lefty2053 Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 I got my first torn boot, 1985 2dr Hatchback 4WD right side. Not being able to do the work myself, I caled a local shop and they quoted me $125 installed for the whole axle and CV boot. $90 for just the CV boot. I plan on having them do it since I am disabled and can't handle that kind of work anymore. Big O tires wanted $169 for the same job. Is this a fair price for this work? I did call and get a quote of $71 for the parts if I bought it. Re-manufactured from NAPA. So I guess the Labor would end up at $54. Just wanted your input, I most likely will have the job done next week. I figured the Whole re-man is better for the money than just replacing the boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerFahrer Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 You are wise in wanting to replace the whole axle instead of just the boot. It's entirely possible that foreign material/loss of grease could have damaged the current axle enough that just repacking and rebooting won't solve the problem. I strongly recommend www.cvaxles.com for all your Subaru axle needs. Final cost of the reman axle is $55, with a proven lifetime guarantee, and a reputation that is surpassed by no other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 125 is typical and fair. definitely replace the axle and not the boot in my oppinion. i wouldn't stress out about it, your axle is not anywhere near failure if this just happened recently. unless you go 4 wheeling through sand. i go 50,000 miles routinely on broken boots and wait for a brake job or something else to get in there and do it. the clicking noise it makes doesn't bother me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaru_dude Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Sounds right. but yeah, you can drive a long time with a torn boot. I drove about 15,000 on mine and even then it didn't make any noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phychotron Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 i just did my passenger side half shaft the other day, and today i had to replace the other side cause it was clicking... if one goes, usualy the other is about to go, and i knew this, but i didnt think it would be within the same week. 125 is decent, my axles cost 69.99 from auto zone (cause thier the only people with them in stock, could have been cheaper if i ordered them from a different store)... life time warrant. it took me about 2 hours to do the driver side, so $54 labor is pretty good for just about anything other than brakes or a tune up.... come to think of it, i was quoted about the same when i was calling around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenTBK Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Buy your axles from CVO (Constant Velocity of Ocala, aka http://www.cvaxles.com) for $55. I've met the owner, and his shop turns out some great work. Highly recommended. :cool: OTOH, the prices you've tossed out for having the shop "take care of it" are well within the average range. Theres usually ads/coupons in the paper for some shops to do it cheaper. So if price is your biggest selling point, look around some more. I've seen ads go as low as $75 per axle installed. However, my suggestion is to buy the axles yourself.. saving you a bit of overhead and markup, and just pay the labor for installation. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 not trying to poke at his good points, they are both good options to consider, just be advised that typically i think those adds are applicable to a limited number of vehicles and the rest (probably most if not all soobs) will be priced a good bit higher, right around the same range he's already paying. gotta be careful buying parts, some places hate doing that. some places don't mind at all. i got a machine shop that doesn't want to mess with parts, i order everything and he does the rest. but for the most part places don't like and some won't even work with customer given parts. years ago i had a shop charge me the amount they would have made for supplying the part themselves when i supplied them with a part. they didn't want to do it, but i could get the part quicker if i ordered it so they let me do it but still tacked on the profit margin they would have made had they supplied the part. in other words i bought the part and they still added 15 dollars or whatever they would have made onto the bill. once (different place, but same state - GA) i saw a sign inidicating higher prices to install customer parts! i'd sell the shop on the fact that you want to supply the part so you get a high quality part over trying to save 10 dollars, they could get annoyed with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richierich Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Sounds like a fair deal, I charge a slightly higher price for my axle/labor. The thing to consider is if your axle fails do you have any labor warranty? Customers can bring in their own parts, new or used. But they are not warranteed. Meaning that if you brought in an axle at it was to make noise next week or next month, I do not have to install another one for free. Where as if I install one of my own axles I have to warrantee the parts and labor for year, 363 days later if the axle makes noise, I have to install another axles at no charge to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty2053 Posted May 2, 2005 Author Share Posted May 2, 2005 Thanks for all the replies. I am having the brakes checked also while it is in the shop and will have them replaced if needed. I have been having a metal on metal noise coming from the fron end. I was able to look at one of the front brake pads and it looked fine to me with the metal warning plate about 3/16 of an inch from the disc. I have heard the sound from that front tire before but am not sure what it is. Most of the time I hear it when driving real slow and turning either right of left. It also makes the sound when I am coming to a stop. So I thought it was the warning plate. I will have the guy check out the other axle while he is at it. Don't want to take it back to him with in a week for the second one. I will ask about his warrenties on the parts and labor. He is buying the parts and putting them on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawksoob Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 I went to Firestone a couple of months ago to inquire about installation of a new CV axle. The guy quoted me close to $260. I told him I have never paid more than $130 for an axle replacement - typically $70 or so for the axle, half hour of labor. He went on about how much better their axles were than EVERY OTHER one out there. Right. I went to Sears for a second opinion and they charged $160, including a 4-wheel alignment ... about what I'd expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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