CV Axle Replacement

A

abrosk927

New member
So i lifted my 97 and as expected the boots ripped, so just wondering about the replacement. I did the lift my self and it was fairly difficult for the first major job i did alone on my truck.

So just wondering how difficult the CV axle is to replace?

Will i have to disconnect my front struts to replace it?

Only wondering this because they were very difficult to get in and i don't feel like wrestling with them if i do have to take them out
 
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No need to remove the strut. I think I just popped the lower ball joint out so I could move the whole hub which made it very easy.
 
snivilous said:
It's a 35mm socket, I got mine at a hardware store though I think it took going to a couple to find it...

If you haven't found a guide, I followed this the first time: Toyota Maintenance: CV Axle Replacement on 3rd Generation 4Runners and Tacomas

It's super easy.
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Ditto, that guy gives some good advice for getting it in smoothly, follow it.

The original nut is a 35mm, but I think some aftermarket nuts are actually 36mm. If you get a 36mm socket, you can take off the 35mm just fine and you can do a 36mm.

I think I got mine at Autozone. Otherwise, Amazon.

Also, I'd recommend getting a torque wrench so that you can actually put the axle nut on at the recommended 174ft/lbs. I know alot of car guys kind of scoff at some of the torque specs, but the axle nut actually pre-loads the bearing, so it isn't just a simple good-n-tight situation. I have a home depot torque wrench, and it probably isn't THAT accurate, but it gets it close, certainly a lot closer than me just doing it by feel.
 
Don't trade them as core for non Toyota CVs.

Toyota sells reboot kits. Buy those.

The non Toyota CVs have a rep for being weak, inferior.

Just reboot it or pay someone to reboot it.
 
Unless there is something wrong with your CV or they are broke, you don't need new CVs. They are fine. Toyota sells factory re-boot kits that come with new inner and outer boots, grease, and clamps. They are like $30 something per kit. You need 2 kits to do passenger and driver's side. I did both mine because the boots were 10+ years old.
 
TNRunner99 said:
Unless there is something wrong with your CV or they are broke, you don't need new CVs. They are fine. Toyota sells factory re-boot kits that come with new inner and outer boots, grease, and clamps. They are like $30 something per kit. You need 2 kits to do passenger and driver's side. I did both mine because the boots were 10+ years old.
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Well at this point they are 17 years old so i feel like my best option is to just replace them and have a lifetime warranty on the parts from advanced.
 
abrosk927 said:
Well at this point they are 17 years old so i feel like my best option is to just replace them and have a lifetime warranty on the parts from advanced.
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You are wrong. No offense intended but sorry your logic is wrong.

They may be 17 years old but that doesn't matter. If they were never broken then they are probably still 100% fine.

Ex. 1. Your frame is 17 years old. Unless it was rusted or bent, what benefit would you see by replacing it (if you could lol) with an inferior Chinese steel one?

Ex. 2. Your rear differential gears are 17 years old. They work fine right now, never been broken. So would you be better off removing and swapping those gears (even if you had a free set) with aftermarket Chinese steel gears from a cheap non Toyota parts place?

Because that is what you are doing when you buy after market (auto zone or whoever) CVs.

Sure they have a lifetime (NON Transferable) warranty.

SO WHAT? Its nearly meaningless. That warranty will not help you on the trail. You break them and they replace the part once you get home. Meanwhile if you kept the Toyota ones you probably wouldn't have a broken CV in the first place.

The autozone replacement water pump has a lifetime warranty as well. Surprise, mine still failed at 40k miles. They know most people don't keep their used cars more than 4-5 years and once its sold the warranty is invalid.

I know I sound snarky but it is just to get the point across :)
 
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Or if you really want replacements trade them as cores on genuine Toyota remans from Camelback or other online Toyota parts house.
 
REBOOT!!!!!

Trust me i have replaced one cv axle atleast three times this past year!

Also when you reboot either get longer boots or stretch them out, last time I rebooted my stock cv's the boots wore out within a couple weeks time. currently I have a cheaper aftermarket cv in there waiting to get new better boots.

PM me for any questions CV's are easy on these especially with the stock ones, and rebooting is pretty easy too, i never rebooted one before and had mine done in about 20 min.
 
I would not think it would take more than 1 hour labor to reboot 1 CV assuming you removed it from the vehicle.

Are both leaking? I paid a shop to reboot my drivers side CV. No need to do the passenger side since it isn't leaking at all.

They charged me $180, including the 2 part (inner & outer) Toyota reboot kit, plus removing and re-installing it from the car, plus all the grease work. Their labor rate is $90 hour so I think it came out to 1.5 hr + parts = $180. That is why I say pull it off the truck yourself and it should only be 1 hour.

The key is you need to find a Toyota or Japanese shop that will do the work. Some Truck places may do it as well but it that case you should probably order the reboot kit yourself and just bring them the CV plus the boot kit.

For parts I suggest entering "Camelback Toyota Online Parts" into Google. The link should be at the top. Those guys are legit and better price than the dealer. Also you can call them anytime, just be sure to mention you want the internet price.

Good luck!
 
BrianSD_42 said:
You are wrong. No offense intended but sorry your logic is wrong.
They may be 17 years old but that doesn't matter. If they were never broken then they are probably still 100% fine.
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I completely agree.

If you want to spend the extra cash only get new CVs from the dealer. I had no reason to replace my CVs that's why I rebooted and they are just fine, plus a lot cheaper.

abrosk927 said:
How much would it cost to reboot them at a shop? Assuming i take them from the car? Or should i have them do it all?
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I had a shop reboot mine. They did the work fairly quick cause they only wont on Lexus and Toyotas. Don't remember the cost though, but it was worth having them do it.
 
BrianSD_42 said:
I would not think it would take more than 1 hour labor to reboot 1 CV assuming you removed it from the vehicle.

Are both leaking? I paid a shop to reboot my drivers side CV. No need to do the passenger side since it isn't leaking at all.

They charged me $180, including the 2 part (inner & outer) Toyota reboot kit, plus removing and re-installing it from the car, plus all the grease work. Their labor rate is $90 hour so I think it came out to 1.5 hr + parts = $180. That is why I say pull it off the truck yourself and it should only be 1 hour.

The key is you need to find a Toyota or Japanese shop that will do the work. Some Truck places may do it as well but it that case you should probably order the reboot kit yourself and just bring them the CV plus the boot kit.

For parts I suggest entering "Camelback Toyota Online Parts" into Google. The link should be at the top. Those guys are legit and better price than the dealer. Also you can call them anytime, just be sure to mention you want the internet price.

Good luck!
Click to expand...


Should i have it done at a toyota dealership?
They offer me 20% off for have over 200k miles
 
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