adroga

Is rebuilding an axle (not just the boot, but the bearings also..) considered a difficult job or is it doable?
I need to replace my drivers side axle, and I heard its not that hard. Would a bone yard axle be sufficient?

thanks

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

get a rebuilt axle, they're only like 60-70 with the exchange

garbury

iTrader: (4)

i say rebuild them yourself, unless there are other bearings besides the ones inside of the boot. It is bench/vise work, so you can do it in the comfort of your shop so that alone makes it easy. The hardest part about rebuilding your axles would be getting the axles off the car. If you dont have a gear puller and snap ring pliers, the job will be tougher. Bone yard axles have been sitting for a while, and their boots are likely just as old as yours and may be ready to break open, so if you have some mechanical ability, I'd look into rebuilding them yourself.

irwinwd

I just put a remanufactured axel in my right side and put new boots on the left and re-greased the bearings. The left side wasn't too bad to get at, you can't hardly see the right side around the exhaust. The remanufactured shaft was $60 couple dollars at advanced auto parts after core charge. It's hard to justify rebuilding in my mind for that price.

tripleGmax

iTrader: (8)

how on earth was it a couple bucks after core charge? i got mine for 69 plus the 45 core charge which means i paid 45 up front and i return it i get 45 back from them, thats not a couple bucks thats still 69 in my case......

but its still a good idea to just get remanufactured ones

irwinwd

agreed, I all ready had taken mine out to decide if I could repair or it needed replaced. I avioded the core charge by taking it in when they ordered it. It was still $69, which sounds about right, but when you think about it, the boots were $15 each, and I'm not sure what the bearing costs. In one case you are spending $30 for boots + whatever the bearings cost + hassle of doing the work to rebuild, repack. In the other case you are spending $69 and it's a drop in replacement with the shaft professionally done. In the end, you can't be talking an additional $20 to just get the remanufactured shaft.

garbury

iTrader: (4)

Yeah you guys are right based on the costs. I just kind of have a sick passion for fixing rather than replacing. It's all about learning and seeing how the internals work and then putting it back together...I love the satisfaction of doing my own work. If you don't care about that, you probably won't be saving too much money if you end up needing to buy new bearings.

mthomp15

You won't save anything if you need new bearings. The rebuilders buy them in bulk and you won't come close to gettting the parts anywhere near their cost. Bite the bullet buy a rebuilt and if you want to learn about how they go together or come apart read a service manual.