I was working on a 2011 Nissan Rogue FWD where I found a torn-open inner CV boot on the passenger front axle. While my normal process is to reboot the axle using a dealer boot kit, this car displayed vibration during hard acceleration at highway speeds so I was concerned about worn axles. New axles from the dealer were not in the owner’s budget (list price for the pair was $1241) and used low-mileage OEM axles were unavailable from the junkyard. At first, I tried three different brands of new aftermarket axles (GSP, Cardone Select/NAPA, SurTrak/TrakMotive), but all three brands were either too long or caused severe shudder when accelerating from a stop.
I first learned about CVJ Axles from iATN. CVJ promises to only use OEM cores for rebuilding and it is speculated that they use a mix of aftermarket parts and good, used OE parts to build their axles. Steel balls in the outer joints are always replaced. My axles appear to have received new vibration dampers as well. I am not sure if they do any grinding; their website is silent on this topic. Like many aftermarket axles builders, they do use Neoprene boots and 3% Moly Grease, but they also offer upgraded boots and grease for certain applications (but not mine). Regardless, given their positive feedback and the budget constraints I was working with, I decided to give them a try for this Rogue. The price was $99/axle, $38/pair to ship to me and $32 for a prepaid label to return the cores. The total was $268.00.
Upon ordering, CVJ built the driver side axle for me. The passenger side was already in-stock and ready to go. It took 4 business days from the time of ordering to the time of arrival. The axles came painted (including the threads) with a black paint similar to what Cardone uses, but is not very solvent-resistant. In my opinion, the packaging for shipping could use some improvements though; the axles were shipped in a thin box and the passenger axle's dust shield was slightly bent upon arrival (but I was able to straighten it out):
Close-up of the axles:
a) Passenger Side Axle:
b) Driver Side Axle:
Axles installed (notice the severe angle in which these axles are positioned):
a) Passenger side installed:
b) Driver side installed:
Conclusion: These axles worked! Unlike the new aftermarket axles, the CVJ rebuilt axles do not cause any shudder when accelerating from a stop. The high-speed shudder has been reduced to a more-acceptable level, but I suspect that some of the shudder is an inherent issue with the CVT and specifically, the Rogue platform. Fitment (length) was also perfect. However, my first choice is still to reboot known-good OE axles or buy used low-mileage axles from a junkyard. The main reason is because these rebuilt axles contain a mix of new aftermarket parts and known-good used parts, so the lifespan is an unknown. Plus, CVJ does use aftermarket 3% moly grease (which is not the OE specified grease) and Neoprene boots (which are inferior to Thermoplastic used by many OEM's on the outer joint) and those two characteristics may result in a reduced service life. Regardless, I do believe that the CVJ axles are a far superior choice to the new aftermarket axles on the market today.
I first learned about CVJ Axles from iATN. CVJ promises to only use OEM cores for rebuilding and it is speculated that they use a mix of aftermarket parts and good, used OE parts to build their axles. Steel balls in the outer joints are always replaced. My axles appear to have received new vibration dampers as well. I am not sure if they do any grinding; their website is silent on this topic. Like many aftermarket axles builders, they do use Neoprene boots and 3% Moly Grease, but they also offer upgraded boots and grease for certain applications (but not mine). Regardless, given their positive feedback and the budget constraints I was working with, I decided to give them a try for this Rogue. The price was $99/axle, $38/pair to ship to me and $32 for a prepaid label to return the cores. The total was $268.00.
Upon ordering, CVJ built the driver side axle for me. The passenger side was already in-stock and ready to go. It took 4 business days from the time of ordering to the time of arrival. The axles came painted (including the threads) with a black paint similar to what Cardone uses, but is not very solvent-resistant. In my opinion, the packaging for shipping could use some improvements though; the axles were shipped in a thin box and the passenger axle's dust shield was slightly bent upon arrival (but I was able to straighten it out):
Close-up of the axles:
a) Passenger Side Axle:
b) Driver Side Axle:
Axles installed (notice the severe angle in which these axles are positioned):
a) Passenger side installed:
b) Driver side installed:
Conclusion: These axles worked! Unlike the new aftermarket axles, the CVJ rebuilt axles do not cause any shudder when accelerating from a stop. The high-speed shudder has been reduced to a more-acceptable level, but I suspect that some of the shudder is an inherent issue with the CVT and specifically, the Rogue platform. Fitment (length) was also perfect. However, my first choice is still to reboot known-good OE axles or buy used low-mileage axles from a junkyard. The main reason is because these rebuilt axles contain a mix of new aftermarket parts and known-good used parts, so the lifespan is an unknown. Plus, CVJ does use aftermarket 3% moly grease (which is not the OE specified grease) and Neoprene boots (which are inferior to Thermoplastic used by many OEM's on the outer joint) and those two characteristics may result in a reduced service life. Regardless, I do believe that the CVJ axles are a far superior choice to the new aftermarket axles on the market today.