From reading other forums, it seems like the quality of aftermarket axles is very poor, especially new ones. What are your experiences with aftermarket axles? Any issues with vibrations?
I'm chasing down a vibration during acceleration on a 93 Accord and I'm suspicious that my Autozone axles are the culprit. They were the Duralast reman axles. Thanks guys.
I went through this same crap. AutoZone was not right for my 88 GT Fiero and put the old one back on.
Went and tried Advance Auto to order one and was shock that they had the exact match to the old one. Placed the order on Friday night and they called 8:00 am sat to let me know they arrived.
Be cautious when buying a CV axle as the market is now contaminated with inferior Chinese made product. Such products look the same, are cheaply priced but they do not perform the same. While a few Chinese brands like Centric are of good quality, the majority is junk. Cardone remanufactured GM axles appear to be good and that is what we are using right now. Autozones Duralast brand products are mostly imports.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
That's what I was worried about. Dennis, when you say they do not perform the same, are you talking vibrations or something else?
There's a local CV axle rebuilder that can do them for $79+$20 core - which is a good price, if they are good axles. However, there's obviously a gamble in buying more axles without knowing for sure my current ones are bad. I would feel guilty returning axles to Autozone if there wasn't anything wrong with them.
If you get replacement axle just for torn boots then don't. Rockauto and others have inner and outer boots. You do need to find right directions for you CVs. Some are easy, others a hard to take apart. Fiero example: Inner Tripot easy Outer is a pain even having clip pliers.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
On my 3800 swap I used a set of 3 NEW axles from Advanced. I used a NEW stock drivers side Auto Fiero axle and to make the pass side axle for my 4t65e-hd I used a NEW Grand-Prix axle for the inner and a NEW Fiero MT trans axle for the outer portion (To make 1 axle out of 2) and form what I can tell the when the reverse engineer those Chinese/Cheap axles, they only care about point "A" (Trans) and point "B" (Hub) and how they get from point "A" to point "B" they don't really care. Splines, cilps diameters or any clearance you might be thinking about. They couldn't care less. I had to use my OEM 86 SE outer/ shaft with the Chinese inner tripot and 500 miles later the OEM shaft ripped the splines out of the Chinese Tripot. ( and that started 80 miles before as a Vibration under acceleration)
Just my 2cents.
in a stock application they are most likely "Good Enough" but for Performance/ Swaps the OEM parts are superior ()in my opinion)
For Fiero purposes, always specify Cardone remanufactured axles!
X2....until such time that we see Made in USA on our axles again. The majority of Chinese steel used on CV axles appears to be made from recycled material that contains impurities that impede its hardness. Original GM made axles are quite strong and Cardone uses them in the remanufacturing process.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Nothing is any worse than the junk you buy from GM. Whats it up to now, 130 recalls so far this year. If your GM parts were any good, you wouldnt be looking for replacements right ?
[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 10-24-2014).]
Nothing is any worse than the junk you buy from GM. Whats it up to now, 130 recalls so far this year. If your GM parts were any good, you wouldnt be looking for replacements right ?
Good thing we don't need axles from the current models, heh? The old axles are good. I have run them on several swaps with no issues.
Nothing is any worse than the junk you buy from GM. Whats it up to now, 130 recalls so far this year. If your GM parts were any good, you wouldnt be looking for replacements right ?
Good thing we don't need axles from the current models, heh? The old axles are good. I have run them on several swaps with no issues.
Must have been worth saying twice......darn double post!
[This message has been edited by olejoedad (edited 10-24-2014).]
I've had an Autozone axle that the retaining clip was undersized and would slip out of the trans enough to vibrate. I exchanged the axle and it fixed the problem.
Nothing is any worse than the junk you buy from GM. Whats it up to now, 130 recalls so far this year. If your GM parts were any good, you wouldnt be looking for replacements right ?
When GM moved its AC Delco parts division to Communist China that's when all of the recalls started. Take that ignition switch that shuts off while driving or the brake lines that rusted through. GM will soon learn that long term profit is not just made by making cheap junk but made by producing quality parts with high reliability. Those recalls will cost GM mega millions. Would I buy a new GM car today? Hell no!! I drive a new Chrysler.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Just thought i'd update since I still haven't gotten this sorted out.
I've gone through 3 A1 Cardone REMAN axles from Autozone and had a persistent vibration on hard acceleration. The inner CV shafts had a little bit of play in them, so I took them back. Thankfully, Autozone allowed me to return them.
I went with a local rebuilder and have now gone through 4 axles. the first set, left and right, vibrated just like the A1 Cardone axles, and had excessive inner cv joint play (which the company agreed, and offered to exchange them). In the second set, the vibration was gone, but the passenger side axle had a ridiculous amount of slop, you could just grab the axle and shake it around. I got them to exchange the passenger side axle for another, and now the vibration is back!
I find it hard to believe I've gotten so many bad axles. I am going to try a new Cardone Select axle on the passenger side and see how it does.
A few years back I noticed torsional (? windup play) play on the inner pots of my original 85 GT axles. Suspecting some play normal, still seemed excessive-- went on line to survey. JCW showed replacements from other GM applications which I did not recognize, not being well versed compared to many on this forum. I odered a set from Rock, but when received they had more play than my originals. Recall, in excess of .100," measured off the head of a hose clamp screw with a dial indicator in a vise. So I returned the parts. What I got back was a pleasent surprise. The shafts were about 5 lbs lighter with minimal play. Sorry, I do not know the GM source or rebuilder, but in that case Rock was very cooperative.Sorry to report a recent incident where Rock was not so understanding. Hope that does not signal policy change. FYI
I just purchased a "GENUINE AC Delco Part", on the BOX it said "made in China" , and on the PART itself it said " Made in Mexico" ! So, you don't know WHAT it is made of, or WHERE it came from ! Very Sad what it's come to.
