As soon as I get in my Aisin manual locking hubs from Toyota_Parts_Dude (Thanks!!!!), I need to get me some new front axles. Either that or rebuild the CV joints as they have been exposed for about a year. My main problem with the other axles I have used is the boots failing after about 6-9 months. I am sure the manual lockers will help, but is there a place I could get a normal axle with a little better boot? I got the ones I am complaining about from Carquest. Are the other local autoparts stores any better like BAP-GEON, AutoZone, O'Reily, or Standard? Or do they get them all from the same place?

 

I got mine from Napa. No complaints yet. If your's have been open a year I would definitly replace them. The manual hubs will help considerably on CV life.

 

Get the Toyota kit to rebuild the boots. It cost $60 and includes everything needed. You may need new axles though if they have been open for that long. My original boots lasted over 120K miles, and the 2nd set have been on for over 80k.
The axles bought from those different stores can be manufactured by the same company but they usually have 2-3 different brands to chose from. If they have a 1 year warrenty take them back and get a new ones.

 

That's the pisser. I bought the original ones 3 years ago and the boots lasted about 6 months. When the one year warrenty was about to expire I took them in and got new ones. Then when these boots gave out I tried the same thing and now they tell me that the warrenty doesn't cover the boots. And in fact the warrenty would not cover anything if the CV's were exposed by worn out boots.

So, should I trust the ones from NAPA or should I get factory ones?

I think what I'm going to do is find some good cheap ones and watch the boots. As soon as they bust I will get the factory boot repair kit.

 

Ask Jason (Toyota Parts Dude) if he has any axles. He's got great parts. I bought a couple from him a while back.