So after 4 months of a 2" lift, the cheap axle I had on passenger side (put in 18 months ago) gave out on me. Put a spare cheap axle on almost 2 months ago... still hear clicking etc but boot not torn and its working. I ned to look at it again and see if something else is causing the noise. But this got me into looking again for the obsolete oem axles for the GL/Loyale. I asked raxles.com and they said they had them in stock. I was willing to pay extra for high quality which they are known for. But he made a mistake and did not have the right axles  

 

So is everyone just dealing with the crap after-market axles? Anyone have oem quality front axles for these cars? I don't want to worry about this every 4-6 months but seems its the reality of owning these cars. Anyone ever do custom front-ends?

 

Other than that, my Loyale is running very strong and no issues. Was thinking of selling it for something bigger but I really prefer to keep it as long as possible. 

 

Thanks,

sull

I have found that Empire axles last awhile. I just replaced a front one that had lasted 6 years before the boot blew 

Are empire and empi one and the same?

Are empire and empi one and the same?

Hi Kgrove46 - It looks like Empire bought out EMPI, and the quality has tanked. There's a company in Denver that will remanufacture your axle and make it awesome. http://www.cvjreman.com/  I'm going to chime in here and just say, should you change your mind about selling your Loyale, and if it is a manual 5-speed 4wd, please contact me.

 

Hi Kgrove46 - It looks like Empire bought out EMPI, and the quality has tanked. There's a company in Denver that will remanufacture your axle and make it awesome. http://www.cvjreman.com/ I'm going to chime in here and just say, should you change your mind about selling your Loyale, and if it is a manual 5-speed 4wd, please contact me.

No, USA axels bought out empi, but we are still getting old stock empi up here. Empi axels are good they are new and last a long time. Empire and empi were the same company, now they are USA axels which I haven't had a chance to try out yet

Found some empi on Amazon 52.00 an axle in need of some thinking I'll give them a try thanks guys

i replaced the boot and repacked the new axles i got from oriely there holding up real good so far they where clicking in the right out of the box in the store when i took the original crapy rubber boots off there was no greese in the cv joint i packed them and added silicone boots all good now for over a year with a 3" body lift and 2" suspention lift

On both my loyale and gl I've yet have an axle last more than a couple months before clicking. It drove me nuts for a while and determined as OP said, just a part of owning these cars. 

At the store, grab them at the ends with both hands and try to shake and twist the sh!t out of them. If they click or wiggle and move really easily, dont buy them. Get a different one. They cant argue with that.  They should be stiff and have no play.

Did you do a 2 inch lift by using blocks on the strut only?    the axle will wear out quickly ,  you should  block the cross member at least 1 inch as well.

i have an axle for a turbo that won't fit my subi i will trade it for a axle that will fit my 88 dl wagon.

off to pull and save to buy some used axles for 15 bucks each