CV longevity

[marcusgl10z28]

This is my first time trying duralast gold "new" intead of the remans I've been getting and going through... they seem higher quality...as the cv joints felt tighter and smoother than the remans and for some weird reason they were less expensive. I guess ill see how durable they are after running them with a lift for a little while...

 

Just looked under my old parts car and my wagon... bothe have the "green" colored axels so I'm guessing origional rear sets on both... boots were blown on the parts car but not the wagon and the parts car dosent seem to have any play at either joint so that means that both sets have over 250k on them... but I'm only getting mabey 15k on a set of remans...cuz I've changed them every 2 years or so....

 

this is crazy that companies coul put out crap axels and be willing warrenty it fo the life of a subaru... did they not look up how long these things last!? Cuz they are losing money in the long run I think... just for giggles to put it out there I've paid 100bucks for 6 axels so far for crap axels I do know that the lift will hurt the axels and shorten the clock for them a little bit but it is getting old changing them.

[nipper]

Also the lifetime warrenty sometimes is not of the car, but of the part. Once the part fails, they will replace it once for free. Other times they are betting you loose the receipt or forget about it.

[mikaleda]

Also the lifetime warrenty sometimes is not of the car, but of the part. Once the part fails, they will replace it once for free. Other times they are betting you loose the receipt or forget about it.

Lifetime of the part, lol

I'm sorry sir, but your part is dead, the warranty doesn't apply now. I can just see one of the guys behind the counter at shucks saying that

[Numbchux]

Also the lifetime warrenty sometimes is not of the car, but of the part. Once the part fails, they will replace it once for free. Other times they are betting you loose the receipt or forget about it.

At Autozone, no need for the receipt, just need to remember a phone number. Also, you can get new ones as long as you own the vehicle.

[marcusgl10z28]

New duralasts boots are seperating already...its only been a month of daily driving... very frusterating.. I'm gonna have to drop the k member an inch to relive a little stress... I'm not gonna waste my time every month replacin an axel cause the boots are garbage and deal with a little stress... ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!...

[RedBrat]

 

On another note napa now carries "new" c.v's, I can't say how good they are. the quality looked good, but their is no way to tell until someone on her buys them and gives them a review.

I have a clicking front axel.  Any one have experience with the Napa C.V. joints at this time?

[Gloyale]

New duralasts boots are seperating already...its only been a month of daily driving... very frusterating.. I'm gonna have to drop the k member an inch to relive a little stress... I'm not gonna waste my time every month replacin an axel cause the boots are garbage and deal with a little stress... ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!...

 

let me guess, you got a 2" over stock lift kit? with no drop on the crossmember?

 

 

Loosen the inner boot small clip, and then slide it up the shaft and reclamp.  Keeps it from being stretched all the time and ripping.

[rrgrr]

Here's my little axle adventure:

 

Replaced my slightly noisy pass. side axle a month or so ago with a reman  from O'reilly's while installing my 2" lift. The other side came apart when I got the lift together there. Went and got another reman, this time from AutoZone, -(O'r's was going to take a few days, and I wanted it back on the road). The p-side was clicky from when I put it in. When I went back to O'r's, they swapped me for a New Duralast Gold -(looks totally different) -and took the reman core for warranty reasons. That DLG axle was Real clicky, but I figured I have lifetime warranteed axles at both places, so I would run it 'til it made me mad enough to change it -Again.

 

(Later, AZ kept calling saying they had an axle I ordered & paid for, but never picked up...okay...so I went and got my spare -a reman, too!)

 

Got on the highway a few days later and the DLG inner boot split, throwing grease everywhere and freaking me out with the smoke from grease on the exhaust. So I swapped in the reman axle from AZ and it is good.

 

Now Neither place is selling reman axles, and have changed the part #(60-7008) to that of a new axle w/no core required. The new number gets you the DLG axles, beware. We put one in my friends '86 and it seems fine. I think the QC lacks on these, it's a crap shoot. Looking at Rock Auto, it appears remans are being phased out and a couple of new styles are offered -not all look like the new DLGs -some have a more OEM appearance from their pix.

 

Still haven't decided who to return the DLG to, but I'd rather have a reman if I can get one.

Anyhoo, hth

Edited October 27, 2013 by rrgrr

[Subarocket]

I tore the boot on my passenger side front axle. As soon as I got the car back it was making all sorts of noises. Control arm bushing was gone but I didn't believe that was all the noise. Replaced bushing. Still have noise and crazy shuddering.

 

The axle has play between it and the splines in the trans axle. The noise it makes when wiggled is similar to the noise it makes when it shudders. I can't find any play anywhere else except for the sway bar- control arm bushing. 2 garages have told me the cv is fine but I watched and they really didn't look into it.

 

Would this play be a faulty cv? No clicking noise but plenty of others and good shuddering. Problems are intermittent too:(

[Subarocket]

I tore the boot on my passenger side front axle. As soon as I got the car back it was making all sorts of noises. Control arm bushing was gone but I didn't believe that was all the noise. Replaced bushing. Still have noise and crazy shuddering.

 

The axle has play between it and the splines in the trans axle. The noise it makes when wiggled is similar to the noise it makes when it shudders. I can't find any play anywhere else except for the sway bar- control arm bushing. 2 garages have told me the cv is fine but I watched and they really didn't look into it.

 

Would this play be a faulty cv? No clicking noise but plenty of others and good shuddering. Problems are intermittent too:(

[1 Lucky Texan]

Seems like you had someoen else work on the axle? maybe they bought the wrong part or ????

 

take it back and demonstaret the problem to them. Even if a boot splits, you can usually drive for weeks/months before there is a serious problem.

Edited October 28, 2013 by 1 Lucky Texan

[Subarocket]

I had someone else do the work while I was on the road. Went back, they didn't believe me. Said te axle was fine. Blamed it on other things. Still had problems, went to another shop on the road as they were a NAPA dealer and I could warranty it. He hardly looked and blamed it all on my loose inner control arm bushing. I fixed the bushing and the problem is still there. Problem started when the cv joint went in lots of other things have been fixed and problem is still there with cv joint.

 

It's almost as if the knuckle/ joint binds and clunks through a rotation. Sometimes it binds, sometimes it doesn't. It seems to behave for long periods of time and then it goes into a near death shudder.

 

I decided to take it for a 1700km road trip to test it out. My grandma is dying an I sure as hell wasn't taking a bus.

[Subarocket]

Today I drove my car around until it started making noises. Jacked it up and held the drivers side wheel while I pushed the gas with a 2x4, causing the passenger side to spin. I immediately heard clunking.

 

I went underneath and held the cv axle as I rotated the wheel. Lo and behold I could feel nastiness going on, then just as I was trying to describe, I feel tension in the wheel, feel the axle binding and then see the inner cv bind and shift, pop and release the tension. Exactly as I described it as I was driving.

 

Called napa. Getting an appointment for warranty work. Can't believe it's taken this long. Any recommendations on brands to put back in. They would have to be supplied by napa.

[1 Lucky Texan]

you might ask if they can get EMPI (new, from ISO 9002 Chinese plant - FWIW) but honestly, many people run into problems with both new and rebuilt aftermarket.

[marcusgl10z28]

Update... the new axles in front are holding up great no signs of wear and they are holding up to lead foot . My odo is off but I'm sure I've put about 10k on them since spring.. the car is at almost 300k still running solid stock rears... ... so at this point my conclusion is that the remans are crap and the new ones are fairly sturdy... still have no corrective block on the front end btw.

[marcusgl10z28]

New update... pass frond no torn boot but just started clicking pretty loud... looks like diassembly all over again... I thing I'm gonna repaint the steel down there while its apart...

[odie]

 

let me guess, you got a 2" over stock lift kit? with no drop on the crossmember?

 

 

Loosen the inner boot small clip, and then slide it up the shaft and reclamp.  Keeps it from being stretched all the time and ripping.

 

 

never heard of this but it sounds sensible. I'll check all my non-torn boots

[marcusgl10z28]

Its not just boots tearing the... the female end of the cv at the trans output is also growing in size... its wobbly by the touch...1 boot blow again driver side inner... clips are pulled and boots are pushed up...

[1 Lucky Texan]

OK you CV axle rebuilders, I found this ;

and reinstall them so the races of the inner and outer CV’s are out of phase with each other. Slide the boots off the inner CV’s just far enough to see the inner race for comparison.

at http://www.scifaith.com/clickers/

 

I have never seen this before! Just common knowledge that no one ever discussed, or unnecessary nit-picking?

[marcusgl10z28]

Makes a sort of sence.. if I'm reading it right... wouldn't it just be easier to swap the axels from. Side to side???. I'm gonna tear down my rears and clean and regrease them... ill post pics of what 300k oem axels look like inside...( I've never even opened or removed them .. bood are still good but I'm sure a regrease couldn't hurt.

[1 Lucky Texan]

well, swapping from side to side makes sense to me and I have even suggested it. I have an axle waiting for cleaning and rebooting and when it goes on the car - it will be on the opposite side.

 

HOWEVER, what the article seems to be saying to me (that I have never considered before) is there is a 'proper' orientation/phasing/timing involved such that the outer joint has a ball at, say - the 12 o'clock postion - and that would be exactlyu between the rollers of the inside 'freering' joint. Or something similar if the inside joint is a DOJ.

 

I haven't seen enough unbooted new axles to know if they really concern themselves with that or not. But, I certainly would NOT be surprised that rebuilders never consider it!

[1 Lucky Texan]

well, a little searching seems to indicate a few interesting things -

 

might not be a good idea to swap axle sides (maybe only a concern with high performance cars/off-road? and how would you know if you bought a rebuilt?)

 

'clocking' the joints may only be important for high lift/max articulation vehicles

 

Some axles that have tripod joints at each end CAN be clocked a certain way to reduce vibration

 

read here; http://www.outfrontmotorsports.com/cv_assembly.htm

 

http://thinkfastengineering.com/2012/10/tripod-clocking/

[coxy]

Gee my Brumby (Brat) has been rebooted a couple of times and repacked with good CV specific grease but these original Subaru CV joints have dome over 400,000 KM and are still good. Here in Australia being a mechanic I also know who to order from to get replacement CV joints from that are sourced from the Original Japanese suppliers, So should I ever need a CV joint I can get the same spec from the Otiginal supplier to Subaru and rebuild the axle.

 

Inners are held on with circlips and are easy to swap and outers simply require moving the CV to one side to expose the flat section of the inner spider and a good strong blow with a copper hammer maybe five or six times at worst always pops them off for me as they are just a circlip internally that requires some effort to compress into the groove to allow the joint to move off the axle.

 

Rebuilding axles and mixing and matching is no big deal, just use good CV specific grease preferable synthetic stuff and use genuine Subaru boots, It really sucks you guys cannot get CV joints in the USA, Maybe you need to do a group buy of quality ones from overseas.

 

PDF catalog available on the homepage for download, Been using then for years in the trade with no drams at all.

 

http://turnerdriveshafts.com/site/

[coxy]

Or you could go direct in the USA and order them from the manufacturer.

http://www.ntnamericas.com/en/products/constant-velocity-joints

[Idasho]

Im running Empi axles on the front, they seem to be doing great.  

 

They are 100% brand new, not reman, and have very thick boots compared to other axles Ive seem and used over the years on multiple vehicles.

 

My GL still has what looks to be factory installed rear axles and boots.  Still intact, but sooner or later I need to get around to re-booting them.