CV axle advice

I'm replacing my CV axles in my 97 taco. 317000 miles. I'd say they did the job. I have 2 questions. 1. What would be the best to clean all the grease that got flung around? 2. Are Carquest or MasterPro good replacements for brands?

Thanks in advance for your advise.

Surprisingly these are pretty easy to take out.

 

Those are both good brands for 'normal' use, and by that I mean on a stock truck that doesn't do any crazy offroading. If you have a lift on your truck and like to play on the rocks then you're going to want to go with OEM axles or a couple aftermarket upgraded options that are considerably more expensive.

The nice thing about the cheaper auto parts store axles is that they come with a lifetime warranty so if they do fail, you can get them replaced no questions asked usually.

 

Then again, what good does a "lifetime" warranty do if an axle breaks up some god-forsaken dirt trail that starts 50 miles from the nearest town???

Don't get me started on "lifetime" warranties. The warranty stops when the equipment warranted is used off of the pavement, or when the company selling the equipment changes its name or goes out of business, or when the buyer sells the car/truck, or when the merchandiser just decides he's not going to honor the warranty, or... a million other reasons/excuses.

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Is the axel busted or just riped boot?

If the boot is the only thing bad you can just replace that.

 

^ What he said. Unless they are worn beyond use, I'd just put new boots on.

 

Both axles have 317k on them. I figure replace and start fresh.

 

I hate the mess and the axles are so inexpensive now. Replace axles.

 

Good choice, I'd do the same.

 

Pressure washer a option??

If not the cheapest spray on de greaser you can find and the hose or buckets of water

 

Who cares if they have 317K on them. I'd reboot them and keep your OEM axles for longer. If you're dead set on replacing them, I'd go with the Napa Lifetime ones. Many guys run them and beat on them off-road with good results.

 

Thanks guys.

 

NAPA lifetime axles are great.

I used to reboot, but it's a HUGE pain with the giant snap ring. Lots of wrestling and cussing involved, use of special tools, etc. I now only use NAPA axles. Way easier than rebooting. I've wheeled with the NAPA axles on 33s (open front diff) and they're just fine, and the boots actually hold up better than OEM, by a long shot.

 

If you have OEM shafts and the boots are not ripped I would just reboot them and keep OEM.
I’ve rebooted mine once with OEM boots and shafts are still doing fine at 575,000.
You could take the shafts off and have someone install the boots if needed if the
clips are an issue

 

I've never had an issue exchanging broken CVs for new ones using the lifetime warranty...they do it no questions asked as long as you bring in the broken axle to exchange for the new one.

And you should always carrry one or two spare CV axles on the trail...I never wheel without my tools, hi lift jack and spare axles. I end up loaning them out to others that 'forget' to bring theirs more often than I actually use them myself actually...but that's another discussion topic. Swapped one CV out on my truck on the trail before and it's not that difficult to do. Bring the broken one to the shop you bought it from with the warranty and replace with a new one to take as a spare on the next trip.

 

I use Napa new lifetime shafts. I’ve never had an issue with them. One has been on 10 years and the other about 6 months. There is no core charge either so you can reboot factory shafts. The last Napa shaft cost me 70$. That’s hard to beat.

 

Is it the boot or are the axles actually breaking for people?

 

If you use an aftermarket axle do not give them your Toyota axles as a core.
https://www.cvjreman.com/ has a great reputation for rebuilding toyota acles, you can even get hi flex boots. The catch is they require Toyota axles as cores. they will not take aftermarket junk.
I was going to get aftermarket axles but after reading bad review and bad story after another, I decided to stay Toyota. I use the 4x4 often, I need all the articulation I can get and the dependability of the 4x4 when I need it most.

One day I will do the locker mod but I want to keep my ABS (switched) I just dont have the cash for all the parts or the time for the machine shop to do the press work.

 

I've ripped 2 boots and broken one axle. When the axle broke, it was the inner joint that blew up and wobbled around. And that was an OEM axle (a used one, though).

All 3 times I just replaced the axle, axles are cheap these days and easy to replace rather than dealing with the mess and hassle of rebooting them.

 

CVJ's are overrated for the price, people still tear their "high angle" boots (aka porsche 930) frequently. Not worth it.

 

That's why you buy a couple of them. Keep one as a spare, or reboot your OEM one as a spare. You should keep a spare CV on board even if you'e running OEM CVs.

No one asks for a GPS track history of where you drove since you purchased it, so all you really need to do is bring your CV in and they'll give you a new one. Maybe just don't tag the store in an IG post about snapping it on the Rubicon.

I can see where your fears come from but it's just not really a thing you hear (at least *I* have heard) about actually happening very often, if at all. Napa and Carquest aren't exactly going anywhere and they have excellent reputations for honoring their warranties.

Unless you're buying your CVs or other car parts from some discount Ebay seller, it's just not something that's likely to happen.