CV repair quote

[pwcummings]

Alright, so my brother runs a Toyota dealer, so I am able to get employee pricing on service and parts. Basically, I have an upper CV on the passenger side that's blown. It's not a terribly ugly tear but it does appear to have been that way for quite a while. Accelerating hard from 55 to 65mph I can feel a tint of cavitation, which could have to do with the OME lift and 295 nitto trails, but could also be from axle wear (maybe?). I am a mechanic and electrician by trade, I have most tools to do the job, but I have never done any suspension/drivetrain work on a modern vehicle, nor do I have a great shop to work in. I have downloaded the 2004 repair manual and I do feel like I could get er done. My brother quoted me $200 for OEM reboot, or $200 for aftermarket new axle/boots. My inclination is to go with OEM reboot, but was hoping some of you pros on here might weigh in. Preferably ones who have done it before, yourself or paid a shop to. My truck has 110k on it and was previously owned by a MUDder, who did the lift mods.



With pic

 

[pnolanIH8MUD]

Thoughts on CV's

I recently had this wobble in my LC after 150k and a trip from Austin to Key West in a lot of rain. I got into the right side to discover that my axle circliip was not engaged so the axle had been floating in and out of the splined hub. Then I did the check for bearings where I felt play top and bottom.

I ended up taking it to a few shops where I got 3 different diagnoses and 3 different prices. The reality was that I needed new CV's and I needed to adjust and repack my bearings. My tendency is always to fix it myself but in the end, the number of issues and unknowns led me to my trusted mechanic who could most efficiently for my time and his do the work AND offer to repair anything that he didn't do properly with a sound warranty. In the end, it was about $850 to do both sides replace CV's, repack bearings oh and fix a warped rotor. If your bearings get loose, your brakes will grip them unevenly and cause issues.

I'd take advantage of your relationship with Toyota if you believe in their service. I'd make sure that any parts that you have replaced are guaranteed. Providing your own parts, you are breaking the relationship between the mechanic or shop with their supply chain and their relationship that could actually be beneficial should there be a failure. For the peace of mind and efficiency, letting my mechanic handle this made more sense.

P

 

[ABQIRONPIG]

Alright, so my brother runs a Toyota dealer, so I am able to get employee pricing on service and parts. Basically, I have an upper CV on the passenger side that's blown. It's not a terribly ugly tear but it does appear to have been that way for quite a while. Accelerating hard from 55 to 65mph I can feel a tint of cavitation, which could have to do with the OME lift and 295 nitto trails, but could also be from axle wear (maybe?). I am a mechanic and electrician by trade, I have most tools to do the job, but I have never done any suspension/drivetrain work on a modern vehicle, nor do I have a great shop to work in. I have downloaded the 2004 repair manual and I do feel like I could get er done. My brother quoted me $200 for OEM reboot, or $200 for aftermarket new axle/boots. My inclination is to go with OEM reboot, but was hoping some of you pros on here might weigh in. Preferably ones who have done it before, yourself or paid a shop to. My truck has 110k on it and was previously owned by a MUDder, who did the lift mods.

Buy new one's from RockAuto.com, not the rebuilt one's

 

[snobdds]

Keep your origional CV's and just reboot them, there better than any part store item you can get. Get yourself a reboot kit from Toyota and and throw out the clamps. Get yourself some PFRAM clamps and go another 100,000 miles...

http://www.pfranleds.com/cv-clamp-kit-10-piece/

 

[Mxndrnks]

It is a messy job.... but fairly easy. There are a couple write-ups here. A boot re-build kit from some of the vendors here should run you around $30-35 and come with everything you need. Most switch from the oem band clamps to ones that Pfran is selling. You can get them from him. I bought mine directly from Mcmaster-carr back before Pfran started putting together packages for people.

It is a good project to DIY in case you ever break one on the trail and need to get yourself home. As noted, the common perception is the aftermarket CV's do not hold up well. OEM is the way to go. Good luck!

 

[Griffin]

I rebooted/packed both my cvs last year. Had a friend with tools watch over me, but in the end it wasn't that big a deal. I learned a ton and would be somewhat comfortable tearing one down on the trail if needed.

 

[Gottagetone]

Get a genuine Toyota CV plus a reboot kit. Swap out the bad one with the new one then reboot the old one and store it. This way you will always have a spare and yes, they are the same cv for both sides. Its a pretty easy job but you do need all sized of c-clips and duck billed pliers that can be picked up at O'Rielys for about $18.

Murphy says that as soon as you swap out the bad one, the other side will go...

 

[RedEuro]

Here is the approach we take in our shop.
1. Remove axle and disassemble cv joint.
2. Run cv joint through solvent and parts washer tank.
3. Inspect for wear/breakage
4. If it all looks good, repack and reboot.
5. If it has wear, we always replace with a factory axle. (If this is a grocery getter it might be ok with an aftermarket, if you offroad/wheel, go with factory)

 

[super90]

I seem to remember threads about aftermarket axles. They never seem to end well.....