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New CV axles, what would you do?


erathge
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Time has come to replace my CV axles, I've had a 2" lift and 1" spacer for about two years now and the boots have been torn for a while now. The axles are definitely finished now as during the last few weeks of winter I had nasty clicking sounds coming from the front so rebuilding the current ones myself isn't really an option. I have manual hubs so they are unlocked most of the summer, but stay locked for a fair bit of the winter. So here are my options:

 

1. Remanufactured Cardone CV from NAPA: $130 per side, have a three year warranty

 

2. New Cardone CV from NAPA: $186 per side, have a lifetime warranty

 

3. Order off Rock Auto for $50-70 and take my chances on getting axles that wont fail, returning them for warranty probably wouldn't be an option because shipping to/from Canada is expensive.

 

 

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First, buy them here : http://www.autopartsway.ca/partlist.cfm?Nissan/2000/Pathfinder/SE/3.3L_V6/allB/Driveline_and_Axles/CV_Components/CV_Axle_Shaft/

Shipping will be free and it's cheaper than your options... then

 

you will be faced with the same question in a few months or years depending on how much offroad you do... My boots are still looking like new after many, many years now of offroading and harsh weather... If you need a permanent solution (or lat least a very long one), buy your new half shafts and invest in a set of thermoplastics boots and be done with it... look here : http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/26677-rockford-thermoplastic-cv-boot/

 

If you think about it, you buy a 100$ part really because a 11$ part failed on it.... So for me it's a no brainer.. when I broke an axle last summer, I bought a new one and changed the boots right away.. no more problems..

 

 

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If it was me I would go with the new ones. When you have a truck worth thousands I wouldn't worry about spending an extra $100 to have new one especialy with the use you most get from them during the winter.

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First, buy them here : http://www.autopartsway.ca/partlist.cfm?Nissan/2000/Pathfinder/SE/3.3L_V6/allB/Driveline_and_Axles/CV_Components/CV_Axle_Shaft/

Shipping will be free and it's cheaper than your options... then

 

you will be faced with the same question in a few months or years depending on how much offroad you do... My boots are still looking like new after many, many years now of offroading and harsh weather... If you need a permanent solution (or lat least a very long one), buy your new half shafts and invest in a set of thermoplastics boots and be done with it... look here : http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/26677-rockford-thermoplastic-cv-boot/

 

If you think about it, you buy a 100$ part really because a 11$ part failed on it.... So for me it's a no brainer.. when I broke an axle last summer, I bought a new one and changed the boots right away.. no more problems..

 

 

 

I did what he said with the thermoplastic boots, when i was planning on lifting my rig, but be prepared to make a HUGE mess, i did this rebuild at my buddies place and for a few months we were finding evidence of the work (i.e. GREASE) and when he moved out, we found a bunch more, so this is your warning!!! :laugh:

-Kyle

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First, buy them here : http://www.autopartsway.ca/partlist.cfm?Nissan/2000/Pathfinder/SE/3.3L_V6/allB/Driveline_and_Axles/CV_Components/CV_Axle_Shaft/

Shipping will be free and it's cheaper than your options... then

 

you will be faced with the same question in a few months or years depending on how much offroad you do... My boots are still looking like new after many, many years now of offroading and harsh weather... If you need a permanent solution (or lat least a very long one), buy your new half shafts and invest in a set of thermoplastics boots and be done with it... look here : http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/26677-rockford-thermoplastic-cv-boot/

 

If you think about it, you buy a 100$ part really because a 11$ part failed on it.... So for me it's a no brainer.. when I broke an axle last summer, I bought a new one and changed the boots right away.. no more problems..

 

 

 

Thanks for the info. Are you taking new nissan ones or the new Cardone ones that I can get locally and swap the boots? Last I checked Nissan wanted over $500 per shaft and the closest dealership is a three hour drive.

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Thanks for the info. Are you taking new nissan ones or the new Cardone ones that I can get locally and swap the boots? Last I checked Nissan wanted over $500 per shaft and the closest dealership is a three hour drive.

 

I took the ones I bought at autopartsway.ca and changed the boots. New nissan ones are not worth the $$ they ask... I have a project going on to build a superstrong half-shaft based on the pro4 race trucks... but that's another story...

 

Also, the procedure of changing the boot is not as messy as kyle is saying... just be prepared with a bucket of paint thinner and a roll of shop rags... take your time and it will be fine..

 

S.

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I too had to do this recently. I got two new half shafts from OReilly parts, one was fine but the passenger side was binding pretty bad. I ended up getting the boot kit from NAPA and rebuilding one of my old axles. Also have 2" AC lift + 1" spacer.

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I too had to do this recently. I got two new half shafts from OReilly parts, one was fine but the passenger side was binding pretty bad. I ended up getting the boot kit from NAPA and rebuilding one of my old axles. Also have 2" AC lift + 1" spacer.

Pretty much my experience .

I bought new from Rockauto and had binding on the passenger side , changed that one out to a rebuilt Napa and most of the binding went away .

My AC coils and spacers were also new , and I still got binding if I stepped on it in the snow .

 

My coils seem to have settled now after 4000+ miles , the topping out went away unless it's a pretty big hole and when I goose it in mud there's no binding now .

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That depends on who makes Autozone's axles for them. If it's their real chappy stuff, that lifetime warranty will be used just about every other weekend and if you were to pay yourself for labor - that $60 axle becomes a $1,000 axle pretty quickly. Always something to think about when going cheap. Is it worth replacing the cheap part over and over, or pay more and do it once.

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Take me twenty minutes to swap one out. Ran all this last season on 35s and locked in the front. No slop in it still. If I replaced them once a year it's worth it.

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Take me twenty minutes to swap one out. Ran all this last season on 35s and locked in the front. No slop in it still. If I replaced them once a year it's worth it.

I know it's off topic but I wanted to compliment you on your location!

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Don't buy the cardone new CV shafts!! They suck! I bought a set for my wd21 (who cares, they're almost the same) and I got an awful vibration that felt like my driveshaft was bent up front. Turns out those cvs are junk for anything but a stock height truck.

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After some thought, I THINK what I'm going to do is purchase the remanufactured ones with the three year warranty. Replacing the axles seem like a pretty straightforward job and a three year warranty should be long enough for me. I'll probably only have the truck another 2-3 years the way the rust has been creeping up on me. :(

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In my honest and humble opinion, I wouldn't buy anything other than NAPA lifetime warranty joints. I run a pretty aggressive front IFS setup. low profile bump stops, 1" balljoint spacers, and about 3.5" front suspension lift from torsion bar cranking and i have been on the same NAPA lifetime CV joints the entire time ive owned my truck, which if you check the forum archives is a while now. I have never had one break and the boots are still in great shape. They are some of the most expensive, but they are also by far the best and they allow much more suspension travel without binding than any other joint ive seen.

 

It really depends on how much you drive/wheel your rig but if it's an offroad truck I would definitely suggest napa lifetime joint ONLY. You can't argue with 5 years of daily driving/wheeling service running aggressive angles!

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In my honest and humble opinion, I wouldn't buy anything other than NAPA lifetime warranty joints. I run a pretty aggressive front IFS setup. low profile bump stops, 1" balljoint spacers, and about 3.5" front suspension lift from torsion bar cranking and i have been on the same NAPA lifetime CV joints the entire time ive owned my truck, which if you check the forum archives is a while now. I have never had one break and the boots are still in great shape. They are some of the most expensive, but they are also by far the best and they allow much more suspension travel without binding than any other joint ive seen. It really depends on how much you drive/wheel your rig but if it's an offroad truck I would definitely suggest napa lifetime joint ONLY. You can't argue with 5 years of daily driving/wheeling service running aggressive angles!

 

Are those the new Cardone ones with the lifetime warranty your talking about? They only gave me the two options (refer to my first post) for CV axles at my local NAPA. But if thats the case it might be worth shelling out about 50 bucks more per axle if they are going to last.

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I am very interested in this as well! I recently put 2" spacers in my '99 and It sounds like the axles are starting to pop and squeak. Although the boots weren't in the best shape to begin with, I know that this is going to be a recurring problem if I cheap out with the same ones that I got at auto value earlier this year. I was considering getting custom axles from RCV performance but my guess is that they would not be cheap at all.

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