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Should I replace one Cv Joint ( Axle Shaft) or Both?

15K views 39 replies 9 participants last post by  jeepo23 
#1 · (Edited)
I have a 02 330XI and for my christmas gift my brother-in-law in replacing my leaking axle shaft with a hole on the front left with a new one! I thought it is great because it would save me a good amount of $$.

I was kinda worried about the part purchased tho, It is coming from Napa Auto Parts.


Anyways hes done tons of cars DIYs and he knows a little bit about bmws.

Looking at videos and forums I think its a task we can conquer.


What I am worried about is if I get a aftermarket shaft for the front left when the front right OEM was perfectly ok, will they fight eachother? Like maybe vibration or weird wobble or should I not experience any difference? Thanks!

2002 BMW 330xi 135k miles.

 
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#2 ·
Well I replaced my front left in my 02 330xi about 2 years ago with a shaft from Carquest (same as Napa really..) and luckily I kept my OEM shaft and picked up a boot repair kit which I plan now to rebuild and install back as I believe that the shaft from Carquest is causing some shaking/wobbles..

If he's doing the repair and your shaft isn't clicking yet.. buy the boot repair kit ~$40 since he has to remove your OEM shaft anyways and just rebuild it and put it back in place. This will save you some money by not having to buy a new shaft unless you want to go OEM.. $$$.

And I don't think the shafts are interchangeable between sides.. their all side specific.
 
#4 ·
Well it is definatly not the cheapest crap but also its not OEM. So I beleive its OEM spec.

I am deciding to do one side because the other side looks recently replaced. Its in fantastic shape. My drivers side is trashed.

^ for the boot repair. I had thought about it, but it was a suprise so he already purchased the part :(
 
#13 ·
If one is bad and the other is not, replace just the one.

Why are you replacing the fuel filter cover?

Are you sure you need to replace the flex disc, post cat O2, and front rim or are you just guessing?

Why aren't you replacing the pre-cat O2 sensors?

Don't replace just the coolant, replace the thermostat, water pump, explosion tank, and hoses while you're in there.
 
#14 · (Edited)
[ QUoute]1;15894266]If one is bad and the other is not, replace just the one.

Why are you replacing the fuel filter cover?

Are you sure you need to replace the flex disc, post cat O2, and front rim or are you just guessing?

Why aren't you replacing the pre-cat O2 sensors?

Don't replace just the coolant, replace the thermostat, water pump, explosion tank, and hoses while you're in there.[/QUOTE]

I am replacing the fuel filter cover due to it being super rusted, I may try to do some abatement to see how much rust can be taken off first.

Yes flex disc is soon needed to be changed, the rubber is all torqued ... tho I could probably wait awhile before I do that.

Post cat o2 is because im getting heateng o2 sensor circut fail codes and other codes that lead to bad o2 sensors. Precat are ok as they were replaced before purchase.

Front rim has crack next to tire that creates an air leak. I will pay you money if u can find me that rim style! :(

Coolant system seems fine,not to worried yet, this car isnt as bad as im saying it is. Lol explosion tank
 
#15 ·
I am replacing the fuel filter cover due to it being super rusted, I may try to do some abatement to see how much rust can be taken off first. Don't bother, you're wasting your time and money on this.

Post cat o2 is because im getting heateng o2 sensor circut fail codes and other codes that lead to bad o2 sensors. Precat are ok as they were replaced before purchase. Are you sure they are for the post cat O2 sensors and are they both of them?

Front rim has crack next to tire that creates an air leak. I will pay you money if u can find me that rim style! :( What style, the ones in your picture?

Coolant system seems fine,not to worried yet, this car isnt as bad as im saying it is. Famous last words
See above.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Having spent the better part of the last month getting my axles sorted out, I would say (like lots of others here) get GKN axles from Pelican/ECS/RM, etc.

I got one Cardone reman (from Autozone, but they supply NAPA all the auto parts chains) that seems OK, and another Cardone that was machined undersize and gushed fluid and had grease leaking from the outboard boot.
A lifetime warranty isn't worth much unless your idea of a good time is repeatedly replacing axles.

I don't think you have to worry about one side playing well with the other.
If one side looks recently replaced, I would just replace the bad one with a GKN. Roughly $300 for the drivers side and $350 for the passenger.
 
#28 · (Edited)
How many miles on your car?
I'd just replace the bad axle***8230; My experience w/BMW and a half dozen family Subarus here in Colorado is that they die slowly with plenty of warning and don't explode with your car bursting into flames. You'll usually here a regular clicking noise if you do slow circles with the wheel turned all the way left or right. If a boot bursts and throws grease everywhere sometimes you'll smell that if it hits anything hot under there.
If you have the car up, carefully inspect the axle boots on the other side as well as the steering boots for tears which are often hidden in the folds of the bellows. Move 'em around with your hands, pull and tug a little to find the cracks.
I stay out of the "new/rebuilt axle debate", do what you please.
Also, I wouldn't jump to replacing the 02 sensors. If a code reader gave you that, it's giving you a clue not necessarily telling you the part is bad. You may replace it and have the same code immediately. What codes did the car throw?
 
#29 ·
How many miles on your car?
I'd just replace the bad axle... My experience w/BMW and a half dozen family Subarus here in Colorado is that they die slowly with plenty of warning and don't explode with your car bursting into flames. You'll usually here a regular clicking noise if you do slow circles with the wheel turned all the way left or right. If a boot bursts and throws grease everywhere sometimes you'll smell that if it hits anything hot under there.
If you have the car up, carefully inspect the axle boots on the other side as well as the steering boots for tears which are often hidden in the folds of the bellows. Move 'em around with your hands, pull and tug a little to find the cracks.
I stay out of the "new/rebuilt axle debate", do what you please.
Also, I wouldn't jump to replacing the 02 sensors. If a code reader gave you that, it's giving you a clue not necessarily telling you the part is bad. You may replace it and have the same code immediately. What codes did the car throw?
The car threw the heater control circut. Bank 1 sensore 2 and bank 2 sensor 2.
I checked all the connections and everything seems good. I havent checked yet but does my model have fuses under the hood? I know my buddys e46 m3 actually has a fuse for it.
 
#35 ·
Originally Posted by Busy View Post
I appreciate the offer of your personal experience. I'd like to offer mine, if you'd hear it.

1. Lifetime warranty from NAPA, at least here, means if you ever have a problem, you get another new one, free. I'm able to get labor comped as well. Those of us that cannot get labor for free means that we spend another few hours under a car hammering an axle out of the hub rather than doing something much more enjoyable. If you get free labor then by all means install whatever you want. If I got free labor, I'd put in the cheapest axle possible and let the shop deal with replacing it on a yearly basis for free.
If you pay to have the part installed the first time, the warranty will cover having them do it again. For the DIYer, this isn't such a large boon, but working with the front ends of these XIs is a royal PITA (lots of threads talking about siezed axles, bearings that needed a 20-ton press to remove etc - did one of those bearings last night, actually, and F***, that was a B****)

2. My experience has been totally uneventful while selling, installing and following up on new axles from Napa. I've been in the business for a few months short of a decade. Is this statement directed specifically at E46 Xi front axles or NAPA parts in general? While I appreciate your experience in selling these parts, if you read on this forum you will find that many, many people have had issues with them. I suspect that the reason for this is that the people on here pay far more attention to their cars and any issues than the average consumer. The random Peggy Sue out there with her E46 Xi would blow out her front diff long before she ever realized that it was leaking from the seal. She might also not even notice the grease splattered all over from the torn boot until after the labor warranty was over. While the statement was about Napa reman axles in general, I don't think that it should be discounted. Reputation is important. Also, the Peggy Sues that come to see ME are/become well-informed, and because of good operating policies and procedures on my end, these things don't get that far. If I think a repair needs to be done, I address it, and we check every car, every service, every time they come into the shop (lightbulbs in the lot - not so much). As long as they come here, they're checked frequently.

3. My Napa sales rep recommended buying from the Dealership before buying a re-manufactured axle from him, as he has nothing but claims and problems with them. Then why continue to sell them? Selling parts that have considerable warranty claims with a lifetime warranty seems like a poor business choice. Also, if there are this many issues with them then maybe the rebuild process needs to be revised? NAPA is a franchise, so they have to do things the way corporate likes them. Totally agree about the revision process, and as I referenced but wasn't quoted on for whatever reason - "(see: Subaru aftermarket axle vibration in park issues).". Subaru front axles were a problem in the initial wave of aftermarket support, they'd but up against the driveline components in such a way as to transfer vibration to the body in park while not in motion. The second generation of these axles were redesigned to totally alleviate this issue, and they did exactly that. This is common procedure, so I don't doubt at all that the first run of aftermarket axles for the new (at the time) driveline configuration could've been plagued with various issues, by now the problems are likely sorted. BTW: Napa isn't my first choice for most things, as there is a local competitor that carries much better brands and keeps much better hours and delivery service, so I'm not a NAPA nut by any means.

TL;DR; If you pay a shop for this, go with a NEW napa axle. Either one will wear out but only the new one will be free to you the next 3 times it happens if you keep your car that long.
 
#36 · (Edited)
TL;DR; If you pay a shop for this, go with a NEW napa axle. Either one will wear out but only the new one will be free to you the next 3 times it happens if you keep your car that long.[/SIZE]
Yeah, but if a GKN last 100k, and a NAPA lasts 20k, who wants the hassle of going back to the shop 3-4 extra times?
I have done 90%+ of the work on my cars over the last 30 years. Part is cost, part is that I like tinkering and the satisfaction of doing things right, but a BIG part is I hate dealing with shops. Even with the best ones, the logistics are a pain, and most are (sadly) not very good.
 
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