So I bought the $40 cv axles from rock auto

[depth]

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...434457,drivetrain,cv+half+shaft+assembly,2288

I took it to a 4wd specialist mechanic and he told me those axles should’ve cost $400 each.

Are they just going to break? Is it even worth installling then?

 

[rwh963]

you usually get what you pay for. given shop labor rates, i don't buy cheap stuff.

 

[duffdog]

yeah, they just break. I have broken 10 of them. I currently have an extra one in the back of the truck for the next time it breaks.

 

[Inv4drZm]

yeah, they just break. I have broken 10 of them. I currently have an extra one in the back of the truck for the next time it breaks.

Have you broke any on the street or just wheeling?

 

[eddielasvegas]

Don't the OE CV axles break?


Eddie

 

[Mullett757]

ive had mine for a year so far with beach and normal road use and zero issues

 

[depth]

you usually get what you pay for. given shop labor rates, i don't buy cheap stuff.

Ugh. I guess I’ll just install them then get the better ones next time.

 

[Billynath1988]

Don't the OE CV axles break?


Eddie

OEM axles are the best and strongest axles you can get unless you do LOTUS or RCV. you can buy 3 sets of OEM for the cost of those.

You can buy rebuilt OEM axles from CVJ. Which is probably the best best.

* I have been running and wheeling my original OEM toyota axles, I have rebooted them twice.

 

[cloud]

CVJ for the win, I murdered my Chinesium axles after 2000 miles. The rock wasnt even that big!!

If you change them yourself and don't beat your truck up, parts store give you lifetime warranty axles for $70. Just get comfortable changing them regularly if you climb small obstacles. It would be wise to keep a set of joints without the axle in case you have to do trail repairs.

When your axle breaks, you have to lock the center diff or you will just sit and spin the side of the diff with the busted axle.

As I discovered, the Chinesium axles were 2" too long. This is probably why the alignment took six hours at the dealer.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

 

[duffdog]

Have you broke any on the street or just wheeling?

Just wheeling. I can't imagine that driving down the road or in parking lots causes the axle to break.

 

[duffdog]

Don't the OE CV axles break?


Eddie

Nope. People just change them out when the boots deteriorate thinking that they have fixed something and then find out later after dozens of axle breaks that the OE axles are a billion times better than any chinese knockoff part. I wish I still had my Toyota axles - they literally never broke or wore out, I only had to reboot them and didn't know that all the aftermarkets were so bad.

 

[nuron]

OEM axles are the best and strongest axles you can get unless you do LOTUS or RCV. you can buy 3 sets of OEM for the cost of those.

You can buy rebuilt OEM axles from CVJ. Which is probably the best best.

* I have been running and wheeling my original OEM toyota axles, I have rebooted them twice.

Do you reboot with oem boots or those red extended ones?

 

[cloud]

Nope. People just change them out when the boots deteriorate thinking that they have fixed something and then find out later after dozens of axle breaks that the OE axles are a billion times better than any chinese knockoff part. I wish I still had my Toyota axles - they literally never broke or wore out, I only had to reboot them and didn't know that all the aftermarkets were so bad.

Mine weren't broken, but they weren't going much past 176k miles. They may not snap crackle pop like Chinesium, but they certainly do wear out. Previous owner was not a wheeler.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

 

[Billynath1988]

Do you reboot with oem boots or those red extended ones?

I rebooted with HD boots from SDHQoffroad this is my second set. the first one lasted about 5 years of abuse.. which imo is better then expected.

the first time repacked with Polytron EP-2 Li Complex Grease for both inner and outer, I also use for the entire driveline grease zerks, which has worked great and I had no issues with.

This time I used, Red Line 80401 CV-2 Grease for inner and outer. Just figured why not. As long as its high quality, high temp, high pressure grease and it stays in the boots.. your fine..

 

[Drunner97]

Don't the OE CV axles break?


Eddie

Yes, yes they do. Just not typically under minor-moderate wheeling.

OEM axles are the best and strongest axles you can get unless you do LOTUS or RCV. you can buy 3 sets of OEM for the cost of those.

You can buy rebuilt OEM axles from CVJ. Which is probably the best best.

* I have been running and wheeling my original OEM toyota axles, I have rebooted them twice.

You must not be locked in the front yet. I killed 2 OEM axles within 10 mins of each other while I was stuck on a boulder on my gas skid. Destroyed both outer cages. In hindsight I should have just winched off after the first one grenaded.

Do you reboot with oem boots or those red extended ones?

It's 50 bucks for 2 reboot kits on ebay, or at least it was a month ago. Doesn't take long to reboot them and in my experience the extended boots get trashed just as quickly as the ebay boots. It's not worth the money.

I rebooted with HD boots from SDHQoffroad this is my second set. the first one lasted about 5 years of abuse.. which imo is better then expected.

the first time repacked with Polytron EP-2 Li Complex Grease for both inner and outer, I also use for the entire driveline grease zerks, which has worked great and I had no issues with.

This time I used, Red Line 80401 CV-2 Grease for inner and outer. Just figured why not. As long as its high quality, high temp, high pressure grease and it stays in the boots.. your fine..

I blew out a cvj extended inner boot within 3 months. I have 2 sets of axles, one from Autozone and one set of OEMs. When an axle starts to leak I swap them out and reboot when I get around to it, even if it means carrying a leaking axle as a spare.

 

[Billynath1988]

so yeah, locking the front on any IFS requires upgraded axles of stock just to be clear.. I wouldnt run a locker in the front unless I bought RCV's..

 

[Drunner97]

so yeah, locking the front on any IFS requires upgraded axles of stock just to be clear.. I wouldnt run a locker in the front unless I bought RCV's..

I wouldn't necessarily go that far. I ran 3 rock crawling trips where I was locked 80% of the time and didn't snap anything until halfway through the 3rd trip. Most of that was my fault, and the rest was my buddy that said give it some gas while my front end was drooped max with no traction. There's a Tacoma guy in the group I wheel with that's out every 2-3 weeks and has never snapped a front axle while locked. Although on the other side of the coin there's 2 guys (3rd gen runners) that seem to snap one every other time out. One finally upgraded to RCVs. It's as much driver skill as it is component strength.

 

[Billynath1988]

I wouldn't necessarily go that far. I ran 3 rock crawling trips where I was locked 80% of the time and didn't snap anything until halfway through the 3rd trip. Most of that was my fault, and the rest was my buddy that said give it some gas while my front end was drooped max with no traction. There's a Tacoma guy in the group I wheel with that's out every 2-3 weeks and has never snapped a front axle while locked. Although on the other side of the coin there's 2 guys (3rd gen runners) that seem to snap one every other time out. One finally upgraded to RCVs. It's as much driver skill as it is component strength.

Well thats a testament to the quality of the oem axles. However they are not designed to be locked like that. They are still the best possible axle you can get outside of RCV or lotus. and like you said, how aggressive with the gas pedal you are will determine how long your axles last. I think 3rd gen axles are not as strong, built for a light truck.. but im not sure on that.

 

[duffdog]

I wouldn't necessarily go that far. I ran 3 rock crawling trips where I was locked 80% of the time and didn't snap anything until halfway through the 3rd trip. Most of that was my fault, and the rest was my buddy that said give it some gas while my front end was drooped max with no traction. There's a Tacoma guy in the group I wheel with that's out every 2-3 weeks and has never snapped a front axle while locked. Although on the other side of the coin there's 2 guys (3rd gen runners) that seem to snap one every other time out. One finally upgraded to RCVs. It's as much driver skill as it is component strength.

I just realized from reading your sig that you have 35" tires on an IFS rig?!! To me, that seems like a recipe for endless destruction of literally every drivetrain part. Now I can see how you broke 2 OE CV's on the same day. If I was going to run tires like that the only option I would look at would be d60's from an f350, anything less seems too weak IMO.

 

[Drunner97]

I just realized from reading your sig that you have 35" tires on an IFS rig?!! To me, that seems like a recipe for endless destruction of literally every drivetrain part. Now I can see how you broke 2 OE CV's on the same day. If I was going to run tires like that the only option I would look at would be d60's from an f350, anything less seems too weak IMO.

You'd be surprised. Snapping 2 axles that quickly was definitely driver error. I wheel with 3 other 2nd gen Tacomas on 35s (1 has LT so he doesn't really count) and none of the 3 have snapped axles or blown rear ends. They also have a lot more experience than I do with a locked front and crawling. My 4runner is a trail rig and I treat it as such. Drive train is fine. I actually blew out my rear end while I was on 33s and unlocked. I've had 35s almost a year and have done everything from fast desert running to slow speed crawling and some moderate trails in between with no issues other than a bent shock mount on the rear axle.