Going to need a new set of front axles soon for my 91 GXE. Trying to save by buying the axles myself and having them put on. I found a pair from AutoZone (Duralast brand) for about $140 for remanufactured ones. Are remans OK? Any input would be great...

 

i dont suggest to get axles from autozone.

 

I bought some reman axles from Advance Auto Parts that seem to be working fine so far. They came with a lifetime limited replacement.

 

thats good dude.

 

i have heard that remans aren't that bad as long as the car is still on stock springs, but that the more you drop, the more likely remans are to vibrate. probably b/c when the car's dropped the joints are always at more of an angle.

 

Ok well Im not on stock springs anymore (KYB) but the car isnt lowered. So shouldn't be a problem right?

 

er... KYB is struts, not springs. if the car is not lowered then you're on stock springs. so no it shouldn't be a problem. but even so it's still possible that a reman axle might vibrate.. it's just less likely when you are on stock springs.

 

Short story about AZ axles;
replaced the driver's axle with a reman, oh, about two and a half years ago.

about six months ago, the drivers bearing blew out, and broke the threaded part off the axle (yeah...). asked if they would replace it, and they offered me a choice; new, or reman to replace it (not sure if he was full of it, or what, but I chose "new"). all under the "limited" warranty.

 

I have the same idea with you. Great! Thanks for sharing.
Glad to hear you're using this: I plan to keep it much more aggressively up-to-date than has been the case in the past, but don't hesitate to let me know if you find errors or need clarifications.

 

Er, spam? What the **** did you just try to say?

 

something about how happy he is for me, and that he's gonna let me finish

 

as in... the locknut just sort of fell limp inside the wheel bore with the threads still in it? i hope you didn't go far on it... that would be bad for the wheel bearings i think, if the axle nut is not installed (or can't be installed, in your case)

 

no, the wheel fell (as in the bearing just siezed, finally, and the ball bearings just started popping out. the wheel, no longer properly supported, fell at an awkward angle), and a few seconds later, I saw the axle nut (with the threaded part still attached) bouncing down the road. wasn't doing but maybe 15. it broke right where the threads meet the spline. I have used/seen dozens of reman axles being used, this was a first.

edit: and just like you would, you point out the worst of the deal . I was more concerned (at the time) about getting a new axle out of the deal, rather than worrying about the amount of stress it should take to make that happen.

 

heh... well like,if the axle broke but the bearing didn't fail, it could have failed later on while at a higher speed or taking a corner hard (since you wouldn't have ever thought anything was wrong with the bearing) which kinda would have been even worse. tho you'd hope that if the bearing were gonna fail imminently it would at least start roaring at you to give you fair warning.

 

If you really want to save money why not just get the original OEM ones rebuilt? I get the local CV shop to rebuild mine for $50 a pop

 

axle isn't electrical so they're less likely proned to fail and if you get it from autozone they should come with a no-question-ask lifetime warranty. If you put them on and they make noises, just take it back for another one.

btw, I don't recommend rebuilding them ...that's too much works/hassles, just get a reman, put them on, and forget about it.

 

I've put over 100K on my autozone axles. I just had a boot go bad, so hopefully there will be a no hassle exchange.

 

I bought a set from Car Quest years ago. 95K- no troubles with them. They were like $66 a piece for ABS. That was then, but I nearly crapped at the relatively inexpensive price.

Couldn't tell you where they came from or if they are the same source now, but they were warranted.

 

lol, what?

Where do you think remanufactured drive axles come from, exactly? They come from the same types of shop that I directly deal with, only they add a middle man (parts store), and double the price.

 

rebuilt:remanufactured::Quarterback:Passer

just sayin'