guys l need you opinion on this, been very confused on what to do. my drivers side cv joint is leaking for a while now and now when l hit the highway l hear a humming sound from the drivers side telling me the cv is drying out. l need your advice whether to replace it as a whole or just rebuild it. l dont know how hard it is to rebuild, anybody tried that before? thank you.

 

I just replaced the passenger side CV axle on my T5-R and debated what to do. Here is what I know, compared to other front wheel drive vehicles, changing out the CV axle is a breeze.

With that in mind, I suggest having a local business who specializes in rebuilding CV axles and you do the reinstall. You will get a far superior rebuild then going to local auto-parts store. If you have questions on this, let me know and I'll explain.

I ended up just having my local place rebuild and install the factory CV axle. The cost is approximately $200 with labor without tax.

I hope this helps

 

thank brother for your fast responds. l just made a decision to just stay OEM. l called my local volvo mechanic and will be getting a used one tomorrow. As of now l am short of $$ and time, l am looking forward to just install a used one from my mechanic. will use that for a while and if it happens that breaks too l will find time and save up money and rebuild it as soon as possible. my current axle has leaked for too long and l think rebuilding wont be a good idea. what do you think?

 

or l will replace it with a used one, keep the broken axle, rebuild it when l get the time and money to do so. in case the replacement breaks l will just replace it with the rebuilt axle. how does that sound?

 

If you are short on time, I completely agree with the above posting. Keep your factory CV axle and get it rebuilt latter. I forgot to mention, the place local to me offers a lifetime warranty on their rebuilt CV axles

I have never had to replace a rebuilt CV axle on any of my vehicles

 

What Up Slim.
Long Time. My .02 is just buy a re-manufactured one. $50-$60 bucks + core. The used one your looking at is probably $30-$40 anyway. As to an auto parts store having subpar Drive Shafts. I'm skeptical. My local Napa gets theirs from a local re-manufacturer. And from Audis to Benz I have never had a problem. As far as lifetime warranties go. They all pretty much come with them. And they are limited. (defects in product nothing more nothing less) All hype (Are your brake pads really warranted for life?) (Exactly) As to why one thinks a volvo half shaft is so much superior to a reman is beyond me. It's not like they use titanium to build the friggin things. Size weight and internal bearings are all going to be to spec. Bottom line dont get caught up because it's an OEM part. How good are those OEM torque bushings volvo uses? So good, no one has them on their car. Not to mention your new will probably have an original volvo bar anyway.

Good Luck

 

I disagree. Have you ever compared the quality of materials (rubber boots) and grease used between a rebuilt and re-manufactured? I'm guessing not but I have.

However most people keep a car for three years and move on to a different project. If that describes you, get the re-manufactured CV axle and continue to love your "R"

BTW - Do you know what causes most CV axles to go bad?

 

brother l havent heard from you in a long time. where have you been, please pm me your number. lost my fone and lost contact with you.

the new one l am trying to get is empi and cost almost $90 dollars with shipping. l was thinking getting a used cheap one will be the cheapest to go. am paying $40 for the used one. l will keep my broken axle, then take my time and rebuild it correctly without rushing. l dont trust parts like that from the autoshop. l had my passenger axle replaced with a re-manufactured one, 6 months later l ended up replacing it with empi, the empi is getting rusty already but my OEM is still good without rust but just broken axle rubber that needs rebuild.

 

been there. my empi rubber boots are still good but its rusting already.l need to grease it up before it breaks.

 

Ummmm, using an aftermarket fuel filter? No, No. That causes premature suspension failure. Are you serious or what? You make no sense what so ever. In your world, taking your half shaft and having it rebuilt, is somehow better than buying one that went through the same process but is already boxed. O.K. Did it ever occur to you that the reason the cores are so high for half shafts, is that they in turn get rebuilt reboxed and then resold again? But hey, since you seem to have an MBA in CV joints and a AA in condescension, why don't you enlighten us all. First what brand boot did they especially make for you. What's the breakdown of your $200 bill. (i.e. what was the cost of the axle and what was the cost of the R&R labor of said axle? Did they just clean it out and repack the bearings? Or were new bearings used? How about the Spider Joint? Did they just do the outer or the inner as well? You braggadocio about a lifetime warrantee tells me all I have to know. Like somehow insinuating that in 10 years when the boot tears or you have a failure, that they are going to come to your house with white gloves apologize to your family, give you an R8 as a loaner, and buy you lunch while they fix it. As to slims problem, it sound like the first one you got was a lemon. You should have returned it. As to the new one rusting, what exactly do you mean? Rusting where exactly? Also I'm not so sure you really want to rebuild it your self. If it's just for the experience, then have it. But usually they're a little complex. Think a gazillion little pin bearings. One slip and you'll either be spending your summer trying to place them all, or you'll be starting over with a new kit. BTDT which is how I know that driving with the improper antifreeze to water ratio is what really causes CV failure. Not elements entering it from a torn boot like most people think. I'll shoot you a P.M. in a little bit.

 

I normally wouldn't use the warranty as a reason to buy something inferior but I guess I've never opened up a new rebuilt shaft to see the guts. I know the return rate for failures from two different auto parts stores I worked at were almost zero. I think most were Cardone remans.

What did you see in there that looked bad ??

I purchased new shafts from Oreilly a couple years back and have had no complaints or problems and the nice thing is they have a lifetime warranty which includes if the boots rip !! You can't go wrong.

I used to rebuild them back when that was the only way to go (80's) but honestly for all the trouble to disassemble, clean, re-grease and hopefully clamp down the boot properly it's like rebuilding wheel cylinders. By the time you're done and the mess you go through what did you really gain or save and what warranty do you have ??? IMHO I really like new or reman axles as it's so much easier, isn't that much more $$$ and it's warrantied.

 

Relax and don't take it personal. Most people don't understand what causes an CV axles to going bad. The question was not directed at you.

You have your opinion and I have mine.

We all have the same passion and its Volvo's

 

kiss4afrog, the rust is in between the inner and outer boots. l got it from partsgeek and its less than a year old. brand name is empi. do you have any recommendation on any autoparts store where l can get a new axle?

 

l think its probably due to the rubber getting weak and it rips causing it to leak.

 

If ... you are talking about the axle itself it really doesn't matter if it rusts. The part running between the boots? It would have to rust for decades to cause any structural problem with the axle.

If you just like pretty or you're undercarriage looks pristine you could sand it lightly and spray it with black pick-up truck box liner. That would keep it looking pretty and it's near bullet proof. I did my trailer hitch in it.

 

yes siiiiiiiiiiir that section is getting the rust. l will do as you said. l am going over to autozone to get their duralast gold axle with limited lifetime warranty. what do you think about duralust? tried them before?

 

reading some reviews on the duralust axles. they are noo Good. l would go ahead and order the Empi and see how it holds up.

 

If it's rusty there is no need to replace it. What matters is the joints hidden in the boots and saturated with grease work smoothly and quietly.

If the shafts rusting please don't buy a new axle. Just do some sanding and spray it with paint. Or better yet, do nothing as it's not a problem.

If you don't like the duralast go with the Oreilly shafts.

 

Someone needs to explain the difference between reman and remanufactured to me, I thought it was the same, taking a used unit and rebuilding it.

Other than that, I noticed that my daughter's passenger side outer boot was torn about a year ago (last July). Grease was everywhere. Then in September I noticed the same on the drivers side. Did a little research I decided to rebuild them because neither were making any noise at all. So on 12/24 I pulled both out, removed the old boots, removed the ball bearings, cleaned everything up real good, greased everything up, put it all back together and called it a night. It was cool, dark, and I was in the parking lot of my apartment complex. Took me 6 hours due to my situation (who would really want to do a job like that for the first time under those conditions?). All went well and they were doing well last month when the car was here.

As someone mentioned, these used parts lifetime warranties are designed to outlast your ownership, that's my belief anyway. So, let's see, in an old junker that will likely never leave the city limits... that'll be 2 years or 14,000 miles. That won't work for me. I've had my old junker for over 2 years already and put over 5,000 miles on it in the last 30 days alone. I have no desire to pull an axle every 6 month.

As for Slim's axle, as a DIY guy, my thoughts are to just move on if they get so worn that they are totally dry and/or making noise. There is no way to tell what is worn out and if anything needs to be replaced. I think my drivers side is bad because of random noise. It's not clicking in turns but I have other noises coming from that side which are related to movement (I guess any suspension problem would). Heck, it might be the strut for all I know. I can't find anything loose.

Anyway, before I go I will say that the spider joint or whatever it's called has some pretty large bearings, there are only about 7 of them in each joint.

 

Reman and Remanufactured are the same thing.

Rebuilt and remanufactured are often interchanged but are very different.

Rebuilt is in a very literal sense is something that is fixed. If it really is a rebuilt unit then for the same part number alternator for my vehicle one rebuilt might have a new voltage regulator and a second one might have a new bearing but not a regulator and a third might have a new brush assembly but they re-used the regulator and bearings as they tested ok.

They basically disassemble, clean, test and reuse anything that passes.

Remanufactured is something that is completely reassembled with all new parts (except the case and some other non-wear, non-electronic and non-load bearing parts

In the real world including parts store people the terms are interchangeable as most people don't know the difference and they've been used interchangeably so much everyone is a little in the dark.

Simply put, don't buy the one with a one year warranty. On Ford regulators it shows up. If you go cheap on the alternator look at the regulator. Because it's plastic they can bead blast it clean, they can't use a strong cleaner and you'll usually see dirt like a halo around the raised part number of the regulator bolted to the case.
Buy the lifetime "re-manufactured" one and you'll see everything is pristine.