Hi folks, Haven't posted in a long while. '97 Civic EX coupe, 5 spd, 150k miles Normally, I am very fastidious about my maintenance, but I've moved several times in the last year and a half, and I let my maintenance slip as a result. I got under my car last weekend for a MTF change and discovered, to my chagrin, that both outer CV boots are ripped. I've searched the archives and it appears my best bet is to replace the axles, even though I'm not hearing any noise out of the front end. My mechanic wants to order aftermarket (not sure of the manufacturer) for $83/side. I've read good things about raxles.com products, so maybe someone can weight in as to whether it's worth the extra $ to go with them. They are $109/side + $30/pair shipping (= $82 more). Other suggestions? Also, will I lose all my MTF as part of this bargain? thx -patrick
If they're OEM boots, that that takes two years from the first sign of cracking, you know. Neglect has its price. Not necessarily. My suggestion is to attempt to retain the original CV joints if at all possible (if they are original of course). Pull them apart, clean 'em off, and with a bright light and magnifying glass, check for even the tiniest flaw in the balls and races. If none, repack with new grease, install new OEM boots, and forget about them forever. See here for some pics: http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/misc/worn_cv-joint/ Yep. But that's the cheapest of your worries.
I've replaced my original (boot was not torn at the time I changed them) with new Cardone axles from autozone ($90 each shipped). I have been running on them for about a year now without any problems. The only one problem I see is that the axle itself doesn't have a protective coating like the OEM ones have and it is showing some surface rust, but they do have a lifetime warranty so worse case, in 3-4 years I do it again this time just the cost of my time. I'm not sure if it is because I have an auto transmission but when I took out the CV joints no transmission fluid spilled out. It may have been the way I had the car on the lift (and yes I had enough fluid).
So, there *is* a noise in the front, so I'll be replacing both axles. My next question: is an axle, an axle? Or are some better than others? -patrick
HUGE differences in quality. You get what you pay for. NAPA is one of the better sources. But be prepared for noisy axles right out of the box. If you get one of those, you'll need to get it replaced under warranty. Worst case, you may have to go through several axles before finding two that don't make any noise. And don't forget to let some air into the inner boots once the axle is installed. The boot should NOT be puckered or distorted in any way. If it is, it will fail within weeks. OEM shafts are very expensive compared to aftermarket. At this point it's cheaper to install aftermarket and be prepared to do early replacements.
For a car that ten years old, that might not be a great deal: $500 for a single part on a $1500 car. Do that three times over the next few years and you might as well total the car now and go out and buy something else and leave it for the crusher. If you aren't spending somebody else's money, then it makes far more sense to buy from a reputable aftermarket parts outfit such as NAPA. Let the dealer get their rent money for their overpriced property from some other sucker.
