CV joint repair -- how much?

Rather than replace the CV boot, you can buy a remanufactured axle assembly for around $150 plus a core charge. That's what I paid for a WRX Impreza axle assy (probably the same PN as a Forester), but you have to give them the old one to get the core charge back. This includes both inner and outer CV joints, boots and axle pre-assembled. Probably an hour or two of labor for a mechanic who knows what he's doing, but not really an easy DIY job.

I don't think you have to replace both at the same time, but I'm not a mechanic. Both of my front inner CV joints were failing, so I replaced both of them anyway.

There are two boots on each side, only one of the four is torn is torn, so why would you need to touch the other side? Typical cost in Oz is $A100-$150 to r&r one boot, $650 or $900 for dealer to r&r one reman or new CV respectively and maybe 2/3 that price elsewhere... but I just got a reman shaft & inner joint with a new outer joint fitted for $154 all up (15 mins labour) with 2 yr warranty. Not bad. Might pay to shop around. Cheers

IF the joint is not noisy and if you are mechanically inclinded, what about replacing just the boots after marking all relative positions, washing in mineral spirits, drying the parts, greasing and replacing the boots? Each boot kit with boot, clamps and the grease needed is about

In case you decide to go this route, remember to put about 40 grams of the grease inside the crevices in the boot itself, yes the rubber needs to be lubricated.

Seating the rubber boot on the axle with a rubber (wood) mallet, before closing the clamp is importarnt, otherwise the clamp may break.

Rob1066 wrote:

A reman halfshaft only costs 50-75 USD. Mechanics time is 80/hr USD. Figure $150-$200 per side with a independent shop. I'd only fix the side that's broke.

WHAT?

I paid recently $60 for reman of halfaxle/shaft and about $50 or so for the swap itself. I can recommend a shop in Chicago rebuilding that stuff.

A.

Now, I saw a guy replace the shaft on my AWD Tercel in about 20 minutes. Piece of cake! So, when I decided to do my Mazda 626, NINE HOURS!!!

Then, the next day, I heard the OTHER axle clicking. This one went better, only 2.5 hours!!! (it took TWO HOURS on the first one just to get the axle nut off!!!)

No - mine would havew been closer to the 9 hrs! Left it there and went to shops for a quick coffee. Came back and all done. 3000Km up since with no concerns. Probably a bit impractical to ship your car all the way to Granville NSW though :)

OK, we're going in tomorrow. Shop guy if they need to replace the axle, it's a $250 job. That sounds reasonable. If the joint is in good shape, then obviously less.

Prices vary. Here in Seattle, a shop I trust wants a flat $169 for each side with reman axles from NAPA. I've seen readerboards with prices as low as $89, but I'd be a little leery about those.