Hi guys, does anybody have any experience with Cardone CV axles?

My front left axle boot tore, slinging grease everywhere. Cardone seems to be the primary choice on RockAuto, just want to make sure I'm not buying cheap chinese junk

thank you

 

They are all made in China. None are great.

 

Well that sucks, any decent quality replacements you know of outside of a Lexus dealer (CV axle is $800 at my local dealer, forget about it!)?

 

Yes it does suck. I've tried Cardone, Trakmotive, GSP and others they are about the same. They RUST really quickly I paint the exposed metal parts. EMPI makes a good axle but they are not common. Best thing is to re-boot the factory axle.

Lexus does sell reman axles for some cars (made by Detroit axle?) but I don't know how to look up the part numbers.

 

Im running a cardone front cv on my awd, that i purchased form rockauto and its been 3 years so far so good. I say go for it!

Avoid replacing the long passenger cv axle, it is a nightmare to remove from the vehicle.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys!

So I actually called Cardone customer service and asked them where the CV axle is made/remanufactured (no info on RockAuto). I was pleasantly surprised when they told me they're made in their factory in Texas, and it's a new unit too, not reman. In case anyone is wondering, the part number is 665310

Therefore, I ordered it. Wish me luck with the install!

 

Yeah, I read about that. I think I'll bring the car to the shop if I ever need to replace the passenger side.

 

Did both the driver and passenger side myself. The driver side was easy as expected. The passenger side required about 10 minutes of muscle using a large flathead screwdriver and small sledgehammer to force the CV shaft out of the transmission. Installation was just as easy once the original part was removed. Just make soak the moving parts with PB Blaster for a few minutes before attempting to hammer anything.

 

If you notice it soon enough, another option is to repair the axle by replacing the boot and grease. Toyota / Lexus axles are pretty high quality, so this Toyota MDT recommends repairing rather than replacing, even though with the cost of parts (aftermarket for replace, and OE for repair) and labor the job costs about the same either way:

 

That is not happening in upstate NY :lol:

 

Yea I believe that. My car is originally from Ohio. So there's rust, but very minimal considering the location. The previous owner always babied and garaged. Any more rust, would have needed an air hammer to do the job.

 

One shop told me his worker cracked or damaged the oil pan around the CV. He was trying to be careful too.

 

Ouch! That must have hurt. The entire front drive train would need to be taken apart and repaired!

But I can definitely see that happening due to the design with heavy corrosion.

 

How did you remove the passenger side cv axle? I'm trying to take it out right now with a long chisel and hammer, the thing isn't budging at all.

 

You'll probably need to let it soak with some PB blaster for a day or so. Then hit it again with the chisel and hammer. That's what I did, and I was able to complete the job. But at first it wasn't budging.