Alright so my cv boot has a big gash in it. the mechanic tells me to just get a whole new cv joint because its not worth spending money for just the boot. hes says it will just end up having more problems. he quoted me $250.00 just for one cv joint. i asked how much for just the part. he said $150.00 So i have never done a cv joint and i dont know how hard it is. his work is warranted, so should i spend the extra hunderd and have him do it for a warrantee or should i risk it and do it myself? i only have a small jack and a small set of tools. and very little knowledge on cv's. what do you guys think? is his price reasonable?

that guy is a thief, don`t give him the job. you can get a rebuilt cv for $80 and switch it out in less than an hour. that is if you are mechanically inclined, even if you are not, its not too hard to figure it out....

 

EDIT: actually, if it isn`t clicking, just get a cv boot repair kit, cut off the torn boot, pack the joint with grease and re-boot it, thats by far the cheapest option, though it is not easier...

All you need is a 3/16 punch, 36mm and a 14mm socket. Thats if you do it the easy way.

 

if you want to take the brakes off and all that... get a 12mm, 17mm.

 

Theres a couple ways to do the job. Paying a mechanic $250 is one way. But you can get just the CV for under $70 if you shop around. Thats for a reman CV, if you want a brand new CV you can get them for $100 from autozone.

 

-Brian

Really, you can just replace the boot if it's not clicking. It's easier than taking the whole axle out... you can pull the inner joint off the trans with only a punch and 12 and 14mm wrenches. The DOJ is easy to dissasemble and you can grease and install two new boots easily. For my money unless the axle show serious signs of wear or is making noise, the boots are like $8-$10 each (you'll need inner and outer), and the whole job can be accomplished in an hour if you have done it before - maybe 2 if you haven't.

 

Mechanic isn't gougeing on the price - that's about right for a CV, but he did inflate the cost of the part to make his labor seem cheaper than it really is. That, and even $100 for labor is steep - most dealerships (and I'm talking good dealerships - Inifity, and Lexus, etc - high end stuff, not Kia and crap) only charge around $80 - $90 an hour. He of course has a lift, and air tools - he will have that axle done in 30 minutes or less if he's done them before. That makes his labor ~$300/hour figureing his cost for a QUALITY axle at $100, and I'm sure he gets wholesale from wherever he's getting his parts.... so actually he's makeing a HUGE profit from ya. Nothing that most slimy mechanics wouldn't do, but I've seen shops do axles for $175 or sometimes even less.

 

My write up on axles will help you with dissasembling the inner joint to replace the boot if you go that route.... I haven't finished my write up on axle replacement yet..... yeah I'm lazy.

 

http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/axle_rebuilding.html

 

GD

Its not too bad of a job. I had richie do mine on my GL. I have done afew other CV joints for others and I have had issues sometimes and no issues others. Most of the ones I have done are GL and Gen 1 legacy's.

 

with a BIG breaker bar and a jackstand... its not too bad.

 

Usually shops seem to charge an average hourly rate for the CV's Sometimes it takes more, sometimes less. Depends on how siezed up the roll pin is and if the bearings pop out with the CV or other hidden issues arise.

If you remove the CV and your bearings come out with it, you just doubled the price on parts. You will need to install new bearings and new seals and thats about $50-$60 right there. Not to mention another 2 hours to the labor. Really sucks when you remove a CV and see the bearing stuck to the shaft.

 

Ive probably done a good 10-15 CV jobs in my lifetime, and 2 or 3 times the bearing was siezed to the shaft. All the other times the CV has come right out.

 

-Brian

Jeez guys - stop scaring the kid - the bearings don't often pop out like that unless you have some serious issues with the seals and they are contaminated, and thus shot anyway. Besides - if the bearing comes out it's not the end of the world.

 

Also - if you just do the boots without removing the axle, you won't have to worry about the bearing issue - and getting the axle out of and back into the bearings is the only marginally difficult part of the axle swap. Boot replacement is easy - like changing spark plugs.

 

GD

ok well it is clicking. it is a pretty good size gash so i am losing grease like theres no tomorrow. He said to not replace just the boot because it will not solve the problem in the long run. Hey flowmastergl how much does richie charge? i lost his shops number. i wouldnt mind doing it if i had a air lift. lol but just that little jack is going to suck! oh well i am going to shop around tomorrow and see what kind of deal i can scrounge up. if i can find a place that will do it for under $200.00 i will have them do it. if not i'll do it.

appreciate all the help!

i think $250 is high. should be able to find someone closer to the $150 range to install a complete axle, even in "city" areas which are typically on the higher end i'd think.

 

i'll go ahead and be the weirdo of the group, a clicking front CV joint with torn boots will last 50,000 miles. i've driven them that long and they've never failed. so i wouldn't worry about it too much if that's more money than you want to spend or you'd like to do this yourself in the future. if they start clicking while you're going straight, that's when i start thinking they definitely need to be replaced. all this to say....your axle isn't likely to fall apart anytime soon, so don't feel pressured into getting it done right away.

 

if you did attempt this yourself a jack is not enough, you'd need jackstands or blocks to hold the car. don't crawl under it with just a jack holding it.

I have worked in several parts departments, at several dealerships......and ALWAYS, the customer price for a cv axle was inflated to 150.00 regardless of what it cost us from the downtown auto parts store.

We would often buy axles aftermarket for as little as 50.00:-\ I wasnt so happy about screwing people over.....but you hafta do what youre told if you know what I mean. So, in short....I would say that price is way too high for even the parts alone. Hope this helps:rolleyes:

CV job is one of those things that you are going to have get use to.

 

My first one took me 2 hours b/c I didn't know what i was doing.

 

Second one took me 40 mins, axle removal, complete rebuild and reinstall.

 

whatever you decide learning to do one will save you a bunch of $$ in the future.

 

BW

Pick A Part. probably 20 dollars at most. for a used axel

I'd have to agree that replacing axles is something you are going to want to get used to if you drive an old subaru.

 

doing it yourself will save you lots

Just do it yourself. I'm only 16 and have done it, it's really not hard at all. Just make sure to not break any of the bolts.(like me)

lo ok i'll give it a shot. anyone in the portland area wanna help?

"You can do it...." in that cajun voice from waterboy

 

do a search and I am sure there are some good write ups about it.

 

BW

I am not in vancouver, but I charge $150.00 per side installed for almost all cv shafts, most cars that includes the shaft, reman. A lot of shafts are becomeing avail new for $5 or $10 more due to lack of cores. if I install a new shaft there is no core. check your local parts stores, ask about new? Easy install. good luck.

I never had a bearing come out. Try to clean some of the dirt off first just in case. The last time I bought a "new" CVJ I got used ones from a Subaru specialist repair / sales shop. About $40.00. Bought the boot kits, relube etc. I like to have a spare one ready to go. Really shortens up the repair time when one fails or you get lucky and find the torn boot before the clicking starts.