CV Axel

I rebooted my drivers side about 9 months ago, and I was checking my tire pressure last week an noticed grease flung all over. My inner boot tore almost 1/4 of the way around the clamp nearest the tire. I am looking at a napa replacement because I am afraid to much contamination has gotten into the bearing. Do any of you all have a brand you would recommend over NAPA? Its a daily driver so no offroading. The make model noted above in my profile. Auto locking 4x4. Thanks for any advice. I hate having to get rid of the original as they are 2nd to none.

 

You could try CVJ reman axles
Not really cheap tho, but can return yours for a partial refund (core charge)

 

Wheeeeeew expensive for sure 266 + 186$ refunded IF they accept your core. Shipping cost on those is gonna be high as well. Its certainly a option and thanks for the info. Have you used them yourself?

 

Unless you've been doing multiple deep muddy water crossings, I wouldn't worry to much about contamination. I've run many thousand of miles with a torn boot. And know of many others who've done the same.

My advice is to find a used OEM axle to have as a spare for these types of situations rather than going with any aftermarket axles. I've found them on Craigslist, auto wrecking yars and on here in B/S/T part out threads. The going price forr a good used axle is in the $60-$80 range for a pair.

A question I would ask is, why did the boot tear in the first place. Are you running any lift? How much lift do you have in the front?

 

I have no lift and the boot probably just aged out. I had a small tear in drivers side amd rebooted it as I said and just didnt catch the tear in the passenger until last week. I live on a gravel driveway an farm so the gravel during rain etc I am afraid got into it. I could take it off try an clean it good an reboot it I suppose. Its just a pain in the ass but I did it before. Just hate to reboot an then find out the damage was done. Last week we had a heavy rain an I hit a puddle probably 6 to 8 inches deep at 45 mph and I am thinking that is when it tore.

 

I run whatever oem reman or napa axles I can get my hands on. When they break, I swap them for under $100 bucks.

I have not run CVJs, but wouldn't even spend the money on them with my setup on 35s with moderate-heavy wheeling. Not worth it for your application IMO.

 

Dealer oem reman if they make them for your year.

Aftermarket store brands are a gamble.

 

Yeah I am leaning towards this thought pattern myself, pop off an pop in sound so much better then rebooting for sure. Thanks for info.

 

NAPA lifetime guarantee, of course them actually honoring that would be a different story. I assume I will need an alignment done too which is another 100$ so money money. Should have rebooted both sides, but shoulda coulda, woulda made me a billionaire.

 

An alignment after swapping axles is not required.

 

Ahhhhhh I was mistaken then an that is good news to my ears!! Thanks!

 

I would do what Mike suggested. Buy a used oem axel and save it for a rainy day(like now). Then clean up your old axel, use valvoline Synpower grease with moly, and reboot it. All you would need is a vice, a banding tool, and grease. I know people who use Zip-ties for the smaller diameter boot ends. They help to not make the boot torque twist.

 

I’m using them right now, but I cannot tell you much about longevity etc, since I just started using them two weeks ago

 

Reboot yours with OEM boots and keep chugging along.

/thread

 

I've taken both my axles to a local shop that specializes in CV axles. They only charge about $25 to put a new boot on and about $60 to rebuild the axle. They get it done in usually a couple hours. Totally worth it to me, but sometimes I have more money than time.

 

This is a great option. Axle shops that do them daily can spot issues, and rebuild accordingly.

 

+1 to just rebooting them. I rarely see an axle go bad other than boots ripping. Just make sure to really clean the axle out with brake clean.