YACT: CV Boot, when to change and how much it cost?

[andylawcc]

a have a little Toyota FWD and wondering when do I have to change them? I have 170,000 miles already.

meanwhile, i have a friend who owns a civic, and he was told by a mechanic that his were broke and need to replace the transaxle too (both left and right). His estimate is about 450 bucks. Was he ripped off?

EDIT/UPDATE:

I went to local mechanic, and he said 300 for both side, boot and axle. (75 parts, 75 labor). and he said he only do boot and axle and not the boot alone.

then I went a toyota dealer, the boot cost 37 bucks and I didn't ask for the axle's price. the Labor for the TWO boots cost 276 and for the axle and boot cost 205 only. He said replace the axle with boot is much easier than boot alone so that's why the price difference.

 

[Electric Amish]

Look at them and see if they're broken.

Do you hear any "clicking" when you turn left or right? If not, you're probably ok.

Usually it's best to replace the half-shafts since you have to pay the labor to remove them anyway when they just replace the boots. The half-shafts, at least for my car, run a little over $100 each, so I'd expect $200+ just in parts.

 

[RagingBITCH]

What EA said - listen for the tell tale clicking. Or better yet, just look to see if the boot is broken. On my old 88 Accord which ate up those front axles like crazy, they ran about $120 per axle. $450 seems a little on the high side - with labor it came out to be about $180 at the local shop for one axle replacement + labor.

 

[andylawcc]

so 2 half-shafts would cost about 200 bucks, and cv boots run about 30 bucks for 1 right?

and I heard it is quite a labor-intensive job, so it would probably cost more in labor than parts.

 

[Maximus96]

i replaced my boots for $26. $13 a side for the boot plus clamps and grease.

 

[SilverTorch]

Had to replace mine (twice on the right side), it doesnt take that long ... just have to know what to do.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: andylawcc
so 2 half-shafts would cost about 200 bucks, and cv boots run about 30 bucks for 1 right?

and I heard it is quite a labor-intensive job, so it would probably cost more in labor than parts.

There really isn't that much labor involved.

 

[andylawcc]

sooo... how much would the labor cost for

1) just having 2 boots replaced
2) having 2 axles and 2 boots replaced (which is recommended over 1) right? )

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: andylawcc
sooo... how much would the labor cost for

1) just having 2 boots replaced
2) having 2 axles and 2 boots replaced (which is recommended over 1) right? )

The labor will be about the same. In fact, replacing the boots will require just alittle more time. I have seen axle shafts replaced in less than 20 minutes before...

 

[dabuddha]

$450 is way too high. I can buy the parts here for about $80 bucks and the labor is only $75.

 

[iotone]

check under your car and if the area around your CV boots is all mucked up with dirty grease, then you probably have to replace them...

just found out about mine this past weekend =/

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: iotone
check under your car and if the area around your CV boots is all mucked up with dirty grease, then you probably have to replace them...

just found out about mine this past weekend =/

oh no! I remember seeing those dirty grease!!!

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Either way, don't just replace boots - do the whole job.

 

[thomsbrain]

i got my right axle replaced for about $225 or something, labor and all (91 accord). I don't think that was out of line for your friend if they did both axles and the mechanic does good work. in fact, it's exactly double what i paid for one axle, oddly enough.

 

[Jet343]

I've been driving for a good few months with the clicking sound in my axles. Is this dangerous? Do I need to change them ASAP? I'm kinda tight on money and was just trying to have them totally worn out before I blow $400 bucks to replace them.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

cost 10 bucks for the boot, and you want to replace it right before it fails. once it tears road crap gets in there then it get expensive

 

[andylawcc]

I went to local mechanic, and he said 300 for both side, boot and axle. (75 parts, 75 labor). and he said he only do boot and axle and not the boot alone.

then I went a toyota dealer, the boot cost 37 bucks and I didn't ask for the axle's price. the Labor for the TWO boots cost 276 and for the axle and boot cost 205 only. He said replace the axle with boot is much easier than boot alone so that's why the price difference.

 

[Electric Amish]

and he said he only do boot and axle and not the boot alone.

WOOHOO!! It's good to have one's advice validated.

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish

and he said he only do boot and axle and not the boot alone.

WOOHOO!! It's good to have one's advice validated.

maybe he's just a lazy bastard!