you're my friend because search was not. I guess I should have specified that I looked without luck before taking the time to create a post. Thank you all for your input.

[freds]

You are welcome. We have all benefited from forum help, and yes, the search function on the forum isn't the best.

fred

[C.Plavan]

That was the most frustrating part of the build. "CV Roulette" is what I called it. I probably went through 6 CV's until I got 2 winners.

I think someone should start a business of just supplying the axles already built.

[freds]

That was the most frustrating part of the build. "CV Roulette" is what I called it. I probably went through 6 CV's until I got 2 winners.

I think someone should start a business of just supplying the axles already built.

Good term for that.

I reluctantly, and with great frustration, also played "CV roulette"....became quite skilled at dismantling them ....another, probably useless, skill!

fred

[suttonb3]

Just to follow up, I bought remanufactured CVs from NAPA and they were the correct spline count on the first try. I guess that's where I would start if I ran into the same problem again.

[john g]

My WRX donor came with three replacement axles. After wasting money with rebuilt units from Advance, I bought two inner front joints from Febest and an outer rear from Ebay. The Febest joints fit well and appear to be good quality. I would recommend them.

John

[NBinSD]

I used febest as well. Same spline count and about $50-60 on amazon.

[Pearldrummer7]

That was the most frustrating part of the build. "CV Roulette" is what I called it. I probably went through 6 CV's until I got 2 winners.

I think someone should start a business of just supplying the axles already built.

Yup, same.

Ebay was my friend in terms of used CV joints.

[JJFlanagan]

I bought eight, four from Advance and four from NAPA to get a workable set very expensive lesson hope this helps

[C.Plavan]

I bought eight, four from Advance and four from NAPA to get a workable set very expensive lesson hope this helps

It's easier and cheaper in the long run to buy replacement insides CV's ebay/amazon.com (I found the right spline count), but then after a bunch of failures of buying CV's for the outer, I just bought the correct outer Subaru one. less of a headache than "CV Roulette".

FFR really just needs to include them in a kit.