So, I was doing an oil change and a tire rotation and notice the front driverside wheel has black gunk on the inside. It wasn't there about 5K miles ago when I got my tires replaced at the stealership (brought my own tires). The whole wheel well has greasy gunk in it. The culprit, the CV Boot. There is still grease inside the axle.

I am dropping off the car to the stealer tomorrow. The car does not click when turning but the boot is torn completely.

Should I go for just the boot job or a complete axle or what ever they call a half axle? I trust the stealer but their price is kind of high. When I say I trust, I mean they won't have me sink money if I don't have to. But if I have to, their prices are cheaper than the other stealers around me but still quite high. I don't have a trusted mechanic so, I work on my car and take it to this particular stealer once in a while. I am slammed at work and don't have the time or courage to replace the boot myself.

Reading up, it seems, a remanufactured complete axle is the way to go but I cannot get the stealer to install that so should I go and have them just replace the boot? They said it'd be about $225 to replace the driver side boot.

Thanks

 

225 to replace a boot is insane. The axel cost 65 from auto zone and you could change it about 1.5 hours in your back yard

 

Got both outer boots replaced for $300 at AAA.

 

complete axle is definitely the way to go...

 

What he said

 

Thanks guys. The axle at nissan is $550. I will see if I can find a friend with a trusted mechanic. If not, I am at the mercy of the stealership. I really don't have the time to read up on the process of swapping out the boot and do it my self due to numerous reasons in addition to the "what's involved" factor. I read the instructions on Motorvate. I don't think I can get all that done in one and a half hours.

Lets see what tomorrow brings for me.

 

Update:

Called a shop that a buddy trusts. They recommended the whole axle just like all the folks here. They'd do it for $200 - $220. I am going for it. I understand that the work can be done at home but I won't be able to do the work for a while and I think a couple of hours of labor (folks here said 1.5 hours) seems fair.

Dropping off the car tomorrow morning.

 

seriously dont get your axle replaced i went with both my cv boots torn for a year. yes i know a full year and not once did i ever hear clicking or anything at all having to do with bad axles. just replace the boot. all you have to do it take off your hub assemblely and its right there.

 

yep simple as that

 

I am also having issue with my CV axle, or at least so I think. The car makes a grinding and sometimes clicking noise when I turn hard right. I can also hear it click once when I'm shifting gears and releasing the clutch (when force is first applied to the wheels) at low speeds. I assume that the click is still there at higher speeds but I can't hear it due to increased driving noise. It sounds as if the noise is coming from the passenger side. I thought initially that it was the CV axle but given how I had it replaced just about a year ago, I was wondering if it could be the wheel bearing. Is there any easy way to figure out what exactly is broken before I start buying parts?
Thanks,

Joe

P.S.: I drive a 98 SE, manual transmission, 132k miles

 

go to raxles.com and speak to marty. they have replacement axles. 150 for psgr and 120 for driver. lifetime warranty. also autozone has them for $65 each.

 

tlr what rims are those? theyre sick

 

Gewalt Evolution 3pc 18x8.5. Cant find them anywhere, very rare. Plus I chromed the outer ring. It was polished before.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I got the car fixed. I am so slammed at work, I did not need more stress and the car is sometimes driven by my wife shuttling my 2 and 7 year olds. So, instead of taking a chance, I just bit the bullet and got the axle replaced. It set me back by $228.xx. $105 for the axle and $110 for the labor and then some misc shop charges and tax on top. Ah well. I get it that I did pay more than I should have but the guy was nice and came highly recommended and with my situation, I didn't have much of a choice.

 

You guys wont believe this, but Ive been running on split in half cv boots *drivers and passenger side* for 3 years and counting... No noises, no play, no nothing. I have axles with new joints ready to go in any day now.