Cv Boot For 95 Es300

[seacreek]

Lexus dealer told me this had occurred on my 95 Lexus ES300 with 107K miles

They quoted me $850

Has anybody had this problem and how much should this approximately cost at a regular mechanic.

Also, does anybody know of a good Lexus mechanic in the SF Bay Area?

Thanks in advance,

[kcpth]

actually i was going to post a very similiar question too. So i guess thanks Seacreek. Well for one, you can check how much Toyota is going to charge you. Cause the service charge is way different on both. They both will get the same parts.

Now my question was... my toyota dealer was going to charge me to only change the boots for $444.00 around there... it may be around 430.00 i forgot for both. But thats just to pack it back with grease and put new boots on. Now Sears auto was going to change the whole CV SHAFT for $120-150 each for the shaft plus about $75 each for the labor. The Honda dealer was going to do the same for the CV Shaft but i think total would be cheaper than Sears by about 20-30 dollars. But of course, they both are not going to use OEM whereas toyota will... but i'm only getting the boots rather than the shaft if i go with toyota. So what are your opinions on my questions and Sea Creeks question.

[ArmyofOne]

actually i was going to post a very similiar question too.  So i guess thanks Seacreek.  Well for one, you can check how much Toyota is going to charge you.  Cause the service charge is way different on both.  They both will get the same parts.

Now my question was... my toyota dealer was going to charge me to only change the boots for $444.00 around there... it may be around 430.00 i forgot for both.  But thats just to pack it back with grease and put new boots on.  Now Sears auto was going to change the whole CV SHAFT for $120-150 each for the shaft plus about $75 each for the labor.  The Honda dealer was going to do the same for the CV Shaft but i think total would be cheaper than Sears by about 20-30 dollars.  But of course, they both are not going to use OEM whereas toyota will... but i'm only getting the boots rather than the shaft if i go with toyota.  So what are your opinions on my questions and Sea Creeks question.

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you can get the entire drive shaft from autozone for about $65.00 after core charge. chaces are if your outer ones are gone, your inner ones wont be far behind, and its easier/less labor to replace the entire shaft. so, i would reccomend getting the shafts from autozone (remaned for the price i stated above) and having them installed at a private shop. this is what i will be doing in the near future. or i may attempt to do them myself, depending on circumstances. im a motor, not a drivetrain guy, but we will see.

[tckcumming]

actually i was going to post a very similiar question too.  So i guess thanks Seacreek.  Well for one, you can check how much Toyota is going to charge you.  Cause the service charge is way different on both.  They both will get the same parts.

Now my question was... my toyota dealer was going to charge me to only change the boots for $444.00 around there... it may be around 430.00 i forgot for both.  But thats just to pack it back with grease and put new boots on.  Now Sears auto was going to change the whole CV SHAFT for $120-150 each for the shaft plus about $75 each for the labor.  The Honda dealer was going to do the same for the CV Shaft but i think total would be cheaper than Sears by about 20-30 dollars.  But of course, they both are not going to use OEM whereas toyota will... but i'm only getting the boots rather than the shaft if i go with toyota.  So what are your opinions on my questions and Sea Creeks question.

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My 93 ES300 had a torn right side outer CV boot last summer. I took it to a local Speedy Auto Service shop; they had done some work on my 1969 MGB, and I was very satisfied with the result. Here's what they did to repair the Lexus:

- removed both driveshafts, checked, cleaned and re-packed the CV joints, and fitted new boots to both outer joints;

- removed both inner CV boots, cleaned & re-packed the joints. The mechanic said the inner boots were perfectly OK, so he did not replace them;

- he also said the left inner CV joint seemed "stiff", so he disassembled it, checked & cleaned it, packed it with grease - problem solved.

The cost (in Canadian $$, don't forget):

$35.00 for each CV boot kit (2 req'd);

2.3 hours labour @ $55.00 per hour;

TOTAL: $228.49 (icl. taxes, etc.)

Pretty reasonable, I think. Independent shops often use the same parts as the dealers, too. The same Speedy shop did some brake work on my Lexus recently. The new rear brake calipers they installed were Toyota parts, exactly the same as the ones that were removed. The entire job cost less than half what the Lexus dealer quoted for the same job. It pays to shop around!

Hope this helps.

TC

[khhoang]

A local Firestone tire center changed both of my front axles (new half shafts @ $74.99/ea) with labor cost @ $144. Total was $293.98. I had a torn left front axle boot and Lexus dealership wanted $267p&l to change that boot alone. I've heard that replacing a torn boot is too time consuming esp if they also have to decontaminate/clean the CV joints and if you're paying for labor that is where it's gonna hurt. Also, CV joints could already have suffered some damage. For older cars like my 95ES I went ahead and replaced both axles so they would wear evenly under normal driving conditions. Well, this reply is for your price comparison. If there is any comment on what I should have done differently, I would like to learn more about my car.

Thanks and good luck!

[kcpth]

well for the CV Shaft... does it matter if i get an OEM or aftermarket? It's not going to be a huge difference right? Does it effect the ride @ all? Thanks for all ur comments and imputs.

[steviej]

well for the CV Shaft... does it matter if i get an OEM or aftermarket?  It's not going to be a huge difference right?  Does it effect the ride @ all?  Thanks for all ur comments and imputs.

←

the aftermarket ones are usually remanufactured while the ones from the Lexus parts counter are most likely new.

Does it make a difference physically?.....absolutely not! go with the remaned shaft and save a month's pay.

It doesn't make sence to replace the boots alone. You don't know what damage has been done to the knuckle and it takes more time deboot, clean, reboot and repack than it does to remove the old shaft and put on the new shaft.

It is actually a very easy job to replace the shaft yourself if you have the right tools. One of those tools has to be a buddy that has done it before.

steviej

[kcpth]

Roger that. Thanks for the info. I will see about searching @ Advanced Auto Parts, Autozone, and Napa first and inquiring about it more. Thanks for all the responses guys.

Tom

[chuckb]

I have a 1995 ES. I had CVs replaced in March. Car had 72k miles at time.

Local mechanic charged $390 for whole job including two remanu CVs.

[ArmyofOne]

I have a 1995 ES. I had CVs replaced in March. Car had 72k miles at time.

Local mechanic charged $390 for whole job including two remanu CVs.

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i have a firend who has done ti beofre, but not on an import. im still thinking i might tackle it, since i dont trust a mechanic not to powerflush my 140K old trans...

[SKperformance]

I replaced my right side outer boots last year as it ripped and glazed my chrome rims like glue from grease.

It was 60 for a oem lexus boot kit ( much better than any aftermarket ones i looked at.

I didn;t need to replace my axles as it was a ercent rip and had not be subject to weather washing out the grease in the bearings.

Also i did not have it clicking on me.

A reman shaft here is about $250 ( i know have a friend with a cv rebuild shop ,so i could be much cheaper)

it takes time to get it all apart since it includesremoving and replacing

wheels

balljoints

tierods

sway bar

axle hub bolt

as well as repacking is a learned stlye.Learn on someone elses car first

total of 4 hours taking my time i think

[VGR]

Unlike the cheap quality American car CV joints or Autozone CV joints. the factory original Toyota / Lexus joints can last many hundreds of thousands of miles if not contaminated with dirt or starved of grease. Therefore it makes more sense to just reboot the old CV joints when a boot tears, if the tear is caught early before the joint is severely contaminated with dirt and water.

Naturally, the entire American auto repair industry doesn't want you to know how durable the factory original joints really are so all the independent shops and Autozone type stores will try to tell you that you're better off getting remanufactured joints which are essentially Ford / Chevy/ Dodge quality joints and boots (i.e. JUNK!)

[kcpth]

Well my g/f's vehicle is slightly making some noise. You can hear a slight click click click noise. But it's not loud nor noticeable. The only reason y i heard it was when my g/f was driving... i stuck my head out... just to see if i could hear anything... b/c i remember the mechanic had told me it ripped... and sure enough i hear a very very low click click click sound n plus it had been raining all week. So is it reuseable? Or should i replace it? Where can i or what company can i get a REMANUFACTURED OEM Shafts? R they going to be just as costly as brand new ones? **SIGH** i wish i had a money tree growing in my room :cries:

[VGR]

Well if you're already hearing the click, click then the factory joints are shot due to the grease and water contamination that entered after the boot became torn. In that case the remanufacturered aftermarket axles from Autozone or similar places will work fine and save you money. They will last about half as long as the original boots and joints, but you or your girlfriend may sell the car before they ever wear out.

[SKperformance]

If a cv is bad you only hear it clicking when the car is turning unless it is really bad tehn it will click going straight but the car will vibrate badly on the highway.

[kcpth]

well i do hear it driving straight. But it's not loud. It's very soft. But regardless... i think it's bad and needs to be changed. It has been raining here all week. I only hear it if i stick my head out.

Is there any other sounds that would produce that clicking noise?

[SKperformance]

if the clicking does not get louder by alot to almost a clunk it is not the cv

anythign can make a noise

a rock a nail or anythign else stuck in the tire

as well as brake component

[kcpth]

Good point SK.

Well, I do remember SEARS guy told me that my ES's rear sway bar has worn away. When i talked to the Toyo guy over the phone... he told me he doesn't think the SWAY bars can get worned out. He said perhaps it's the links. But either way, they said they can make noise... but it's more of a loud thud or clunk noise. It's not the same as the click click click. LOL. But i also read somewhere on this forum that a certain bar... i forgot the name... is it the bushings? I will try to find it later... can also make a clunk noise too rite?

Oh wellz. Either way, need to change the boots.... or perhaps the shaft. We'll c. I hope Seacreek got all this good info down since he was the one who originally posted this .

[kcpth]

I just went into ADVANCED AUTO PARTS here in Plattsburgh and they have REMANUFACTURED OEM CV SHAFT!!! They have one in stock and the other one they will order. They will charge me $65 for it with a $70 core charge. Now i'll just have to find a mechanic that will install it.

This is a 2 1/2 hr job right? So for 2 shafts the total is 5hrs. So all in all if i find a mechanic for $55/hr then my whole cost for both shafts will be $405. I guess thats heck of a better deal than Toyota. N way better than going to Sears and Honda using a Aftermarket part for nearly the same price. I think if i go to Sears and Honda, it would only be cheaper by $25. But i guess i will have a peace of mind using Remanufactured OEM piece now.

I'll keep u guys updated. Thanks all B)

[ArmyofOne]

Naturally, the entire American auto repair industry doesn't want you to know how durable the factory original joints really are so all the independent shops and Autozone type stores will try to tell you that you're better off getting remanufactured joints which are essentially Ford / Chevy/ Dodge quality joints and boots (i.e. JUNK!)

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not to call you out or be an !Removed!, but VGR, you have to know that my ford contour had 385,000 miles on FACTORY CV joints.

not all american parts are junk, and i would much rather pay $55.95 for a remanned driveshaft and have to replace it every 3 years than pay $285 dollars for one and have to have it replaced every 5. with the amount of miles i drive, i can tell you, remaned joints last just as long as toyota/lexus or any other brand. yeah, they get bad ones, but things happen. i drove the *BLEEP* out of that contour, and i drove it hard too, and not a single issue. i put 100K on a car about every 3.5-4 years. not as many as some people, but more than others. i bought this es250 with 138K on it. it has 141K on it already, and i have had it barely a month, and i have cut wayyyyyy back on the amount of miles i drive, since i am not allowed to deduct them for work purposes aforthe time being. as soon as i am, they will start going back up.

do yourself a favor, go remaned. get under there once every 6 or so months and slather a light coating of high speed bearing grease ON the boots, this keeps them from dryrotting. you will be good to go. that was the only treatment i gave my ford, and she came through for me every time.

nowhere in ANY toyota/Lexus manual i have seen does it say not to use remanufactured driveaxles, or any other part for that matter (excpet for steering racks and struts, for the obvious reasons). it makes no sense to me at all to pay almost $300 for a set of CV joints...ok, over $300.

1997 Lexus ES300 (just an Example):

CV JOINTS, ES300, Outer 97-01 $314.45

CV JOINTS, ES300, Inner, Right 97-01 $261.48

CV JOINTS, ES300, Inner, Left 97-01 $225.56

if you have to do both sides, inner and outer, thats over $500!!! with toyota parts.

or the axle shafts:

AXLE ASSY, ES300, Right 95-01 $342.63

AXLE ASSY, ES300, Left 95-01 $318.15

then you still need the boots:

BOOTS, ES300, Outer 97-01 $14.95

BOOTS, ES300, Inner 97-01 $26.37

i got 2, TWO!!!, Remanufactured Axle Shaft Assemblies, CV joints and all for $120. is that NOT a killer deal? oh, and it came with a LIFETIME Warrnty from O'Rielly's Auto Parts.

even if i do have to replace them again in 3 years, and it may be sooner than that due to my worn steering rack...o well. i still saved a TON of cash. Remanufactured Parts have to go through Rigorous quality checks, many even more strict than those on new parts. i know, i work in a place where cellular phones are reconditioned and sent out as "Motorola Certified Reconditioned" units. any RESPECTABLE auto parts remaunfacturer (the ones at O'Rielly's and Autozone are usually respectable) will at least have standartds on par with the rest of the auto industry. it would be bad business not to.

BTW, above prices are from http://www.discounttoyotaparts.com

[mrag]

I can see the question on replacing the cv axle boot or the while cv shaft has been fully discussed although some time has passed and I wonder if there is any additional feedback on remanufacture shafts (and if one remand stands out more than others).

I have a problem like SKperformance. 75K miles on 13 year old car, ripped outer passenger boot, NO contamination (it just recently ripped). Toyota boots are going to be around $40, a "completely new" half shaft (done by Drive Tech America via Ebay) with boots is about $65. And I suspect labor would be a bit cheaper on remanufacturer since you don't clean, repack, unstall boot, etc. BUT, which one is going to last five years?

If car had 175,000 miles or selling in 6 months, remanu. is way to go, but I really wonder how long the remanu. hold up.

[khhoang]

my reman front axle shafts are still running fine since a local Firestone installed them on 8/2003 with whatever brand/source they used. anyways, like mentioned in the previous post they come with lifetime warranty so all you pay again is labor if anything goes wrong with the reman axle shafts.

...

i got 2, TWO!!!, Remanufactured Axle Shaft Assemblies, CV joints and all for $120. is that NOT a killer deal? oh, and it came with a LIFETIME Warrnty from O'Rielly's Auto Parts.

even if i do have to replace them again in 3 years, and it may be sooner than that due to my worn steering rack...o well. i still saved a TON of cash. Remanufactured Parts have to go through Rigorous quality checks, many even more strict than those on new parts. i know, i work in a place where cellular phones are reconditioned and sent out as "Motorola Certified Reconditioned" units. any RESPECTABLE auto parts remaunfacturer (the ones at O'Rielly's and Autozone are usually respectable) will at least have standartds on par with the rest of the auto industry. it would be bad business not to.

BTW, above prices are from http://www.discounttoyotaparts.com

[kcpth]

well for me.... so far... my cv shaft is still up n running. Didnt experience n e problems yet. But i didn't have it on for more than 5 yrs. I bought mine from Advanced Auto Parts... n they had a lifetime warranty of some sort that if it goes bad... they would replace it. I didn't really check up on it... cause i would have bought it from them n e wayz... cause of the price.

The weather up in Plattsburgh can b vicious. -40's during the winter months with lots of snow n road salts. So far so good since it's holding up. We'll c in anohter 3 yrs. We have put quite a lot of miles on it since then as well. Been driving up n down from NYC n Plattsburgh through many many different weather.

The only problem i had when i put the CV Shaft on was that my ABS brake light has come on the dash :chairshot: . Everytime i start the car it isn't on... but as i drive n apply the brakes... it starts to pulsate n eventually the ABS light comes on... n then no ABS brakes. I dont know if the shaft has n e thing to do with it... though i suspect it could b the mechanic... cause it's one of those CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP labor mechanics that i had it installed. But i was watching him doing it the whole time... i literally shadowed him n asked him numberous questions... didn't seem to b doing n e thing wrong... but then again... my knowledge on cars is very limited. He did seem a lil rough on it. Does n e one know the answer on wut may b wrong?

Tom

[camlex]

Hello,

I have 97 with 179,000.

Last time I checked the boot, was looking good.

What is the life of this boots?

[lenore]

well for me.... so far... my cv shaft is still up n running. Didnt experience n e problems yet. But i didn't have it on for more than 5 yrs. I bought mine from Advanced Auto Parts... n they had a lifetime warranty of some sort that if it goes bad... they would replace it. I didn't really check up on it... cause i would have bought it from them n e wayz... cause of the price.

The weather up in Plattsburgh can b vicious. -40's during the winter months with lots of snow n road salts. So far so good since it's holding up. We'll c in anohter 3 yrs. We have put quite a lot of miles on it since then as well. Been driving up n down from NYC n Plattsburgh through many many different weather.

The only problem i had when i put the CV Shaft on was that my ABS brake light has come on the dash :chairshot: . Everytime i start the car it isn't on... but as i drive n apply the brakes... it starts to pulsate n eventually the ABS light comes on... n then no ABS brakes. I dont know if the shaft has n e thing to do with it... though i suspect it could b the mechanic... cause it's one of those CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP labor mechanics that i had it installed. But i was watching him doing it the whole time... i literally shadowed him n asked him numberous questions... didn't seem to b doing n e thing wrong... but then again... my knowledge on cars is very limited. He did seem a lil rough on it. Does n e one know the answer on wut may b wrong?

The ABS speed sensor on the wheel hubs may be loose or bad connection, probably when the axle half shafts were serviced. Check these sensors.

Tom