Recommendations for new axles for FWD car please

Apr 09, 2008 17 Replies

Seems to me that my chioces for new CV boots /axles seem to be limited to made in China and new or rebuilt in USA. IMO, both would be considered questionable in quality. Who makes the best ones? Any personal testimonials (preforably long term)?


I havent had to replace the axles on anything I intended to keep, recently.

If I were going to do it,however, I would pull the axles and take them to an axle service in Houston that has been in business there for years (over on the east side near I10 E at Loop 610. I dont figure they would have been in business so long if they had not been on the ball.

My second choice would be a NAPA unit, since NAPA also has a good reputation and usually stands behind what they sell.

I know this is no sort of good answer, but it is what I would do.

If it's a German car, look for genuine GKN or Lobro parts. I suspect that's not what you're asking about however, so I would try a quality parts store like NAPA, Carquest, or a good independent; not Pep Boys, Advance, etc.

nate

It's not a German car, it's a vintage Escort. Anyway, but they all seem to carry Cardone, even NAPA. If they all carry Cardone, why would I go to NAPA to get it when Autozone/Pep Boys/Advance Auto, etc carries the same thing and has better hours. But for the most part I'd agree. Only difference is that NAPA carries Altron Group stuff, but it's still Chinese. The guy at the NAPA parts counter says that they don't get many returns for any of them, even the rebuilt ones.

Autozone/Pep Boys/Advance Auto are fine, and their not very expensive. Seems to me the last one I got from Adv for an Escort was 65 to 70 bucks. Take your old one in with you and you won't be charged a core charge.

idbwill wrote in news:a63e11d6-5fef-4045-a9c8- snipped-for-privacy@a23g2000hsc.googlegroups.com:

I never turn in a core untill the replacement is in and working ok. Too much room for error and no way to check against the orgional if gone. KB

Probably a good policy.. Son replaced one on his car, and had it come undone on the LA freeway. Turns out there were several variants on that Honda, and he just got the wrong ( but apparently very close) variant.

Possda match it up before putting it in. I like to have them out to match it, when parts people deliver it. Even if I run over to pick it up, it's better to have it with me to match it. That way I don't get back, open the box and say, o s*it, why wasn't I smart enough to check it when I was there. And, no core charge! In this state, tax is put on a core. The tax is "not" returned with the core charge. Add that up over a year!

I think tax is always reimbursed here in Texas. We are a pretty fair state. Son is in California. Who knows what they do.

I dont know whether he didnt match the axles, or whether the difference was apparently insignificant.. He rows his own boat, sometimes near icebergs.

The core charge is a refund the parts store chooses to give to you, it is not a discounted price, you will never find anyone who gives tax back.

I sell car parts for a living.

Chinese parts are cheaper due to cheap labor, not due to poor craftsmanship.

As mentioned, Honda CV's have several variants with little or no way to decide which one is the next one.

Also as mentioned, either bring the core to match it up, or wait until the job is done to return the core. In my experience, remanufactured anything is less reliable, especially CV's, alternators, etc, reuse the old housing, and just replace the electronics, thus the lower price and the higher reliability (Nastra, for instance, has a lifetime warranty on all new and reman parts"

AutoZone gives back tax on core charges in FL. Had one on an alternator I had to buy from them last week. $40 core got back $42.80

Then you should know better than to say never.

I would tend to disagree with this. They have been known to cut every corner they can and some of the "new" auto parts they make are total crap... both workmanship and materials.

They CAN make good things, but you have to hold their feet to the fire. And, a lot of importers clearly dont do that.

I was introduced to a line of chemicals made in China which seemed, structurally, to be interesting. When I asked them to institute traditional industrial quality control certification on them, they refused. So did I. Variable quality is unacceptable.

I consider it just one step of a negotiation that may take forever.

For who?

Funniest thing I've read in a long time...

My auto mechanic recommended the rebuilt ones from NAPA (which are Cardone).

idbwill wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@u12g2000prd.googlegroups.com:

I don`t see how that could be legal. You can not be charged tax on a non sale item. which a return is. KB

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:385ad406-6530-4b7e-9002-1a44f3f150f6 @a22g2000hsc.googlegroups.com:

I believe you are quite wrong on that. a core charge is not a refund. it is a deposit on a return. a non sale item. if you are not returning the tax on it you are in line to be in possible trouble with your state tax. KB

And what you mean by that is to have people from the US in their facility every minute of production to make sure it is ok.

I'm surprised, the usual way is to agree to anything and then just not do it. There was one supplier in China I was forced to work with and I wanted to send them a part design that was clearly impossible to make just to hear them say they could make it.

Years ago I would talk about the material substitutions and other nonsense that would happen in manufacturing in China. I would be told I was crazy, stupid, and much worse. Now I just sit back and watch as people are up in arms about contaminated toys, unsafe tires, poisoned dog food, etc and so forth. There was a reason I started avoiding made in China stuff as much as I could ten years ago. It's amazing some people still don't know.

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