Is there things I might as well get out of the way while I'm having my boots repaced? Bearings?, do I need to repace axle? I have 52,000 mi.

 

I did the whole front axle assemblies when my boots tore... cost wasn't that much more than just the boots since I wasn't doing the work myself. Plus I had about 115k, so it seemed like cheap prevention...

With only 52k, I'd say just do the boots unless the other parts look like they're worn. How long did you drive it with a tear in the boots?

 

The labor saving way to do this recently is to buy a remanufactured axleshaft and swap it for your old one. The up front cost should be around $180 then they pay you a core charge of about $90 when you bring back the old shaft.

I don't know the specifics on the new stuff but I know you need a 36 mm socket to get everything apart. There are probably some gaskets that need to be replaced when you take it apart. Its probably a good idea to re-pack your bearings while you are there. Depending on how worn your brakes are rehab them as well.

 

I thought that 99 runners had sealed bearings in the front so thats not a problem all i would do is replace the inner and outer boots of the axle that is torn if you drove for a while with the boot torn replace the hole axle shaft becauce in no time you will start to hear the axle make noise and you will be doing the job all over.