2nd Gen Rear Axles

[mbuskuhl]

Are these prone to going out? I noticed ISC sells rebuilt ones. Mine appear fine to me but I do not know the history, heck they could be 22 years old. The boots are not torn either. I have the hubs off right now as I just changed the rear wheel bearings. Before I put it back together I started thinking maybe I should just put in some rebuilt axles while I was at it.

Any advice?

[racingralph]

yes , they need to be redone every so often .....they could be really old . mikes (isc) are a fair deal or check with a local cv axle reman shop.

[C. Ludwig]

If the boots stay intact they should last quite a long time. I have a local shop that will repack CVs with new boosts for $20 per axle or do a complete rebuild with new balls and races for $50. You will never break the axle itself without trying.

[mbuskuhl]

Thanks for the advice, I found an import auto store that said they could have them rebuilt same day. I had it done for $75 each, but I am not 100% they actually changed the balls and races although they claim they did. Of course they have new boots and there was grease everywhere, they swore it was not just a repack but a complete rebuild. Is there supposed to be a little play in them? I can wiggle the splined end and there is a little slop side to side, is this normal?

[its66]

My spare has a tiny amount of movement through the joint. It is a fresh one. FWIW, I keep a spare axle in the trailer. I've torn a boot(or maybe it melted?) and I'd much rather swap the whole axle out at the track than mess with pulling the joint, etc to put a new boot on. YMMV

[mbuskuhl]

Update - Rebuild your own. The $150 I spent a few months ago was a waste. The boots kept tearing so I decided to take a stab at doing them myself. If you can repack wheel bearings you can rebuild your axles. It's simple and there is even a little info in the FSM. The boots from Mazdaspeed run about $150 for all 4, but it's worth it. They are much thicker than aftermarket boots and in talking with other people not prone to tearing. Mazda also includes new grease, a snap ring and retaining ring and the boot ties when you buy the boot. Come to find out, when I paid for a rebuild all I got was cheap boots and some more grease. They had not even cleaned out the old grease.

[Chris Wire]

ISC seems to have good success w/ their rebuilds. One trick Mike incorporates, which I have seen on a few FWDers as well, is a small straw or capillary tube under the inside clamps to vent the heat and release any pressure buildup from under the boot.