OE CVs or aftermarket?

Hey all!
New to this side of the forums. Been reaping the benefits of all the knowledge on here for years and finally decided to get involved.

My taco was in need of new CVs so I decided to drop some money on a set of axles from CVJ in Denver. Before I hit the no turning back button I studied their "how to ID toyota axles" section because I wanted to get my core deposit back. After comparing what they have on their site to my axles I was dead sure mine were indeed oe. So, I called them and asked what the best way to send them back and the guy suggested I send a picture of them just to be sure they were actually toyota axles before I wasted my money shipping them (sounds like it happens a lot). I sent pictures and sure enough he said they weren't toyota axles because the boots didn't look the same and they weren't EXACTLY the same. I told him when I went to buy the truck 3 years ago the boots were torn and I had the dealership put on new boots before I would buy it. He still thinks they arent toyota but doesn't sound 100% convinced

So, I thought I'd reach out and see what you all thought because the cores are worth $190

Thanks!

 

I’d ask your dealer mechanic if there is an oe marking to identify them.

 

The 2nd gen Tacoma OEM Toyota CV axles I've seen usually have a green or blue sticker on the shaft and use Oetiker clamps for the boots, as pictured below. Your outer seal looks different, than one pictured below, as do the tri-lobal inner housing (even though yours has three flat spots, it's different to me). The guys at CVJ see a lot of CV's and should be considered the experts here, but I would agree with them: The shaft you have pictured is not OEM Toyota.

I hate to speculate, but maybe your dealer just replaced the entire shaft with a cheap parts store brand to pacify you and make the sale. If that's the case, pretty lame on their part.

 

I'd have to agree. Those don't look like OEM axles. Above is the Toyota P/N 43430-04070. Maybe they aren't the appropriate P/N, but those look like equivalents for a different P/N (possibly 43430-60060, 43430-60080, 43430-60081, 43430-600820). No time to look them all up now, but I suspect you have Cardone axles acquired from your local Bob's parts.

 

Well I think the consensus is clear. I'm in agreement that these axles aren't oe now. Bummer. When I inspected the work the dealership had done, I could tell the boots were new but the shafts were still the same. Unless they rebooted a used set they had laying around... I guess I'm not 100% sure what happened. I later found out that they sliced one of the outer boots while installing them. I noticed a clean slice and a little grease escaping about a year after buying the truck.

Anyway, the toy has been leveled with oversized tires so I decided to get cvj axles with oe outer boots and joints. I also pulled the trigger on the red higher angle inner boot. I'm still pretty happy and should get many miles out of them.

Thanks for the quick responses! These forums are such a great tool!

 

Something was nagging at me so I followed your advice and took the axles to the dealership (had to pick up a serp belt anyway). He looked at them and said they look like oe axles but "its really hard to tell anymore". So now I dont know what to do. Spend the 40 to ship them to CVJ and possibly eat the 40 shipping and 190 core if he says they can't use them. Or just eat the 190 and dont send them...

I mean I definitely think CVJ are the experts here

but he has based his decision off of bad pictures...

 

I would think there must be something more definitive than just, “Those don’t look like OEM axles”. There must be some kind of stamping on 1 or the other. Or the width of the cut recess on the inner joint, or something. “Measure this..., or look for this mark, or this stamped number in this location”. Heck, it could even be the amount of bevel on the splined shaft.

 

I agree. JP at CVJ said the shape of the inner joint isn't EXACTLY the same as Toyota. Also, the profile (not sure if that means diameter...) of the center shaft and the boots are indications of an aftermarket axle. I explained that the boots are most likely aftermarket. They were replaced when I bought the truck but the shafts and joints didn't appear to have been replaced because they looked the same after repair.

On the flip side, I was surprised the dealership couldn't tell me definitively either... I was expecting him to look for markings or something but he didn't. He basically said he couldn't really tell.

 

OK, I found the differences. OEM has 3 flat surfaces and 3 concaved surfaces. Yours is round with 3 concaved surfaces. See how the machined ~1/2” recess on yours goes all the way around the round part? On OEM, since it’s flat, the recess skips the middle of that part.

 

Muddinfun, you the man! Thanks for doing research! I was looking around but wasn't satisfied with what I was finding. The CVJ info just says to look for the 3 lobes and the slots on the inner joint. They should mention the lobes should be flat.

 

Glad we got it figured out. Sorry you don't get the $190 back.

 

Ah that's ok. It's my own dumb fault. Should've done more research making sure they were oe before pulling the trigger. I'm sure cvj is a little bummed they dont get a good core to flip as well. I still think they're superior axles and I'm glad I got the higher angle inner boot because my truck was obviously tearing through aftermarket boots. All is well as I learned a lot. Thanks for your help!