I recently went to my mechanic who told me i had a blown CV boot. When I looked at the proposed invoice it included replacing the CV boot, plus the axles and an alignment. When I asked if replacing the axles was necessary they just said it was easier. Not believing it was necessary I haven’t done the work but want to to eliminate any more serious problems. The other mechanic i use in town charges for a diagnostic but isn’t cheaper. I don’t want to pay for any unnecesarry work. Is it required to replace the axle?
A new or rebuilt axle will have new boots installed, so you shouldn’t have a charge for another boot replacement. If the boot has been ripped for any length of time, dirt and water will have gotten into the constant velocity joint, shortening its lifespan. Given the cost of labor to replace just the boot, it is often a better bet to just replace the axle(s).
See if you can post the two different charges(give both the parts and labor prices) 1.replace axle 2.replace boot You dont name the car but axles usually go in pretty fast. Boots are a messy dirty job.
The axles have to come out to replace the boots anyway. You’re better to just replace the axle.
Split boots are available as a cheap fix, but the CV joints are probably dried of lube and contaminated anyway.
What brought you to the mechanic in teh first place? Noises from the CV joints?
Is it clicking on turns. If not, I’d just get the boots done, even though the cost of replacing the boots might actually be more than replacing the axles with remanufactured units. The problem with remans is that they are usually someone else’s old worn out axles with new boots and a thicker grease to cover the clicking sound. I have never seen a good one, though some regulars here claim they have.
If you do have the clicking sound, you could take a chance on a reman or you could go with new axle. The OEM axles are expensive, but there are new axles coming out of China that cost about the same as a reman but with the quality of a new OEM (or very close to it anyway).
As mentioned earlier, its either boots or a new (or reman) axle, not both. Also, if you don’t have the clicking sound, you need to move fast as it only takes a couple of weeks with a split boot before the CV joint is ruined. Also if you go with just the boots, do all 4, when one goes, the others will soon follow. That should save you a lot on labor in the long run. If the boot on the outer CV joint is split, the inner one usually has to be removed to get to the outer, so the cost to replace the inner should only be the cost of the boot itself.
BTW, year and make of car? Boots usually last 6-8 years depending on climate.