[richsadams]

While changing the oil and filter on my 2000 Tundra 4x4 SR5 Access Cab the other day I noticed that both inner CV joint boots are torn. I searched here and elsewhere for DIY info and have come to find out that replacing the entire front CV axel doesn't cost much more and is about as much work as replacing the two boots. Seems like a no-brainer just to replace both CV axel assemblies.

I'd like to get some recommendations from the experts here. OEM is the way I would normally go, but I'll explain why I probably won't do that this time.

I picked this truck up for a reasonable price a little while back and it's in pretty nice shape for 233K miles. I'm the 3rd owner and both previous owners took good care of it. Although it looks pretty worn on the outside, the interior is in surprisingly good shape and it still feels and drives like it'll go another 100K. I'm going through it, fixing and replacing things that need attention as I go. I had a 2010 Tundra Ltd. that I really liked (and miss), but I sold it and bought a collector car so I just wanted a knock-around, run to Home Depot or pick up some auto parts kind of truck and this fit the bill. So it's not a daily driver by any means.

I've been working on cars and trucks for more than 40 years so I'll be doing the work myself. I've seen pairs of axels advertised for less than $150 and others for more than $400 per axel. I don't want to cheap out (you get what you pay for), but I do want decent quality that'll be safe while keeping in mind that it'll probably only be driven a few thousand miles a year.

Brand names, suppliers and any tips would be more than welcome!

TIA!

UPDATE: I think I'm going to go with remanufactured CV axels from Toyota (Part #434300C01084). A local dealer has them for about $95 ea. (plus $75 core charge). No shipping since I can pick them up. Seems the way to go, but if anyone has any other thoughts I'm in no rush and happy to hear them!

 

[Atombum]

I don't have any experience changing CV axles on a Tundra, but I've changed and removed CV axles on other cars I've owned. If the warranty on those rebuilt axles is decent, that's the way I'd go.

 

[richsadams]

So an eye-popping experience yesterday. I went back to order the CV Axles from the dealership that's about 12 miles away and the price had jumped from $95 each to $183 (plus the core charge)! I thought I had messed something up and reloaded everything and they are now $183 each or almost double over night! Even when I chose my local dealer they are $150 each.

McGeorge still has them listed for $76 each, but shipping is about $80 and then I'd have to pay return shipping (I believe) so that makes them more than the local guys.

ToyotaPartsDeal has them listed for $84.50 each plus $20 shipping (plus the core charge). That's a lot better, but I've no idea what the cost of return shipping for the cores would be. I contacted them and they said that sometimes they pay for return shipping and sometimes the customer has to. They wouldn't commit to either saying that it was up to the "return department." I'm guessing I'd have to pay and it would be somewhere around $75 to $100. So not really a great deal there either.

Wish I'd bought them last Friday!

Now I'm back to thinking about going with a third-party from RockAuto. I've heard of some of their manufacturers, but not others.

2000 TOYOTA TUNDRA 4.7L V8 CV Axle | RockAuto

RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.

www.rockauto.com

PartsGeek.com has a number of "new" and "remanufactured" CV axles listed for various prices. Again, I've heard of some of the manufacturers, but not others.

NAPA has remans for about $67 each and I've seen some good reviews for them. I can just take mine to the local store to get the core charge refund and at least if one goes bad I can return it to locally.

I've decided to replace the lower ball joints at the same time after reading numerous stories of the originals failing. I've no idea if the ones on my Tundra have been replaced, but per others I'm going to go with OEM for those though. The price went up slightly, but nothing like the CV axles.

If anyone has any additional thoughts, I'm all ears!

 

[jetmech6]

While you have it apart replacing the axles I would go ahead and replace the axle seals on the front differential.