wesley

When I got new brake pads the mechanic told me that there was a problem with my drive axles and that it would cost $350 to fix. Can anybody tell me about symptoms of drive axle problems or if this a good price.

Max96

Did the mechanic mention what kind of problem you are having with the axles? If not, he may be trying to take you for a ride.

Daniel B. Martin

Each axle shaft has two special universal joints called Constant Velocity joints. Each CV joint is covered by a flexible rubber bellows called a boot. The purpose of the boot is to keep lubricant in and grit out.

Your mechanic may have noticed that one or more of your CV boots is damaged (split, torn, cut). That damage may occur due to age and high mileage. It may also occur due to running over some road trash which bounced up and gouged the boot. That is just bad luck and could happen to a new car.

If a damaged boot is noticed the same day the damage occurs you can replace only the boot. If the damage is noticed a month after the event, it may be too late to save the joint. Replacing the boot long after the damage occurs won't help much. The sand and grit which got inside will continue to wear the joint and it will fail soon.

If your car has a lot of mileage, or if you suspect the boot damage is old, you may be better off to replace the axle with a new or remanufactured unit. That way you get two new (or reman) joints and two new boots. Even though the parts price is higher than replacing only the boots, the labor cost is lower.

I can't comment on the $350 price because you didn't specify if the mechanic ...
- wants to replace just the boot.
- wants to replace the axle with a reman part.
- wants to replace the axle with a new part.
- wants to do one axle, or both.

Labor rates vary from one region to another. Labor rates tend to be higher in big cities, lower in small towns. Labor rates are usually higher at the dealer than at an independent shop. If you want to know if $350 is a fair price in your town, get estimates from several trustworthy shops in your town. If a shop in my town charges only $200 that won't do you much good if you are 3000 miles away.

Rit

iTrader: (3)

many a CV-boot with a split-boot kit, and have only had one re-fail, out of about 10. I highly recommend that route if you have time and patience. It only costs about $20, and takes abount an hour. If the cv joint is not clicking, it can most likely be salvaged by flushing out the grit/old grease, and putting in new grease and a new boot. Hey, for $20, it's worth the effort. With the split-boot, it is not necessary to remove the axle-half - it is done in-place.

Daniel B. Martin

My opinion of the split boot is different from yours. I used a split boot only once and it was such a hassle that I won't bother with them again.

Some shops refuse to install split boots because too many of them come apart. This results in a "comeback" which kills the profit in the job and generates mistrust between shop and customer.

If the CV joint is already clicking there is no debate about which kind of boot to use. The joint is dead and should be replaced.

maxrules

Just replaced both outer boots on my 95 about 2 months ago (90k miles). I checked into the split boots, but the inner diameter on my boot was slightly smaller and I didn't think the split boot would cinch down correctly without leaking (the parts' store said the x-ref didn't list a split boot available for the 95 Max to boot - no pun intended). The boots weren't bad to replace; 2nd time around only took a couple hours from start to finish. If your joints are shot, I recommend some rebuilt axle assemblies and just swap 'em out. You've got to pull the axle anyway to replace the boot(s) and it's easier to pop in a whole new half-axle anyway. PLUS, you get the inner and outer boots replaced and you get good clean re-packed joints. If you do your own, spend lots of time cleaning the old grease out and pack the new grease in pretty good. Keep it clean by all means. My CV's were still good, so I went the boot route. Parts places around here (Austin, TX) had rebuilt half-axles for about $100. Bummer story for me: I had just bought new rims and my right boot split and slung grease all over the brand new shiny chrome. Not a pretty sight.

-kev

Daniel B. Martin

This was a blessing in disguise. The mess on the shiny wheel alerted you to the damaged boot right away. That enabled you to replace the boot only.

maxrules

Not quite. The left boot had just split 2 weeks before and crapped out on my old rims. I didn't have time to do both sides and I bought new rims and 1 week later the right one split. Bummer. But I get your point.

-kev