I recently did a complete brake job on my 4runner. I noticed that both outer CV boots were torn.

I researched how to replace them and then looked at a complete replacement axle from NAPA at $103.99 each (plus I have a 20% off coupon). It seems like after buying the replacement boots and CV Clamp tool, I am not that far away from just replacing with a complete new axel.

I have read that the OEM axles are superior in quality to any replacement axle, but it just seems so much easier not to have to replace the existing cv boots now.

I am thinking just replace the entire axles now on each side and rebuild the OEM axles at my leisure over the winter and reinstall down the road.

The other factor is that below freezing temps have started in my region and I just want to get this done as soon as possible and not freeze my ass off out in the driveway.

Is this a bad idea to not rebuild the OEM axles?

Edit: Update- Bone stock 2007 with 16 inch wheels. My wife drives it around town. I am going the NAPA Route.

Napa axles are fine if you are not lifted or do any wheeling. The reason why OEM are so good because they allow for more axle droop without binding. You can just install the Napa axles and keep you OEM and reboot them on your own time. It isnt that hard, just lots a grease to deal with.

I'm in the camp that tends to believe there's nothing special about the factory axles vs some of the aftermarket options. Like most auto parts, I would imagine there's only a few manufacturers worldwide actually making CV axles...then they're just branded by the box they're actually put in (Toyota, NAPA, Advance, Ford, Moog, etc.).

From photos on the forum over the years, there appear to be two styles of axle casings available in the aftermarket for the 4Runner, possibly suggesting just two different manufacturers making 4Runner parts. The NAPA (Cardone per the warranty card inside the NAPA box) axle I used was identical in every visually verifiable way to the factory axle I was replacing. I tend (or want) to believe that means NAPA/Cardone are sourcing from the same manufacturer that Toyota uses...but, possibly I just got lucky and a different NAPA box would have contained the round casing style without the machined in flats that may or may not have come from a Toyota OEM.

Short answer...if I were you, I'd go with the NAPA's and not look back. :-)

that's what i did, replaced my old axle with a new remanufactured one. easier that way especially when you are limited with time. at least with the remanufactured one, both boot, inner and outer is new. you never know when the inner boot will start leaking.

No, they are not the same. Comparing them from the outside, they will appear to be 90-95% the same as OEM, the cups are different visually, but the real difference is inside of the cup and on the bearings themselves. I can certainly tell you there is a significant difference in the CV itself. Having taken multiple variants apart, including OEM CV's, the OEM CV is significantly beefier/better design on the bearings (or whatever you call them) inside the cup.

I have some pictures comparing a genuine OEM axle to a napa variant in my thread here for anyone curious to see pictures of the difference:
OEM CV Axle, are there 2 different types?

Depending on your application. If you aren't lifted with larger tires and do not do any sort off off-road rock crawling, yes, NAPA (and other non oem axles) are the way to go. For the price difference, even if they failed a few thousand miles sooner than OEM its not worth the extra money.

If you are lifted, with larger tires and do a healthy amount of off road activities, the non oem axles are like toothpicks. I don't care what anyone says. Any sort of decent amount of strain on them will make them fail. I've seen guys break new Napa and Advance auto axles on the first outing with moderate strain (obviously if you're heavy on the gas pedal and are lifting wheels and coming down spinning even the OEM axle won't last).

We'll have to agree to disagree.

Maybe something's changed since 2015 or like I said, I just got lucky with the particular box that NAPA handed me that day. The tulips and boots on the NAPA MaxDrive (new, not a reman) I purchased and replaced in 2015 were identical to the factory CV axle I was replacing. I would have noticed a difference as obvious as the ones in your thread. Since I'm the one and only owner, I'm pretty sure I was replacing the original axle installed on the truck before it left Japan. I can't really remember anything regarding the clamps, but boots, tulips, and length were what everyone was highlighting as key differences at the time I was choosing a replacement axle. Obviously, I didn't bother to tear open a perfectly good axle to examine the tripods or parts of the shaft covered by the boots before installing.

If I think about it, the next time I have it in the air, I'll compare again. Currently I have the NAPA MaxDrive part from 2015 on the passenger side and a supposedly reman'd Toyota axle (dealer replacement) on the driver's from maybe 2012 or 2013. As I recall, they're also identical in visual appearance, but I'll check again. Especially since that supposedly reman'd Toyota on the driver's side has a torn boot. Time to pop in another NAPA MaxDrive. :-)

Not sure what there is to disagree on. This forum, as well as many others, are littered with countless instances of non oem cv axles failing quicker than then oem ones.

The fact that from an outer visual they were identical to your oem ones doesn’t say much if like you said you didn’t look inside. There’s a reason why there is such a big price difference and only a small portion of it is because Toyota is big bad and greedy lol.

But I would be very curious to know if that non oem axle you have does actually look like an oem one inside.


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We're disagreeing on how the auto part supply chain works and whether or not one can get OEM CV axles from a non-Toyota box. :-)

You're essentially arguing that Toyota had a 3rd party OEM design and create special tooling for a part used in a relatively low volume vehicle. And further, that OEM is not allowed to use that expensive-to-create custom tooling to manufacture the same part for the aftermarket box branding that most every other replacement part manufacturer uses to offset building/maintaining a factory.

Looking at photos of the available CV axles, it's clear there are probably several manufacturers in the 4Runner compatible game. And, I'll agree that what's shown on the NAPA site today does not look like the OE axle or the one I bought from NAPA 6 years ago. I noticed yesterday they also don't call it MaxDrive anymore. And I won't argue that some of those available designs are probably inferior to the OE design, but I do argue that it's highly probable that the aftermarket axles that are visually identical to the OE axle were made by the same OEM used by Toyota. It's just the nature of the beast and it happens too much with every car brand/part to believe the T120 CV axle is some kind of exception.

As far as cost differences. All brands (Toyota/Hyundai/BMW/GM/etc.) can be absolutely brazen in their markup for a part vs. the brown box aftermarket version from the same OEM. The difference could be anything from simple greed to more rigorous QA requirements or union contract costs.

In addition to the T120, I also live in the BMW DIY world (E46, E88, F16). The aftermarket box branding of OEM parts here is rampant and fairly well documented, especially for older generations because BMW places such a high "tax" on their branded parts. Apparently, a lot of their customers must consider it a badge of honor to overpay for service. :-) I haven't noticed it so much with other brands, but BMW likes to create tooling so that their logo is actually stamped\embossed\engraved on a lot of their parts. It's not uncommon to buy an aftermarket part and find where that BMW logo was literally ground off of the part after it was produced before it went in the non-BMW box, but it clearly came off the exact same assembly line.

IMO, this approach to manufacturing is causing what we're seeing right now with the world wide chip shortage. Turns out, there are only 2 companies making most of the high end chips needed by pretty much every industry on the planet. I haven't paid attention lately, but a few years ago, there were literally only 3 manufacturers of LCD display panels. Same with car batteries in the US, but how many different brand names are they sold under? Nobody can really afford to make all of the sub-assemblies that go into their completed product and be competitive.

Another example. I used to work for a large manufacturing conglomerate in a division *highly regulated* by several government entities due to other potential uses of our products and technology. When facing cost reduction pressure from some of our customers, naturally, we went to our suppliers to ask for "help". Actually, "ask" is probably putting it too kindly. Anyway, for one relatively simple and common part, we had let ourselves get into a sole certified supplier situation. And we further learned, we were also that manufacturers only customer. Said vendor literally locked the gates and sent everyone home when they received our "ask"...talk about a tight supply chain and potential interruptions.

Just my 2 cents here. I have gone through your same situation except that my existing axles were not OEM. Most folks on here seem to be very handy or mechanically inclined and do their own repairs. Assuming you are in this camp, I would recommend just going with the Napa axles. I would plan to rebuild your OEM axles in your spare time just to have them on hand.

I had aftermarket axles with torn boots and live in the midwest. I drove almost 40k miles on them with torn boots before I replaced them with Napa ones. Even before I replaced them, they were working fine with zero noise. My new Napa axles have 20k miles on them and already have a slight tear in one of the inner boots. This doesn't seem to be typical as others appear to have better luck with them. To be honest, I am surprised that a boot has a tear already. I do not plan on replacing the axle until it becomes an issue though.

Good luck....

I'm actually not arguing any of those points and didn't make any of those claims at all lol.

The simple fact is that you stated that you believe there is nothing special about the OEM axle vs aftermarket axle since you believe, like with everything else, they are made in the same one or two facilities. And I am saying that is an absolutely incorrect assumption, and that there are very clear, documented, visual and real world comparison differences to prove that statement incorrect.

I'm not against anyone running aftermarket CV's, theres a huge cost savings and benefit for those that do not need the extra longevity/strength of the OEM axle. I'm just against spreading fallacies not based on actual facts.

If you have an on-road T4R that may see some gravel roads on your 31-33" tires, why spend the extra money on OEM axles? If you're running 33s or higher, and plan on doing any sort of moderate wheeling/rock crawling, especially if you don't have a front locker, good luck having your napa CV last more than a few outings

Had a similar situation as the OP. Went to Napa today to look into what they had on hand after looking online. I found 3 axles online.

NCV 944082 - New CV axle 2nd design - $103.99ea
NCV 944052 - New CV axle 1st design - $102.99ea
NCV 941532 - Extreme Environment CV Axle - $229.99ea

According to the dude at the store, the first 2 won't fit my 05 SR5 V8 4WD, despite the Napa Website saying it does. He said, and I quote, "you can't trust anything you find online". He claims only the Extreme Environment one will work, which also says that you have to replace in pairs. He also said there was a difference between "1st and 2nd design" but simply eluded to 1st design being 03-05 and second design being 06-09, but again both are listed per their site as fitting.

This all seems like a scam and a half on this dude's part. Anyone know if there is any validity to this? My mechanic was the one who suggested just getting a new axle vs. boots themselves as it costs about the same, so it seems like he meant one of the first 2 options.

Similar situation. I went to pick up my axle yesterday.

I ordered online and noticed there were several options, with like a buck or two difference in price.

I selected one online and on the first screen it said "Guaranteed to fit your vehicle". On the check out screen it said the part may not fit your vehicle.

I told the NAPA owner about this. He asked me to go outside and take a picture of the door plaque that has the vin and a bunch of other info.

My 2007 was actually made in October of 2006, which made it a "early release" and the axle I ordered online would not have fit. He luckily had the correct part in stock.

I am going to install on Sunday. I'll report back if it does not fit.

How'd the install go? Any issues with the CV axle? And which one did you go with?