Transaxle leaks in a 2001 Subaru Forester

williamclang

My son has a 2001 Subaru Forester that has a 5 speed manual transmission (transaxle) that is leaking from the drive axles . The question is how difficult is it to change these seals?

cigroller

For a professional mechanic its a fairly routine procedure and not especially complicated.

For an experienced shadetree mechanic with plenty of experience and excellent tools it is doable.

For someone who has to ask - its probably not doable. Its not a job for the timid, nor for someone who doesn't have a bunch of experience and plenty of fairly serious automotive tools. Both halfshafts (axles) have to come out. This generally involves taking apart the steering knuckle (ball joint & tie rod separation, and perhaps the strut). You need jack & jack stands. Air tools are a huge plus. Front end tools - ball joint separator, tie rod puller, sometimes a hub puller...

ok4450

A couple of additional tips.
Those seals are directional so look for an arrow denoting the direction of axle rotation. Installing them on the wrong side could possibly lead to the new ones leaking.

Note the toothed wheels on the side of the transaxle that the seals reside in. Remove the seals with a seal puller. Do NOT remove or loosen those toothed wheels to change the seals as this affects the carrier bearings, sideplay, etc. on the ring/pinion gear assembly. A can of worms can be opened up if those wheels are not put back into the same position they were and it's extremely easy to veer off with these.