That time I tried rebuilding a CV axle instead of buying new

I had a 2005 Civic come in last spring with a torn boot on the passenger side. Usually I just swap in a reman unit for like $80 and move on, but the customer was tight on cash so I figured I'd rebuild it myself. Got the axle pulled and cleaned up, repacked the joint with new grease, put on a fresh boot and clamp. Put it all back together and it lasted maybe 3 days before it started clicking again on turns. Turns out I didn't get the cage aligned right inside the outer joint. Wasted about 4 hours and still had to buy the reman axle anyway. Has anyone else had better luck rebuilding those or is it always a gamble?

2 comments

2 Comments

cameronf884d ago

Yeah, the "didn't get the cage aligned right" part hit home for me because I messed up the same way on an old Subaru axle. I found that you have to really pay attention to how the rollers sit inside the cage before you slide the whole thing onto the shaft (like, there's a specific lip that needs to face the joint housing). What worked for me was marking the cage and inner race with a sharpie before taking it apart, so I knew exactly which side was which when reassembling. Even then, it's honestly way easier to just buy the reman unless you really need to save that $20.

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hugomurray4d ago

Ha, messing up a Subaru axle is practically a rite of passage at this point. Sharpie trick is smart though, I just used a lot of swearing and guesswork. But yeah, $20 savings ain't worth the 2 hours of wondering where that LAST DAMN ROLLER goes.