Review: CVJ Remanufactured CV Axles

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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.
 
Just curious, who pays for your labor when you install and uninstall (3) faulty parts? *Also, did you have any issues returning "used" parts?

I understand the customer wants it cheap, but then you're left fiddling with the darn thing.
 
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Looks like a quality aftermarket replacement option. Surprised to see a torn boot and worn halfshaft on a 2011.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Looks like a quality aftermarket replacement option. Surprised to see a torn boot and worn halfshaft on a 2011.


That's what I was thinking, also, the tie rod dust boot is just about completely split as well! How many miles on this Rogue?
 
Thanks for that critic. I will call them if I need something and give them a try. I noticed that they use 3% moly and off a higher moly content grease as an option. I use Redline CV-2 which is 5% on every joint. (I don't work on Toyota or other Japanese much anymore, I know Toyota has different specs) so the 5% seems to hold up the best.

Quote:
We offer two upgrades for grease. Both are fully synthetic greases with high moly and other friction modifiers and ideally suited for performance CVs. We have race tested them and they are superior.
 
Thanks for sharing.

As a DIYer, I often get frustrated about my slowness and mistakes-along-the-way. It comforts me (odd, I know) to see that those working in shops also sometimes have steep learning curves and that your accumulated wealth of knowledge takes many years and many repairs to acquire.
 
Originally Posted By: Tman220
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Looks like a quality aftermarket replacement option. Surprised to see a torn boot and worn halfshaft on a 2011.


That's what I was thinking, also, the tie rod dust boot is just about completely split as well! How many miles on this Rogue?


107K Miles.

Several thousand miles ago, the inner cv boot was starting to show signs of splitting, and it became catastrophic quite quickly:




Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
Are all the California cars that clean underneath?


Usually, yes.
 
Critic thanks so much for the great pictures and valuable information. I just wanted to give some input also. New axles from Advanced Auto worked great on my 1999 Sentra. This was approximately 8 years ago. I think they cost about $75 each back then.
 
Thank you the review and pictures
thumbsup2.gif


CVJ looks like a quality option. Just too bad they use stupid neoprene instead of thermoplastic
mad.gif


Torn boots are practically the only reason for CV joint failure!
 
Steve at CVJ is the owner and has been a pleasure to deal with. They have rebuilt 3 axle shafts for me. I currently have one on my Montero and 2 as spares.

They will accept your grease and I sent them Redline CV2 grease thanks to Trav, recommendation. Their grease is around 75.00 or racing $200.00 each axle. Don't quote me on the price, it's an approximation. Unfortunately, they are unable to purchase OEM Mitsubishi bearings, nor any Japanese bearing for my application. Most parts are obsolete and my truck is 24 years old.

I paid extra for the silicone boots. They were around $48.00 each. I have no affiliation to the business with the exception of being a customer.

I sent my axles in the original OEM axle shaft box from Mitsu. I double boxed the axles and they kept my OEM box:(. I had purchased the last OEM axle shaft in North America six years ago.

I agree about the return packaging, it could have been better, but they were not damaged and looked very good! I highly recommend CVJ!






Respectfully,

Pajero!
 
Critic, I noticed in the photos that they have also painted the surface area where the transaxle oil seal rides on. I wonder if that will have any effect on seal efficiency and durability in the long run? The seal lip is designed to ride on a smooth machined surface.
 
Originally Posted By: chrome
Critic, I noticed in the photos that they have also painted the surface area where the transaxle oil seal rides on. I wonder if that will have any effect on seal efficiency and durability in the long run? The seal lip is designed to ride on a smooth machined surface.


Good catch. No issues so far. However, the paint made it more difficult for the axle to bottom out in the steering knuckle. I had to tighten the axle nut in order to fully seat the axle.
 
I have CVJ reman axles on my Galant. The original driver side axle had a counterweight, the reman from CVJ didn’t. Not sure if it was really needed or not
 
Originally Posted By: BrownBox88
I have CVJ reman axles on my Galant. The original driver side axle had a counterweight, the reman from CVJ didn’t. Not sure if it was really needed or not

That is odd. I know the rubber damper is a separately serviceable part for most Honda/Toyota axles. Personally I would not have accepted the axle if it was missing the damper. Do you have any vibration issues?
 
Originally Posted By: Pajero
Steve at CVJ is the owner and has been a pleasure to deal with. They have rebuilt 3 axle shafts for me. I currently have one on my Montero and 2 as spares.

They will accept your grease and I sent them Redline CV2 grease thanks to Trav, recommendation. Their grease is around 75.00 or racing $200.00 each axle. Don't quote me on the price, it's an approximation. Unfortunately, they are unable to purchase OEM Mitsubishi bearings, nor any Japanese bearing for my application. Most parts are obsolete and my truck is 24 years old.

I paid extra for the silicone boots. They were around $48.00 each. I have no affiliation to the business with the exception of being a customer.

I sent my axles in the original OEM axle shaft box from Mitsu. I double boxed the axles and they kept my OEM box:(. I had purchased the last OEM axle shaft in North America six years ago.

I agree about the return packaging, it could have been better, but they were not damaged and looked very good! I highly recommend CVJ!






Respectfully,

Pajero!


Those look great, the silicone or poly boots are the way to go if they are available.
thumbsup2.gif
 
Update:

Originally Posted by chrome
Critic, I noticed in the photos that they have also painted the surface area where the transaxle oil seal rides on. I wonder if that will have any effect on seal efficiency and durability in the long run? The seal lip is designed to ride on a smooth machined surface.

Chrome, you may be onto something here.

The Rogue just came back yesterday with a major oil leak from the driver side axle seal. It has been 3K miles since these were installed. After removing the axle I noticed that 75% of the paint is gone from the area where the seal rides. However, the leaking axle seal was removed from the transmission with minimal effort so I think the leakage was due to a weakening of the metal band inside of the seal.

The axles are still working fine with no shudder during acceleration.
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Are all the California cars that clean underneath?

As long as you don't go up to Tahoe/Mammoth/Shasta during the snow season or live near the ocean(and there's plenty of rust or other funk on cars that spent time between the Outer Sunset/Richmond districts of San Francisco all the way down to Santa Cruz), yes.
 
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