Longtime lurker here. I have a CV axle issue with both the front right/left joints. It has classic symptoms associate with the CV axle in that there is clicking when exaggerated turns are made (i.e. the wheel is fully cranked). I’ve got a 2007 Honda Civic with only 68k miles that hasn’t required too many repairs thus far. Not that uncommon a position, I’m sure, but this is out of my league of repairs. Two questions with this:
When is it recommended to pull the trigger on replacing the axle? As this does not occur on a daily basis I’m hesitant do replace this without a worsening in the symptoms. Or is this something I should be proactive about fixing?
Thoughts on aftermarket axles? Any good experiences? Is it worth it to purchase a new factory axle? I’m planning on keeping this car going for 5-10 more years and don’t want one that fails after 30k miles. Other forums have trashed AutoZone replacement axles despite their lifetime warranty (not a fan of going back every year to have them replaced, even if the warrantee covers it). I’d prefer to purchase the replacement parts myself and just involve a shop to do the repairs. I don’t have any experience re-tooling old axles but from what I read this may be an option. Thoughts on this? Prior experiences?
If it is over your head to tackle the replacement, don’t buy the axle shafts and expect another shop to put them in.
Most shops do not like doing this because if that axle fails you will expect them to do the labor for free. Most shops can get their supplier to recoup them at least some of the labor cost if the parts store sold them a defective part. This is why most shop are particular about the brand of replacement part and why sometimes those parts are more expensive. They would like to do the job once and not twice.
You may want to google " 2007 Honda Civic axle replacement" and see if there are any videos on the procedure. It may be easier than you think.
Very few reputable shops will do repairs with customer supplied parts; if they do expect no warrantee.
There are decent aftermarket axles, but also lots of junk out there. I would go with axles from Honda if the plan is to keep the vehicle for a long time.
The next step after clicking on turns is wheel lockup, which can spoil your day. Change them soon.
They can last quiet awhile, but the noise will just get worse and worse. 10 years is about right for Honda outer CV joints. Remans have a much shorter life.
In your case, I would replace them with new Honda factory units. It will cost you more, but this car is easily good for another 10 years so you will get full use from them and none of the problems you might get from remans or aftermarket brands.
10 years from ow when you are faced with this decision again, remans or aftermarket would make more since.
Both of these choices are complete garbage, and in some cases even worse than your old axles. In some cases, they are noisey right out of the box, or don’t even fit correctly
Ironically, I have had good luck getting my axleshafts rebuilt at mom-and-pop shops who specialize in overhauling them. The price was quite fair, and the turnaround time was very quick. They can do it cheaply, because that’s all they do, and they have tons of the most common inner and outer joints, and the corresponding boots and clamps, sitting on their shelves.
IMO Empi axleshafts are okay
But ultimately, you should let the shop choose what parts they will install. You might ask what brand they’re planning to install
You ARE planning to bring this somewhere to have it done, correct?
Or are you planning to do it yourself . . . if so, I might have to modify my advice
OEM is expensive but expect it to last five times as long or a lot more. On top of brand new you really want the rubber boot to be of highest quality. Not sure how to estimate that other than brand new/OEM. I did the “life time warranty” once but they kept breaking around 40K and after the 5th time they pretended to not have it in stock.
I learned this year on this forum about dynamic balancers on CV axles. @db4690 and other frequent contributors - thanks! A certain aftermarket supplier that has not been named sold me one without a balancer that had machined grooves around the circumference of the axle where the balancer would be. I don’t know how it works yet, it’s on the shelf. The new Hyundai part turned out to be maybe twice as much. To be continued.
Prior to this, I did rear CV axles on my Porsche and it was all do-able, straightforward.
[quote=“davidmcnam, post:1, topic:95069, full:true”] Other forums have trashed AutoZone replacement axles despite their lifetime warranty (not a fan of going back every year to have them replaced, even if the warrantee covers it). [/quote]They come with a _limited_l lifetime warranty, which allows you one free replacement. Pretty much the only things at AutoZone with an unlimited warranty are the Duralast hand tools.
In general, a limited warranty just covers the replacement or repair of the product itself, and not any other damage associated with the failure of the part.
[quote=“keith, post:11, topic:95069, full:true”]
My truck is on its third set of free replacement Duralast brake pads.
[/quote]The store is violating the warranty policy.