I've had 18's on my 99 for a little over a year so far. I'm on the verge of a $800ish repair at my mechanic, and a big part of that is replacing the driver side axle, since the boot tore and grease was leaking out. Did my 18's cause this or was it bound to happen sooner or later on a 160,000 mile car?

I'm also kind of pissed because the shop who did my tire rotation a while ago torqued my lugs to freakin 150 or something. My wheel lock broke while these other mechanics were trying to take my right rear wheel off, and they had to damage my wheel a bit to get the wheel off. Why the hell would a shop torque my wheels so tight? This is so stupid.

Other things which are being repaired on my car (and are part of the $800ish repair) are: Two near rear calipers (since they "froze" I beleive), a new rear hub, 3 new studs, and just installation of two rear rotors and brake pads (I already had the parts). Does $800 sound a little expensive for this?

But my main question is did my large rims contribute to my driver side axle/boot destruction? This is too much money

 

It's impossible for the wheel to cause the boot to split, but yes $800 seems a little much.

 

With that much mileage on the car all signs seem to be pointing to just normal wear and tear. You never know though, also depends on your driving habit. Do you drive the car hard all the time?

 

That sounds about right if going to a mechanic. However, that last shop would be paying for my new studs, new lugz, and a replacement rim. I always watch the installer put my tires on, hand screwing on the lugz and using a torque stick. Trust me as a previous employee at Pepboys, those installers just use the gun and will jack up your tires, and whats worse wont tell you and then the next time you come back they tell you its going to co$t to fix your studs/lugz. The rims could remotely have and affect, but you probably already had the problem and it just helped it along. If your mechanically inclined your can do most of it yourself, do a search. brakes are covered in depth, removing/installing new studs is as well. I dont know about the hub, but I'm sure its on here.

 

I was thinking about confessing my driving habits, but I was too embarassed. Yes, I do have a tendency to have a heavy foot/autocross every once in a while. So I guess that factors in too..

While I hate to spend so much money on repairs.. I want to stay current with all things which need to be fixed, I want this car to last 200+k miles, I'll be keeping it for at least the next few years. Assuming the car doesn't blow up.

 

Get a Raxle.

Install it yourself.

It's not hard.

 

not hard at all very simple and straight forward

 

yup doing the repair yourself can save sometimes bundles. Good luck with your car.

 

You can do all those repairs needed for about $350. instead of paying them $800.

Very easy work.

 

From a shop that price would make sense, but try to do the work yourself to save a good amount of money, you will be so happy you did.

 

WTF, look for the ads, front drive axles cost about $100 to replace both! I'm thinking most of your $800 is the rotors.

 

i doubt ull have any problems

 

Raxles FTW and DIY dude, DIY.. everything I've done to my car has been DIY. The only thing that I didnt wanna tackle was putting in a new clutch, man I would've became suicidal if I had to do that. But anyways good luck.