How long to replace axle

Things get more complicated, however, when the axles have to deliver power to the wheels. If a powered wheel had nothing to do but roll on a perfectly smooth surface, the solution would be simple. A straight axle with no suspension would do the job. As anybody who has recently driven around can attest, roads are everything but perfectly smooth; thus, the axle must be able to deliver power to the wheels and travel with the suspension as it soaks up the bumps. This gets particularly tricky in the case of a front-wheel-drive car, where the wheels are steering the vehicle as well.

With all the angles created by the suspension traveling over the bumps and wheels steering to and fro, the axle must be as flexible as a gymnast while spinning like a whirling dervish. The solution was to make axles with constant velocity CV joints. Front-wheel, all-wheel and certain rear-wheel-drive vehicles with independent suspensions also use this same type of axle, which employs two CV joints to deliver flexible power to the wheels.

Some vehicles even employ CV joint axles in the drivelines. A CV joint is a collection of bearings and cages that allows for axle rotation and power delivery on a number of different angles and planes and enables the axle to change length as it travels up and down. All the parts spin around in a protective layer of grease that is held inside the joint by a flexible, rubber boot. Without the boot, the grease would simply spin out of the CV joints. The boot also keeps dirt and grime out.

On the CV axle are two CV joints along with one or two sets of splines. One side of the axle gets power from the engine while the other delivers the power to the driven wheel.

Over time the rubber boots of the CV joints can become cracked, torn or otherwise compromised. Signs of impending failures are a click-click-clicking or metallic crackling noise while turning and accelerating or a clunking upon deceleration.

While one can repack, reboot and rebuild CV axles, it makes more sense for the average do-it-yourselfer to procure replacement units and swap out the old axles. Don't be the exception. Quote: I could do both in 30 minutes without having to touch the ball joints. How long it actually takes and what you actually get charged are 2 different things. It seems that some people do not understand what they are reading or know how to actually answer a question.

Quote: Quote: I could do both in 30 minutes without having to touch the ball joints. Never did I say it would take an hour. Depending on model and year book time is between 1 and 1. Flat rate techs get paid book time. So if they can do it under this time, they MAKE money. Welcome to the world of a flat rate tech.

With NO problems I could probably do both sides in 20 minutes from the time it's racked to the time it's back down on the floor, this is NO test drive and NO ck out time. Am I going to charge more than that????? Quote: I bet he will charge the customer for more than 20 minutes! It'll cost whatever the flat rate says plus incidentals and tax. No need to guess. It'll flat floor you when you think in those terms.

And that's every day. There's no garage fairy doling out money to needy shop owners. Even the large auto dealerships stay in business by selling service.

So if you can't pay the time, don't do the crime. Changing 4 spark plugs and new wires on a DOHC motor with the plugs right on top? But my garage is already paid for and I have a fulltime job. Someone else mentioned knowledge and tools. That's huge. Take away either and you are looking at the possibility of enormous bills to make it right after you have boogered it up. Also, I am an engineer.

What makes me twice as valuable as a kid fresh out of college? Experience and specialized knowledge that you don't get in school. That's all, but it's major. Off my soapbox, R. Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode. Default Style infopop2 moparts RealmHQ sd. DarkDoom ubbcentral. Powered by UBB. Previous Thread. Next Thread. Broken CV axle boot. See more illustrations: Fig1 , Fig2.

See the photo of a good CV axle boot. Read Next: When does a wheel bearing need to be replaced? When should the transfer case oil be changed? When does the axle seal need to be replaced in a car? How often do brakes need to be serviced? When do the control arms need to be replaced?