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Guys, what's the avg life of the factory CV axles?

I know they are bad (or at least the right for sure) because when I make a hard right turn at low, speed, ie a 90 degree turn, I can hear a popping noise. Plus the boots are cracked and the grease is gone.

Would have been nice if my tire shop was checking the boots. Hell would have been nice if I myself was checking the boots. Too little too late.

Anyway, is 150000 reasonable life out of a set of axles?

Also, shop is telling me about 3 hours labor to do both sides. Sound right to you guys? That's what their Chiltons Estimator Software said.

Thanks!

I'm sure they have a limited life as does every mechanical component BUT from my experience as long as the boots are ripped they don't go bad. Or rather the major reason they fail is because the boot tears and they loose all their grease.

If you catch it soon enough, you can reboot and regrease them.

Thing is, the labor is the biggie. You have to pull them to reboot them, and from what I saw the boots for one axle are around 40 bucks, and a reman'd axle is like 55 from NAPA. So, why not just do the axle and be done with it? That way there is no doubt.

Does anyone know the torque spec for the axle nuts?

Thanks :D

I have heard nothing but bad with reman stuff. I would just go used OEM. We put remember axles on my bros caddy but he only had it like 6 months so I can't speak to their longevity.

My personal preference is a junkyard replacement (most likely to be OEM).

Anything rebuilt for cheap has cheap replacement components and won't last usually.

Matt, I have one decent junkyard nearby and they didn't have anything.

Are the NAPA (Cardone's) okay? I have read a LOT of conflicting stuff about them.

Thanks

My torque spec for axle nuts is to run them down with the impact. Dont know how everyone else feels?

Try car-part.com otherwise make sure the axle you get has a lifetime warranty in case it does fail again.

Get OEM. Usually aftermarket axles aren't balanced and that's where people get vibrations soon after installation.

Thanks as usual gents

For my 2k, I got one from Napa and it started leaking the grease out and got wobbly after a couple thousand miles. Took it in under lifetime warranty and the second one is still fine after 10k more miles.

As suggested, get the one with lifetime warranty.

I've bought the kits to regrease and reboot the axle while still on the vehicle without removing them - its two halfs you put on and glue together. You gotta be anal about following the install directions but mine were still fine after 2 years when I traded the vehicle in. Must catch it soon though after a rip and have no noise from the axle then you should still be ok.

nailbomb3 wrote:Guys, what's the avg life of the factory CV axles?

I know they are bad (or at least the right for sure) because when I make a hard right turn at low, speed, ie a 90 degree turn, I can hear a popping noise. Plus the boots are cracked and the grease is gone.

Would have been nice if my tire shop was checking the boots. Hell would have been nice if I myself was checking the boots. Too little too late.

Anyway, is 150000 reasonable life out of a set of axles?

Also, shop is telling me about 3 hours labor to do both sides. Sound right to you guys? That's what their Chiltons Estimator Software said.

Thanks!

the C/V axles on my ole '92 lasted 254K miles. I've been told by numerous mechanics/parts people that 100K is the expected life. I'd say you did really good. - BC