Changing CV joints (front right and left axle assemblies)

[VX KAT]

I just got a set of EMPI's from Amazon

Amazon says list price $841, and they're selling them for $90.95.... That's the biggest discount I've EVER seen....on anything....please tell me that list price is jacked up....

[tom4bren]

Mike,

The CVs for dummies thread is here:

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...hlight=dummies

Hope the parts you ordered work out for you.

To answer a few of your questions:

The axles (left and right) are the same from the wheel all the way to the inner green cup. The shaft that the inner green cup is attached to is much longer on one side (offset differential).

The instructions you posted really are that easy ... but they are only for the boot replacement. If you need to swap out the CVs, then it's much more involved. In the download section, there are instructions for installing the differential drop brackets that show removal of the axles from the differential.

If it's your outer CV that's FUBAR then you're in for more work. Some say that the outer joints come apart but from my experience, it's a job for a professional.

I just got through with a re-build on mine - again. This time it was caused from hidden damage from an accident I had last year. The drivers side outer CV exploded. My guess is that the accident caused a fracture in the bearing cage and a few months later, it failed catastrophically. The rebuild basically took parts from 3 different sets of axles to build 1 good set. Just got it out of the shop 2 days ago so don't have any prognosis on the longevity of the rebuild.

Basically, the components that wear are the outer race (green cup), the inner race (star) & the cage (collar that surrounds the balls). As far as I know, MSHardeman & I are the only ones who have attempted a rebuild of existing parts. On mine (& I'm sure MSHardeman's was the same) the balls had worn grooves in both the inner and outer races. The shop will grind out those grooves and install larger balls to compensate for the sacrificed material. The only problem that I encountered was that the balls seemed to bind slightly in the cage but that was only before install. After installed (under load), they seemed fine. Remember that it was my outer CV that exploded so the rebuilt parts never failed.

There's an animated cartoon on wikipedia that shows how the CV works:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CV_joint

[Ldub]

Amazon says list price $841, and they're selling them for $90.95.... That's the biggest discount I've EVER seen....on anything....please tell me that list price is jacked up....

They must'v used Isuzu OEM pricing as a guide when they came up with that number.

[tom4bren]

The last price I got from Isuzu is $932 per side. That was 6 months ago.

[VX KAT]

The last price I got from Isuzu is $932 per side. That was 6 months ago.

then we should all be buying a few extras at that price....just to have around.....