Reman CV axles

[noid]

All my boots have varying levels of cracking on them, seems more economical just to replace the whole shafts.

Reading the advanced auto zone reviews on the reman units (terrible), has been thinking that I need to select the correct place to get the axles.

Napa? Autozone? Where did you guys get yours?

[dustyperez]

I work at NAPA, cardones quality is hit or miss. if your gonna drive like a regular car they will be ok. but if not try these guys http://www.axlesunlimitedinc.com/

[Simon S]

Replacing the boots is also an option.

Not hard to do - although it is a horribly, messy pain in the arse job..

[jlevie]

If the CV joints are still tight and the axles come out without galling of the splines, the smart thing to do will be to repack the joints with grease and replace the boots. The best boot kits are the ones you get from BMW. As Simon S said, it is a messy job but not difficult.

If the splines are galled, the half shafts and wheel hubs will both have to be replaced. The axles cannot be driven in without destroying them.

The quality of generic reman axles is iffy. I haven't seen any that have the correct outboard boots (they rub on the shocks). Which is also a problem with non-OE boots.

[///M42 sport]

any tricks to clean the grease?

[jlevie]

Scarpe off/out as much as you can then use solvent on the rest. You can blow a surprising amount of grease out with a blow gun driven at 90psi.

[jeffnhiscars]

Scarpe off/out as much as you can then use solvent on the rest. You can blow a surprising amount of grease out with a blow gun driven at 90psi.

I'm trying to get a visual on you doing this (note, not me) without a box of some kind, getting covered head to toe in CV grease or having to repaint the house.

Not having any luck

[jlevie]

I'm trying to get a visual on you doing this (note, not me) without a box of some kind, getting covered head to toe in CV grease or having to repaint the house.

Not having any luck

Well, I did say it was messy...

I only use the blow gun after removing as much grease as I can. And I do this outside using a large catch box.

[enigmaticdream]

You only need some solvent/spray for the outer boot. I used purple stuff multiple times. The process I used was purple stuff to the top of the joint, pour out, delute with water, and repeat. I did this about 4-5 times until most of the grease was out. I then took an air spray can thingy and dried out the joint as best I could leaving it hanging upright so any water would fall out.

[Simon S]

Initial work on boot kits. Didn't take pictures toward the end there - something about this job just pissed me off..

Instructions say not to use gas, or heavy solvents to clean old grease out – but soapy water. (interferes with new grease evidently)

Soapy water doesn’t do shit on old grease – so I went ahead and soaked them in buckets of old gas..
because I didn’t want the old grease in there..
then I doused them in simple green + water – because I didn’t want the gas in there..
then I hosed them down with water – because I didn’t want the soap in there..
then I blew them off with compressed air – because I didn’t want the water in there..
then I hit them with a heat gun – because I wanted ALL the moisture out of there..

then it was hours of fiddle-f'ing around with grease packets and anti-seize smeared all over the green earth..
.. and I’m pretty OCD – so I was washing grease and gook off my hands every 10 minutes.

Like beating your head with a hammer – it sure feels good when it’s done. The action on the cv motion was much smoother when repacked. They had a pretty 'notchy' feel when I first pulled them off.

For as much as inner/outer boot kits cost – you’re better off just getting rebuilt units – unless you’re an original equipment freak like me.

[noid]

what is the difference between, 33 21 9 067 812 and 33 21 9 067 814?

http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/2-doors/USA/325i-M20/LHD/M/1987/january/browse/rear_axle/output_shaft/