Do CV axles have a coating?

When replacing my shocks last weekend, I noticed my cv axle shafts were cracked. When I touched it, it flaked off like it was a coating. Of course it's rusted underneath. Are the oem shafts coated with something or are my cv shafts just rusting apart?

150k miles in the Midwest and now Virginia, so it has seen its share of snow and road salt.

 

Old sticker or over spray

 

I don’t see an issue here

 

There definitely was not a sticker there and I don't think it's overspray because both my axles are in the same condition. It's like some kind of black plastic that's cracking off.

 

Clean with 80 grit, then scotch bride and then a coat of paint and you’ll be solid.

 

Thanks. That's probably what I'll have to do. All of the coating is cracking off so it shouldn't be too hard.

 

Yeah that's rust, fixing it would def be a good thing, but even if you ignore it completely, you have years and years before that much rust on that component begins to pose any issues.

Don't sweat it.

 

Thanks. I better tackle it now before it gets worse.

 

A wire brush, rustoleum rust reformer, and some gloss black spray paint will set you straight.

 

Mine look at least that bad if not a little worse on my '07 with 183k on the clock. I've not touched them, and they're still holding up just fine even with all of the road salt they use around here.

Preventive maintenance would be ideal, but based on my limited experience, it isn't urgent.

 

Pretty certain all the OEM ones are painted....so technically yes...theyre coated. That spot seems like it might have been a sticker though....held the paint together long enough to get some decent rust going.

Maybe look into starting a regiment of Fluid Film to keep it all at bay .

 

Nope. No sticker because I was the one that pulled off the old coating to expose the rust. I use the term "pulled" loosely because it basically came apart when I touched it.

 

that tie rod nut looks rusty and the spring is all banged up

 

Mine are/were exactly like this as well. I think the shafts were painted from factory. FWIW, I did have to replace one axle and the new OEM one I got from the dealership aren't painted at all. Just bare steel except for the boots. So they must have stopped coating them at some point.

 

The actual answer to the question, which I don't think anyone addressed?, is that yes, the axle shafts were painted black. At least my '09 is. And I'm the original owner. And there are PN stickers that wrap around the axle, forming a ring.