FuZzBoM

HI all, Does anyone know if the WRX wagon and saloon drive shafts are interchangeable?
I know the wagon has a slightly narrower track than the saloon so I was curious if this affects drive shafts also.

I have a Hawkeye WRX wagon that has a weird whirring noise at slow speeds and off the throttle. It also has a slight noise and vibration through the wheel at around 80mph.
Front wheel bearings were done a year or so ago so I don't think they are to blame. Gearbox selects all gears without any issue so I'm thinking it's the drive shafts..
Any thoughts appreciated.

trevsjwood

iTrader: (2)

speaking from an 03 wrx wagon perspective I've just replaced my front driveshfts with STI saloon one's. The Bugeye/blobeye wagon's have narrower tracking than the saloons but this doesn't affect swoppability.
I'm not sure if the later widetrack blobeye's and Hawkeye driveshafts are compatable with yours, if they're not the non-widetrack would be.
Message Matty @MB Developments in cars breaking, traders section and he'll give a direct answer.
I upgraded my front shafts as the cv joint on one was knackered, it was most noticeable when turning as if the car was running over rough ground on that side, didn't detect any noise though.
Trev

FuZzBoM

Thanks for the reply,
From what I have heard they did change the design of the driveshaft’s. On the gearbox end they are now male as opposed to female on the earlier models.
I contacted ICP and they advised their WRX driveshaft’s would fit.

https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/par...y=&searchPart=

And at that cost I think I'd just rather do the whole shaft than mess about doing one of the CV joints only for the other to fail soon after..

As I'm sure you can understand though, I'd rather not shell out £250 for two new shafts if that isn't the cause.
The nearside inner shaft I have noticed has lost some of its grease past the boot. I wonder if it has lost more than I think and is running dry. I might take the boot off over the weekend and inspect it and pack some more grease in there. Even if it reduces the noise a little this may prove my theory and I can order some new shafts.

trevsjwood

iTrader: (2)

I sourced my used sti shafts from matty br, I think they were around a hundred for the pair. I did originally buy a used wrx one off ebay after breaking front shaft at the pod but the replacement was faulty so if going used best to upgrade to sti item.
Trev

BenWRXSEI

This is a very timely thread for me - I somehow missed an advisory last year that my NSF CV boot was weeping grease (d'oh!) and now I'm getting noise from that wheel under cornering.

I'm happy to replace with a drive-shaft as linked above, unless there's a particular reason an STI upgrade is worthwhile? Any particular models I should look for?

Like the OP I have a hawk WRX wagon.

trevsjwood

iTrader: (2)

that's the way to go, the STI one is heavier duty but really not needed.
Trev

FuZzBoM

At the weekend I purchased a new boot kit because I saw some grease around the inner CV joint. Took boot off and what was grease poured out... So I set about changing the boot. Took CV joint to pieces and gave a good clean then re-greased.
Noise has been slightly reduced but not massively.

So, this weekend I plan to do the other side (nearside) and see if this helps at all.
My thinking is if it reduces the noise even slightly I'll order some new shafts.
At £12 for a CV boot kit I thought it was worth a gamble.

I'm running a VF28 with 350lb-ft so maybe STi shafts could be a good idea..... lol

For the record, I got them from Euro Car parts. Blueprint parts so fairly good quality.

BenWRXSEI

Thanks, I suspect you're right. I'm not going to be chasing power so I'll stick with stock.