CV boot replacement question

Hapeacres

Hapeacres

New member
just had a transmission fluid exchange at the local dealer and they called to tell me that both CV boots are torn and grease is leaking out all over. They said what they do when this happens is to install new axles on each side that are complete with the sealed grease and new boots. The cost of repair plus parts is 530 bucks! Does this sound reasonable? It must be a real pain in the ass to replace if it costs that much?
 
Register to hide this ad
Axles are relatively easy to replace. I think the price is way too high unless they are replacing it with NEW OEM axles. Most of the time the replacements are remanufactured.
 
Last edited:
Why can't they just replace the Boots? Toyota sells the Boots as a Kit that includes both Boots per side. Would be much cheaper unless the axles are Shot.
 
I had this issue on my tacoma and it was explained that labor rates of the repair would exceed the cost of the new parts. Labor rates at my dealer in MA are close to or over $100 an hour now.
 
you really don't have to go to the dealer. if you want to save even more, go get the axle yourself at rockauto and have a repair shop install it for you. this is if you don't want to get your hands dirty.

another option if you want to fix it is buy the cv boot kit and replace it yourself.
 
do not use the cheapo rock auto axles
use something decent
if your at a toyo dealership and they are using toyo axles go for it
and its bullshit-- toyo is just lazing about swapping boots out
i just did mine and it took me a whopping say 15 min from start to finish and i am no pro
 
cmoua said:
Axles are relatively easy to replace. I think the price is way too high unless they are replacing it with NEW OEM axles. Most of the time the replacements are remanufactured.
Click to expand...
at the dealer I would assume they are new.

Az4runnin said:
Why can't they just replace the Boots? Toyota sells the Boots as a Kit that includes both Boots per side. Would be much cheaper unless the axles are Shot.
Click to expand...
after labor to swap them out, it comes very close to the price of the new axle.

Jassco said:
I had this issue on my tacoma and it was explained that labor rates of the repair would exceed the cost of the new parts. Labor rates at my dealer in MA are close to or over $100 an hour now.
Click to expand...
yep, this.

we have stopped rebooting axles. its just not economical anymore. for $40ish more you can get a complete axle.
 
I just find toyo is lazy and mostly incompetent
They tell people need new lca's as bjs are non replaceable / bushings un replaceable
Upper bjs un replaceable
And on and on
God i hate dealerships
Thank god i will never step foot in one again
End of rant
 
Brutalguyracing said:
I just find toyo is lazy and mostly incompetent
They tell people need new lca's as bjs are non replaceable / bushings un replaceable
Upper bjs un replaceable
And on and on
God i hate dealerships
Thank god i will never step foot in one again
End of rant
Click to expand...


To be fair, Toyota itself specifies that the ball joints are not replaceable. While it is possible to replace the ball joints, it should be noted that you should be using a ball joint that has a retaining clip and/or have the ball joints tack welded to the control arms. The reason being that the act of replacing the ball joints can stretch the stamped metal bores, which is why Toyota recommends they be replaced as an assembly. Not entirely sure why Toyota didn't use the bolt-on ball joints like they did on the Camrys and such. As for the bushings, that one is just ridiculous.


This is what our parts fiche would look like, the squares indicate assemblies, where the part numbers inside the box typically do not show up when a parts guy looks them up (they get redirected to the assembly.)
FRONT AXLE ARM & STEERING KNUCKLE. Fits: 2004 TOYOTA 4Runner 4700CC 32-VALVE DOHC EFI, AUTOMATIC 5-SPEED | Village Toyota Parts
 
Blackworksinc is correct... brooootalguy work on your English you putz. To the original poster that labor quote seems accurate, but I would strongly recommend rebooting your current axles. The reman cv axles are GARBAGE.
 
There isnt one brand of aftermarket axles that are quality? I asked the dealer if they used OEM and he said no, they use aftermarket but did not know the brand. The runner has 170K on it so maybe that has a lot to do with it as well since all the grease came out I can see why they would rather just replace the axles. BTW, they performed some kind of software upgrade on the brakes? Anyone know anything about this?
 
Hapeacres said:
There isnt one brand of aftermarket axles that are quality? I asked the dealer if they used OEM and he said no, they use aftermarket but did not know the brand. The runner has 170K on it so maybe that has a lot to do with it as well since all the grease came out I can see why they would rather just replace the axles. BTW, they performed some kind of software upgrade on the brakes? Anyone know anything about this?
Click to expand...
wow, and yikes.
for the price above, I would have expected OEM parts. that is too high for aftermarket stuff.
 
BRossman said:
Blackworksinc is correct... brooootalguy work on your English you putz. To the original poster that labor quote seems accurate, but I would strongly recommend rebooting your current axles. The reman cv axles are GARBAGE.
Click to expand...
i am a putz GO **** YOURSELF how is that for English you pos

BlackWorksInc said:
To be fair, Toyota itself specifies that the ball joints are not replaceable. While it is possible to replace the ball joints, it should be noted that you should be using a ball joint that has a retaining clip and/or have the ball joints tack welded to the control arms. The reason being that the act of replacing the ball joints can stretch the stamped metal bores, which is why Toyota recommends they be replaced as an assembly. Not entirely sure why Toyota didn't use the bolt-on ball joints like they did on the Camrys and such. As for the bushings, that one is just ridiculous.


This is what our parts fiche would look like, the squares indicate assemblies, where the part numbers inside the box typically do not show up when a parts guy looks them up (they get redirected to the assembly.)
FRONT AXLE ARM & STEERING KNUCKLE. Fits: 2004 TOYOTA 4Runner 4700CC 32-VALVE DOHC EFI, AUTOMATIC 5-SPEED | Village Toyota Parts
Click to expand...

all i know i i am by no means a mechanic and i swapped out my lower bj's, control arm bushings, rebooted cv's......hell the cv took me all of about 10 to reboot and repack
when my taco was new the oil seal for the front diff started to leak...they replaced it, it leaked, they replaced it again, then the last time they said they would replace the entire diff....turns out guy was setting them too deep.....
errrr
 
Brutalguyracing said:
i am a putz GO **** YOURSELF how is that for English you pos



all i know i i am by no means a mechanic and i swapped out my lower bj's, control arm bushings, rebooted cv's......hell the cv took me all of about 10 to reboot and repack
when my taco was new the oil seal for the front diff started to leak...they replaced it, it leaked, they replaced it again, then the last time they said they would replace the entire diff....turns out guy was setting them too deep.....
errrr
Click to expand...

I'm not saying you can't do it, in fact I even mentioned what parts/how to install them to prevent issues if you do decide to replace just the ball joint. As for the bushings, it seems like getting them separate might be an issue from a dealer based on how the parts fiche looks; but that doesn't mean it isn't possible to replace.

As for the previous experience you had with a dealership(s), I can't really offer much more than my sympathy. A good dealership/mechanic isn't always easy to find unfortunately.
 
I bought a new boot kit from the dealer and had mine replaced at a local shop that only works on Lexus/Toyota. The kits are like $35. There should be nothing wrong with the axles that they would need replacing.
 
BlackWorksInc said:
I'm not saying you can't do it, in fact I even mentioned what parts/how to install them to prevent issues if you do decide to replace just the ball joint. As for the bushings, it seems like getting them separate might be an issue from a dealer based on how the parts fiche looks; but that doesn't mean it isn't possible to replace.

As for the previous experience you had with a dealership(s), I can't really offer much more than my sympathy. A good dealership/mechanic isn't always easy to find unfortunately.
Click to expand...

moog make all the parts for 1/3 price of toyo parts, upper / lower bj's, lca bushings, cam bolts, all greasable as well
toyo also sell all the bushings and cam bolts / adjusters but for the cams and bolts and bushings your looking at some coin$$$
one can do all moog lca bushings and bolts for $150
why does toyota not grease the lca cam bolts prior to installation
just about every truck i know has at least a frozen cam after a few years of ownership
also its funny how toyo sells the boot kit but will not install it and will recommend or use aftermarket cv's "according to op"
 
Brutalguyracing said:
moog make all the parts for 1/3 price of toyo parts, upper / lower bj's, lca bushings, cam bolts, all greasable as well
toyo also sell all the bushings and cam bolts / adjusters but for the cams and bolts and bushings your looking at some coin$$$
one can do all moog lca bushings and bolts for $150
why does toyota not grease the lca cam bolts prior to installation
just about every truck i know has at least a frozen cam after a few years of ownership
also its funny how toyo sells the boot kit but will not install it and will recommend or use aftermarket cv's "according to op"
Click to expand...

Moog's balljoints have retaining clips if I remember correctly, which would be good alternatives to replacing the control arm as the clips account for possible bore stretch. Also, Toyota does recommend rebooting the CVs if they are not damaged. Unfortunately, not all dealerships follow Toyota's guidelines for repairs as evidenced by your experience. It's a minor distinction, but I want to point it out as there's a difference between a crap dealership recommending/performing poor repairs versus a manufacturer recommending an strange repair (i.e to replace the LCA to change the bushings.)
 
Who makes the "OEM reman'd" CV axles?

I'd be interested in seeing if one could find out who actually makes the OEM re-manufactured axles.

On the recommendation of a few members who had replaced theirs, I decided to pay the extra ~$40/axle for the "OEM remans" from Toyota. There have been reports of slight fitment issues with axles from NAPA, Rock Auto, etc. When I received the parts I noticed that there was a noticeable difference in the inner tulip housings between my OEM's and the reman's. I'll have to try and post a pic later when I can get both taken for the comparison. My original ones have more of a bevel on the inner side tulip, on the channels in which the tripod bearings ride (if that makes any sense). LIke I said, I'll try to get a couple of pis up.

I just wonder if there was an aesthetic change in the shape of those housings at some point, or just some variation based on which plant they were manufactured in (just like how some/many trucks have denso plugs on 1 half of their cylinder heads and NGK's on the other - I've read it is thought it might be due to what facilities different sub-assemblies are made in prior to final assembly),
[MENTION=66389]BlackWorksInc[/MENTION] - Have any thought / insight to this??? :noidea:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 449 (members: 5, guests: 444)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,304
Messages
3,554,041
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top