Guys,

This does not apply to my 4runner but my wife's 95 Camry:

My wife's Camry's outer CV boot (driver's side, front) was torn and was shedding the CV boot grease. Typical symptoms included grease everywhere, torn boot and the infamous "clicking" sound when turning in reverse.

After several PMs and threads, some members (most notably SLC_Punk) recommended that I purchase a rebuilt halfshaft instead of messing around, tearing out the existing one, and rebuilding it. Great advice.

I bought the genuine Toyota rebuilt halfshaft (done by some 3rd party contractor) from TOR for $130, which $30 of it is the core charge. I tried to do it myself, but i could NOT take off the axle hub nut. I was going to give it another try this weekend but I called some local independent shops and one shop (good Christian owned business) said he'd do it for a little more than $60. So of course, i took it in and now its perfect. No mess and now i have next weekend free to work on my 4runner

So here's the cost savings: my local dealership wanted + $350 to remove, rebuild and install my existing half shaft and CV boot. I had this done for $135 (part) + $65 (shop labor) - $30 (core charge) = $170. I saved over $180. And I'm pretty happy about that.

Of course if you had the tools, time, knowledge, etc to do this yourself, you can buy the CV boot kit from Toyota for $65-ish. However, I was willing to bite the bullet and pay the $170 and call it a day.

And here's the best part: in my quest to remove the axle hub nut, i had to buy a mechanic's set of metric sockets and a 30mm socket. I spent $60. So all in all, I saved $120 AND got some new goodies for the tool box.

Bob

 

You might want to get it aligned thou, if they had to loosen the strut to change the axle.

 

Hey Gregg,

Thats what i thought too and i called my normal dealership and they said no. However, if there is some serious drifting, i'll probably take it in for alignment---or do you think i should get it aligned anyways?

Bob

 

When I change axles and have to remove the two bottom bolts on the strut I usually try to mark them to put it back the same way.I never got an alignment after that but who knows if that mechanic does that or just slaps it back together.I would just check the tires after a couple hundred miles to see if they are cupping or wearing uneven .

 

That sucks it was clicking Bob, otherwise you could have just replaced the boot like me. If anyone needs Honda parts, I know a guy that will sell OEM parts for really cheap. The boot on my Accord EX was $22, and the labor was free

To get the hub nut off, I used a 1/2 in ratchet with a big daddy socket and my 3 ton jack handle as a lever. That's right, the entire jack handle comes off and will fit over the 1/2 ratchet. It provides some serious torque!

 

I saw the link for this thread on VA97's post.
Glad you got someone to fix it cheap Bob!

Unless you have some noticable alignment problems, just keep an eye on the tires and make sure they aren't wearing abnormal. If they are not, then you will be ok not getting an alignment.

Since Toe is the thing that wears out the tires the fastest, and they shouldn't have messed with the tie rods, you should be ok.

 

yeah the hub nuts are on there pretty tight, its something like 190ft/lbs. i had to put a piece of pipe on my ratchet handle to ge it undone. Oh yeah, and carquest cv boots are the same as toyotas, thats what I replaced my torn boot with, havent had a problem since, no leakage. and they were $30 for all 4 boots with grease and clamps(befefits of having a friend in the buisiness)

 

$30 x4 or $30 TOTAL?

 

30 total, they have been on there for a little over a year. and are doing just fine.

 

That's amazing!