Rear axle replace or reuse?

[ghatid]

I took out my rear right axle out of my 325ix 1991 in order to switch out the wheel bearing and I was wondering if the half shaft is okay or not to repack and reuse. There isn't any play on the inner or outer CV when I twist it, but if I try to rotate either, they don't feel very good. It's really tight, which I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

A second question is, when I compress my strut by hand (the lower end is disconnected), it really slowly extends itself. How do I know if a strut is good or not?

Video of the removed axle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuQmRB01jMs

[ghatid]

Well I'm going to assume the silence is everyone saying, Ghatid! Those CV joints are BEAUTIFUL and you should keep using it for the rest of the car's life! Repack and drive into the sunset!

[jlevie]

If there is no play in the CV joints, repack them and use new OE boots. The only reasonable way to tell the condition of a shock is to compare one with a new shock. But you can make a good guess based on mileage. At 60k OE/OEM shocks are blown out, Bilsteins are good for 80k at the most. If set correctly for the springs Koni SA shocks just need another half turn of rebound damping.

[ghatid]

I repacked the CV joints and they are much smoother. Thanks!