Front Axles Replacement...

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Melchor

Melchor

Joined
Mar 29, 2005
Threads
13
Messages
24
Location
Bay Area
Hello... Greetings from SF Bay Area! I have a 1999 Landcruiser w/ 155600 miles. And I just got the front rotors and brake pads replaced today with the perforated types from ebay. My local friendly mechanic informed me that my front drive axles need replacement. He's saying that the teeth are worn. WTH! With the kind of mileage that I have, is it about time to replace them (axles). Or is he just trying to pull a fast one ($300 labor)! Thank you in advance. :cheers:
 
Where in the Bay Area? There are a couple of great shops there that we can recommend depending on where you are located if you want a second opinion.

hoser said:
Mudrak is a Land Cruiser specialist. Good for custom work.
http://www.mudrak.com/
For general work/repair like T-belt and such. I've used Melrose Motors in SF and would recommend them.
Click to expand...
Mudrak is probably the best. There is also the Toy Shop - Inner Richmond - San Francisco, CA.
Also the Smog Shop is a great general mechanic I have used for years. Chris the owner is very honest and has even helped me have another shop fix something they missed at no cost to me.

What exactly are the teeth he is referring to? I am guessing he is referring to the teeth that go through the hub. Because those should be the only ones he could see when doing your break job. Only reason for those to be worn is if the c-clip that holds the CV in the hub was either missing or not installed correctly and it came off. But, I would guess that you would experience some type of grinding for those to get worn. I also wouldnt expect them to be worn on both sides.

Something just doesn't seem right here or some information is missing. Could it be that the CV's are slinging grease at the rubber boots? If so, those can be rebooted. A pretty easy DIY if you do that. I would however recommend staying away from using aftermarket CV's (Napa brand, etc.). They have a history of not lasting on these rigs. If your shop insist they need replacing, insist on using OEM. There is a thread a either near the bottom of this page or the next with several great vendors that can help you get new oem CV's for big discount over what the local guys will try and charge you.

Best of luck! let us know if there is anything else!
 
I'd ask him to give you a better description of what's worn. The CV's don't have "teeth" per se, they do have splines and a ball joint that can wear. Maybe you've got a torn CV boot and he's just going for full replacement rather than rebooting.
 
Hmmm... not really sure how those splines/teeth are going to be worn... unless in a situation like I mentioned above. Maybe someone that has experienced it can chime in. Are you a DIY'er? If so, this is a pretty easy thing to look into yourself. Maye take some pics and post back???? If not, maybe check with one of the mechanics linked above for a second opinion. Or, if they are not convenient to you, give us an area and I am sure one of the locals to that area can give you another recommendation.

All in all... I'd say something doesn't sound right.
 
The axle splines can wear [as can the matching splines in the hub]. All the torque to the wheel is delivered through these splines. That said, its easy enough to check. With the wheel jacked up, there should be no rotational play in the wheel. When the wheel moves, the axle should move. Lying under the truck it should be easy to see if there is any play by moving the tire slightly and confirming that the axle moves too.

FWIW, its best to keep the axle and hubs in pairs. The hub that came off the drivers side when they replaced your rotors should have gone back on the drivers side. Mixing them up could create play simply because each side has worn slightly differently.
Also FWIW, my CVs were shot around 230Kmiles but the axle and hub splines were fine.
 
Ok. I am an assistant service manager at a toyota dealer. When I got my 2000 landcruiser the right front axle spline cup had all the splines sheared. The owner chose not to fix it and sold it to me. Mileage was 160000. What we found strange was when we took it apart the grease in the bearings was really solidified. I don't know if this contributed to the part failing. I don't think the bearings were ever repacked as maintenence. I also think every brake job was simply a pad replacement without pulling the rotors so the bearings never got repacked. It is my belief that the hardened grease caused some kind of friction leading to the failure of the spline cap. Anyway replaced the cv shaft and bearings and seals and caps on both front and have been problem free. I am about to hit 210k and all feels great. Good luck
 
^^^ There are about 6 different sized c-clips that hold the CV in place and they can be easily bent during removal. If, the wrong size is installed, or a bent c-clip is reinstalled, or a good C-clip is installed incorrectly, they can and have been known to come off inside the cup. This allows the CV shaft to move in and out. This will definitely cause damage to those splines. Also, with out that c-clip in place, the shaft will move in and out causing water and debris to enter from the Control arm/cv side of the hub. Which would lead as expected to find bearing grease really solidified and or contaminated. There is also a seal on the inboard side that could be damaged that would lead to contamination of the wheel bearing...

Now, I am not saying this is absolutely what happened to your rig. But, this is the more common cause for failure of the splines. And, it is good info for others when working on the CV's.
 
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