Any Decent CV Axle outside of CVJ

[bigbirney]

Hello, I have spent half the day searching and reading threads. Wifes 4 runner has torn front CV boot on Driver side. Will probably replace both while I am at it since Truck just turned 125k. I am reading most aftermarket are crap. Are any decent besides CVJ? Like the Cardone? We don't do a ton of off roading anymore since we moved back to Nebraska and had the kid. Don't really want to drop the $350 0n the CVJ and have to deal with core. Mild leveling in sig.

Thanks!

 

[Slowgoat]

Same exact thing on mine. I have a blown CV axle. Searched for a long while here.

Cardones get horrible reviews on amazon, but they look similar to the $89 Napa ones, and they are only ~$70 today.

Napa has 2 price points. The rumor is that the higher ( $109 here) priced ones are from the same factory as OEM (or they used to be).

I got the $89 Napa ones, which look stout.

Both come with lifetime warranty replacement.

Avoid remanufactured ones.

You can reboot yours or buy new ones, reboot the old ones for a spare, or toss them. There was no core with the $89 ones.

Key part of this thread I read last night was the concept of "do you want the CV axle to fail, or do you want the failure to be inside the transfer case."

That is why everyone has CV axles and all the tools to fix it in their tool kits if they are doing serious wheeling.

Funny, I had a lot of trouble searching for this too.

I stumbled across someone deep deep in a thread talking about if they had a lot of $$$, that they would pony up for the "good Napa" CV axles.

Hope that helps.

 

[bigbirney]

Same exact thing on mine. I have a blown CV axle. Searched for a long while here.

Cardones get horrible reviews on amazon, but they look similar to the $89 Napa ones, and they are only ~$70 today.

Napa has 2 price points. The rumor is that the higher ( $109 here) priced ones are from the same factory as OEM (or they used to be).

I got the $89 Napa ones, which look stout.

Both come with lifetime warranty replacement.

Avoid remanufactured ones.

You can reboot yours or buy new ones, reboot the old ones for a spare, or toss them. There was no core with the $89 ones.

Key part of this thread I read last night was the concept of "do you want the CV axle to fail, or do you want the failure to be inside the transfer case."

That is why everyone has CV axles and all the tools to fix it in their tool kits if they are doing serious wheeling.

Funny, I had a lot of trouble searching for this too.

I stumbled across someone deep deep in a thread talking about if they had a lot of $$$, that they would pony up for the "good Napa" CV axles.

Hope that helps.

Thanks a lot. I looked at the more expensive Cardones. Seems to have a little nicer boot, and clamp setup. Rock auto has them for about $150. We used to Camp and Mud more often, but she is mostly used for snow now. I just don't want to buy absolute crap.

 

[Slowgoat]

Those cardones sound nicer than the cardones I looked at.

The Napa $109 ones have the nicer boots, I did see that.

 

[pearlj10]

I'll just lob it out there. I replaced OEM with NAPA $89 cv axles on both sides, then a Cardone on pass side (I believe NAPA axle shaft had been machined to point where new OEM axle seal wouldn't hold oil, no it wasn't an improper seal install...). Cardone worked fine for 10k or so and then wouldn't spin at droop. Then I replaced both cvs with new OEM, even thought drivers was ok. Shopped around and got each for $220. If you can get 125 k out of OEM, I'd gladly pay an extra $100 or $200 (both sides) to get that much life out of a replacement cv. That being said, I have a bit more lift than most and may be a little hard on the axles twice a year. The more parts I've swapped, the more I respect OEM for wear items. Just my .02. Besides that, who really wants to swap a cv on the trail? If I had not caught the Cardone axle issues and had gone wheeling, I would have been doing a trail replacement.

Those cardones sound nicer than the ones I looked at.

The Napa $109 ones have the nicer boots, I did see that. Can't go wrong with those good cardones.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Well, first off; to answer your question... yes, there is a decent CV axle that isn't a CVJ; the Factory Toyota one. I am not trying to be snarky, but honestly that's about how I rank them:

CVJ
Toyota
-------"The Line"-------
Everything Else


Is the CV Axle in good condition besides the tear? If so I'd honestly just spend the time and get a Toyota Reboot kit (or a CVJ one if they offer it) for something like $50~70-ish I think is what customers usually get them for and reboot the axle yourself (or have a reputable shop do it, it will probably be a hundred or two in labor & parts depending on how business is done out there). There's no real need to toss a perfectly robust factory axle for a less quality one if you can help it in my opinion.)

 

[CAN-03runner]

It's a great idea to carry a spare. Bad idea to replace a Toyota CV with something else. Picture is my non Toyota replacement....

"it's easier and cheaper to just replace the entire thing rather than reboot" they said. What a rip off, I gave a ripped boot but otherwise good Toyota CV as core for junk that broke in half. Yes it was out wheeling, but I don't think it should have broke where and how it did. I've seen stock original CV in worse positions survive. Only CV I've witnessed break have been replacements.

Now it's back to a rebooted Toyota CV axle, some other poor sap gave in as a core. From now I'll only run Toyota CV and carry autoparts spare to get me out of the trail. I think autoparts store parts are meant for street use, to get you by, to get another couple of years out of a 10 year old car, or try to get it sold, leak and squeak free.

Either way, OEM or autoparts carry a spare if you wheel. When I broke mine I didn't have a spare so we had to make an aluminum brace to keep it from flapping around and get me out of the trail. Now I know, live and learn.

 

[Mike07SE]

Lotus Development now makes axles for 4th Gen, FJ, and 2nd Gen Tacos:

FJ Cruiser/4th gen 4Runner/2nd gen Tacoma - Chromoly Caged Axles - Lotus Development

Supposed to be pretty good with a CV six times stronger than OEM, but the downside is that they are pretty expensive at $565 each!!

 

[bamma]

I have had good success with rebuilt Toyota axles. I would trust them over any new non-toyota axle. I got mine at Autozone where I could inspect what I was buying to ensure it was an oem rebuilt.

 

[ryosten]

Dealing with CVJ or cores isn't really a big deal. Very friendly folks and when the they get the core it is processed quickly. I just reused their boxes...not much to it at all. The work of swapping them out is the PITA...and it isn't that bad.

Call them up hone:

 

[S4TA]

If you use CVJ, just make darn sure your old ones are OEM. One of mine wasn't and I didn't know it. Spent $88 to ship both back to them and only got $95 back. I ended up spending over $400 for two axles (after getting my core fee back)

 

[xxaarraa]

CVJ offers a few different boot upgrades on their rebuilt axles. I am lifted 4" in the front and know that a stock/OEM boot is going to rip, even on a brand new OEM CV. I intend to buy a CVJ remanufactured CV, just so I can get them to put the upgraded neoprene boots on.

 

[bigbirney]

Thanks for the help everyone. I will probably go with the CVJ. Not much more than the expensive Cardone, and seem a lot better.

I am not sure if I need an upgraded boots or not. Front is spacer lifted 2.5. We do not do much OffRoading these days, but use 4wd a lot in the winter.

I am pretty sure mine are OEM. We have owned her for 100k and previous owner never even used 4wd.

 

[S4TA]

Thanks for the help everyone. I will probably go with the CVJ. Not much more than the expensive Cardone, and seem a lot better.



I am not sure if I need an upgraded boots or not. Front is spacer lifted 2.5. We do not do much OffRoading these days, but use 4wd a lot in the winter.



I am pretty sure mine are OEM. We have owned her for 100k and previous owner never even used 4wd.

Have CVJ send you the return label. They get a lot better rate than I was able to get from USPS. They will take it off your core refund.

 

[SteveHeadedWest]

+1 for CVJ

I'm just over a year on my CVJ axles and they are still serving me well.

I'm lucky I'm in Denver and didn't have to ship them. Good product. Good people.

 

[williamteichroeb]

I'm just over a year on my CVJ axles and they are still serving me well.

I'm lucky I'm in Denver and didn't have to ship them. Good product. Good people.

how are they holding up still, now that it's been an additional 2 years?

Anyone else used CVJ axles and been happy with them?

In the next couple months I'll be replacing my cv axles and will only consider CVJ or OEM and the boots of the CVJ look like they're awesome. I may even decide to keep one of my cv axles and reboot with a kit to have a spare on hand.

Stupid question maybe, but the left side and right side are the same correct?

 

[Drunner97]

how are they holding up still, now that it's been an additional 2 years?

Anyone else used CVJ axles and been happy with them?

In the next couple months I'll be replacing my cv axles and will only consider CVJ or OEM and the boots of the CVJ look like they're awesome. I may even decide to keep one of my cv axles and reboot with a kit to have a spare on hand.

Stupid question maybe, but the left side and right side are the same correct?

I went with a CVJ with the high clearance outer boot. It's been throwing grease for the last 6 months. No cracks, splits, or anything but there's a pinhole in the boot. I picked up an OEM axle for 50 bucks shipped on eBay and I'll buy the reboot kit for 50 bucks and handle it myself from now on. It's not hard, it's just time consuming and messy. I now have 2 spare axles so I'll always have a rebooted one on hand to swap as needed.

 

[Miranthis]

previous owner did the front half shafts 5 or 10K before I bought it but did not save receipts. They are clearly still new looking and I can see on the frame and surrounding parts where it was throwing grease when the boots on the old ones failed. Any way to tell what you have installed on the car from a visual inspection? I assume he did not use OEM, but how to tell what brand was used without removing them?

 

[Drunner97]

previous owner did the front half shafts 5 or 10K before I bought it but did not save receipts. They are clearly still new looking and I can see on the frame and surrounding parts where it was throwing grease when the boots on the old ones failed. Any way to tell what you have installed on the car from a visual inspection? I assume he did not use OEM, but how to tell what brand was used without removing them?

Not a clue off the top of my head but I check the spares I have for obvious markings.

 

[flipflopnfly]

The Toyota service dept I went to guided me away from OEM replacements, said they've used reman'd CVJ's for a long time. I only have 10k miles on the CVJ's but the truck is fulltime 4WD so 10k miles on them. Did some pretty good grinding on them trying to dig the trailer out of a nasty spot, so far so good.