Instead of reading hundreds of posts regarding replacement axles, read this summary from someone who has:
- OEM axles (from dealership) are pricey, but they last.
- Replacement axles from China (NAPA, Autozone, Advance Auto, etc) are dirt cheap ($60 - $100), but will almost certainly fail within months. These retailers usually guarantee their axles for life, and will readily honor their guarantee…repeatedly, in fact, and without question…but you or your mechanic are then faced with doing the work over again. And again. These poor souls typically get so fed up with the repeated failures that they eventually opt for OEM. There are exceptions, of course, but the majority of those remarking on their experiences discourage the use of the Chinese axles.
- raxles.com and MW Enterprises (ccrengines.com/mwe) are mentioned frequently, as decent domestic replacement axles.
If you discover a CV boot is torn on an OEM axle, but it’s not yet making any noise, clean the joint, inspect it, and if there's no obvious problems, regrease it, and install a new OEM boot. It’s a fairly messy procedure, but is by far the most cost-effective way to go. It’s tempting to replace the entire axle for $75, especially when an OEM replacement boot (which is strongly recommended) is about $40, but you’ll probably regret it.
Please note that none of the above statements are based on personal experience. I recently removed the transmission from my wife’s 2000 Forester, and have been combing through posts to determine what I should and shouldn’t bother doing, before installing a replacement transmission.
- OEM axles (from dealership) are pricey, but they last.
- Replacement axles from China (NAPA, Autozone, Advance Auto, etc) are dirt cheap ($60 - $100), but will almost certainly fail within months. These retailers usually guarantee their axles for life, and will readily honor their guarantee…repeatedly, in fact, and without question…but you or your mechanic are then faced with doing the work over again. And again. These poor souls typically get so fed up with the repeated failures that they eventually opt for OEM. There are exceptions, of course, but the majority of those remarking on their experiences discourage the use of the Chinese axles.
- raxles.com and MW Enterprises (ccrengines.com/mwe) are mentioned frequently, as decent domestic replacement axles.
If you discover a CV boot is torn on an OEM axle, but it’s not yet making any noise, clean the joint, inspect it, and if there's no obvious problems, regrease it, and install a new OEM boot. It’s a fairly messy procedure, but is by far the most cost-effective way to go. It’s tempting to replace the entire axle for $75, especially when an OEM replacement boot (which is strongly recommended) is about $40, but you’ll probably regret it.
Please note that none of the above statements are based on personal experience. I recently removed the transmission from my wife’s 2000 Forester, and have been combing through posts to determine what I should and shouldn’t bother doing, before installing a replacement transmission.