CV Axles - Reman vs New

[mclasser]

I'm going to be helping a buddy change the CV axle on his Civic. Did some research and learned:

1) Duralast axles generally have poor reviews. They have both new & reman. AZ warranty's usually the best but who wants to go back every few months to swap axles because the old one failed?

2) Napa MaxDrive seems to have decent reviews. Some say they source their remans from the same places Honda does but IDK. The warranty info (3 yrs/36K) says Cardone, whose remans don't really have a stellar reputation. They also have new axles which I presume are also by Cardone.

3) AAP has Carquest (ToughOne?) reman & new. "Lifetime" warranty which basically equates to one free exchange and then you're on your own.

4) RockAuto has several random brands, including Cardone.

My buddy wouldn't mind paying a bit more for a new axle if the quality was indeed better than a reman. I'm guessing all the new ones are made in China anyway.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[KingCake]

There are two brands. Cardone and Honda. Every box you buy is gonna have a cardone axle unless you buy it from Honda.

At Napa etc you're just paying for a fancier box.

 

[ls1mike]

I have used Duralast with no issue. The Grand Prix is just over 300 HP to wheels and the axle I put in there is just fine.

I am sure the Civic won't care what you put in it as long as it turns the drive wheel.

 

[zzyzzx]

GMB Axles are good, but I am not sure if they still make them. All rebuilt suck.

 

[KingCake]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
GMB Axles are good, but I am not sure if they still make them. All rebuilt suck.


Nope. They just make wheel bearings/water pumps/fuel pumps

 

[Rand]

rebuilt sucks if they grind the axles because it removes the case hardening.

 

[artificialist]

I have heard that Raxles makes new CV axles in the USA, but I never got the chance to use their brand.

 

[Nick1994]

If possible, repack with grease and do a new boot. Or get a junkyard one if the axle is bad.

I put aftermarket axles on my VW, one of them vibrated real bad every time I hit 2,000 RPMs. Drove it for a few more months/few thousand more miles and sold the car.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
I have heard that Raxles makes new CV axles in the USA, but I never got the chance to use their brand.


Raxles or these guys:

http://www.cvjreman.com/axles.php

Would be my go-to if I wanted to price shop against Honda.

Rales and these guys specifically take care not to grind through the case hardened parts and get to softer metal. That means you'll have a long life part.

Of the op is planning on not keeping the vehicle more than 50k more, saving a buck is ok. Otherwise, get the better part so it doesn't have to be done again.

 

[PandaBear]

Honda reman axles are usually good because they use new joints. I found mine harder than new to install because the spline doesn't go through the bearing easily, but after hitting with a rubber mallet a few times it did get in.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
Any input would be appreciated.

It's too late in your case, but the best solution of all is to not allow the boots to split in the first place. That way you can simply re-boot the original axles and be done with the job for the rest of the car's life.

Split boots = neglect.

 

[stephen9666]

If the boots haven't been split too long you can probably clean the joint out, re-grease and re-boot it. If I were in that situation and they hadn't been split too long I'd give it a shot.

I'm an advocate of re-booting because as noted in this thread many aftermarket axles are junk and the good ones aren't cheap.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Most if not all the widely available remans are reboxed Cardone--even the ones from the dealer. Napa reman is also reboxed A1 Cardone.

The best option would be raxles, if they make one for your Civic.

 

[mclasser]

Update: My buddy said he went with a new Carquest axle. We plan to install it this weekend. Will let you guys know how it turns out.

 

[Rylan]

The only CV axles I replaced were reman. (Mexico) Duralast axles from Autozone. These went on my '05 Accent at 88K miles, and have held up over the 1.5 years and 12K-14K miles so far.

I thought I caught it early enough and tried to reboot first, but I couldn't get the CV joint to separate and already had too much play and worn bearings.
Neoprene boots should hold up better than the original rubber.