I'm not sure which axles are best. Many people say the original equipment axles from the manufacturer of your car is always best. Cardone should have remanufactured axles for your car and that would be a good option. I had a 2003 Forester that needed an axle replaced. I used a new Cardone axle and it was fine. I recently replaced both front axles on a 2004 Hyundai Santa FE 2.7L FWD and I went with new Trakmotive axles. In both cases RockAuto had the best price.

 

Oh, do you mean Cardone has rebuilt OEM Toyota axles? Would there be a way to confirm that before buying?

 

Cardone NEW (NOT rebuilt) have worked well for me multiple times.

 

You could just reboot your original axles. but that's a bit cumbersome.


I have had very good luck with brand new the Auto Zone axles. They work and fit great and thus far have lasted about 100K miles.


The old OE ones lasted about 90K miles before the boots rotted but they were also older... I was going to reboot them and reuse them but so far the NEW AZ replacements are great, and the cost was a nice price too. They are way less messy than dealing with rebooting the old ones so id probably go with the AZ units again if i need to repalce them.

 

I've had Cardone remans in my 99 Solara for about 3 months now. Not really long enough to decisively say one way or another how they'll hold up, but they're fine so far.

All of Cardone's statements on their remans is that they are a "remanufactured Original Equipment part". I don't think they could rebuild axles on aftermarket cores and use that language, so you can at least be assured they're rebuilt on OEM cores.

I personally would not buy TrakMotiv. They are a Chinese aftermarket manufacturer. I think a lot of what is being sold by the national chain auto parts store is from them, and they sell under different names too (SurTrack). TRQ is not a manufacturer, they are just a reboxer and house brand for 1Aauto.

You won't find brand new OEM CV axles for your car anymore. You can order reman axles from Toyota dealerships for ~$150 + a $75 core charge, but these are just Cardone remans in a Toyota labeled box. I sourced my two Cardone remans for maybe $130 and didn't have to pay the core charges.

 

You can order reman axles from Toyota dealerships for ~$150 + a $75 core charge, but these are just Cardone remans in a Toyota labeled box.

This is interesting - where do you find them? All the dealerships I've called just say discontinued. And how do you know they are Cardone remans? Do you mean they are OEM that were remanufactured by Cardone?

 

Youtuber Car Care Nut, who knows his shit, recommends ONLY repacking OEM axels and replacing OEM boots. They do come apart quite easily and are very well made.

It a good idea BUT all my OEM axles have been long gone so I ALWAYS go new Cardone.

 

The boot kits are only $40 from the dealer.
OEM half shafts last forever. Aftermarket ones, when they fail, that lifetime warranty doesn't pay for your tow truck or the labor to replace it again.

 

FWIW I bought a Cardone (not sure if new or reman) 4 or 5 years ago for a Kia Rio and it's held up fine.

 

I’ve used many sets of Cardone’s new axles without problems. Always got at least 100k miles on them. I think 2 on my ‘92 Camry, 2 on my Avalon, and just a week ago on my ‘98 Rav.

Their rebuilt axles stink on ice. Had 2 bad ones right out of the box.

 

Their rebuilt axles stink on ice. Had 2 bad ones right out of the box.

Thanks that's really helpful, how do you know you are getting new vs rebuilt ones though?

 

AZ's Duralast's are currently made by Trakmotive.

First photo is from Autozone's website for PN 10894N. Second is from Trakmotive for a TO-8075. Same exact photo.

O'Reilly also sells Trakmotives, they just straight up use the Trakmotive part numbers instead of coming up with their own like Autozone does.

NAPA has their own part numbers like Autozone, but also lists the manufacturer part number in the specifications for their new axles (which are also Trakmotive). For example, if you search their site using the PN TO-8075, the result will be NCV 949733.

So for all three of the major auto parts chains, you're going to get a Trakmotive if you buy a new axle. May as well pick whichever store has the best price and warranty if you're getting the same exact part.

Prices for TO-8075:
O'Reilly: $116 (sold as Import Direct)
NAPA: $137 (sold as NAPA Premium)
Autozone: $122 (sold as DuraLast)
RockAuto: $58

No idea who makes NAPA remans though. Might be Cardone. Unlike their new axles, there is no original manufacturer PN listed for their remans. I'm not really aware though of any other axle remanufacturers who do the kind of volume that would keep a national auto parts retail chain supplied, besides Cardone.

 

I'm pretty sure AZ's Duralast's are currently made by Trakmotive.

Thanks for the updated info nhybgt.

 

Post was a bit of a work in progress, decided to research what the other auto parts stores are selling. All the big three (NAPA, Autozone, O'Reilly) are selling TrakMotive for new axles. Carquest/Advance Auto are the outlier, they are selling GSP. A quick call to a local NAPA, they say their remans are Cardone.

 

The new Cardones seem to have a good record with everyone here, it’s convenient you can also get them on Amazon for the same RockAuto prices. What’s interesting is that the TRQ are still +$30 more than the others though, and since I find you usually get what you pay for, I’m intrigued to know what might be different about them

 

What’s interesting is that the TRQ are still +$30 more than the others though, and since I find you usually get what you pay for, I’m intrigued to know what might be different about them

TRQ Auto Parts is a Pepperell, Massachusetts US based distributor of aftermarket auto parts, which are Private label branded, & boxed under their company name. They work with, and source from multiple manufacturers / vendors globally.

TRQ is a well known & popular name in automotive circles, many fleet & independent auto shops like their parts - because they source, Q/A, and sell good quality aftermarket parts at a decent price.

I've used a few of their parts here over the years, and I liked them: have no complaints about part fitment or longevity - particularly with their hub assemblies. Hope the feedback is helpful to you.

 

I mean, its a 20 something year old car, so not many manufacturers make the axles... its probably like 1 or 2 companies and they just glue a different name to the box and a dfferetn price tag. its liek AC delco parts.... they throw any random crap in the box but upcharge for a name...


Consensus seems to be that any new one is pretty decent, and remans are always hit or miss regardless of what brand / what part it is..... so i'd go whichever fits your budget / if there aren't any extra shipping costs etc... Living on a rock.... I went with the AZ ones cause the shipping from R/A would have been 3x more than the axle itself and the dealer would take 3-4 months just to get the boots, and A/Z had the axles readily available at nearly every store. .


the new boots / regreasing would be best if you want original parts but you also need to remove the old one, disassemble, clean, re-pack,. get the proper clamp tool etc etc....

 

I can't comment on that brand, but I can tell you from experience to stay away from Detroit Axel.

 

I don't see that you say why you are changing the axle. If it is because of torn boots you would be advised to just change the boots. Replacing the boots is not too hard, there are you tube videos detailing this procedure.

 

I replaced the axles on my 2006 Solara with AutoZone's lifetime warranty ones they were very reasonable and although I don't really drive the car that much they seem to be fine, in my humble opinion as long as their lifetime warrantied and you don't mind doing the work. i never had a problem returning things to AutoZone and there were only a hundred bucks a piece.
The only problem I had was taken the old ones off especially the passenger side they were stuck on and no matter what I did I couldn't get them off. I finally had to cut the axle so that I can get it out of there. Hope I never have to do that again.

 

I replaced the passenger side on our '08 Avalon last month using a Cardone new part. The ABS ring looked a bit different, but there have been no issues - vibration, noise, etc. Price at Amazon was only $80!

 

When the rear engine support / axle support bearing are seized to each other (very common), you can re-boot without disturbing that bit:

This is because the passenger side has an inner, mid shaft which can be left in place, cut the inner CV boot and pull the outer portion out, off of the car.
Clean the cup of the inner joint that is still attached to the car and do the rest of the half shaft re-boot process, assembling that inner boot back to the rest of its joint last.

 

When the rear engine support / axle support bearing are seized to each other (very common), you can re-boot without disturbing that bit:

This is because the passenger side has an inner, mid shaft which can be left in place, cut the inner CV boot and pull the outer portion out, off of the car.
Clean the cup of the inner joint that is still attached to the car and do the rest of the half shaft re-boot process, assembling that inner boot back to the rest of its joint last.

I just did this on my 05 HL FWD. This is your best choice if only a torn boot.

 

I used auto zone axles on 2005 Avalon and 2006 Solara they are both new and lifetime warranty,
i ordered online, you get 20% off $100, or more and free shipping, if they don't Work, just return them to the store Instead of having to mail them back which is a big hassle.So far so good!!!!!.

 

I used auto zone axles on 2005 Avalon and 2006 Solara they are both new and lifetime warranty,
i ordered online, you get 20% off $100, or more and free shipping, if they don't Work, just return them to the store Instead of having to mail them back which is a big hassle.So far so good!!!!!.

Still got my AZ axles...over 130k miles and still good

 

Save that receipt, but they won't pay for the tow, or for the shop labor if it does fail.
Of course, it is always possible to get a good aftermarket part, just playing the odds is all.


"The race is not always to the swift, but that's where the smart money bets." - W. Allen

 

If you have an on line account with Auto Zone you can access your purchase history at a click of a button, as far as labor goes I don't let anyone touch my cars, i guess it's a trust thing, i'm lucky I can do my own work i call it Labor of love but I realize not everyone can do that and As far as Towing goes I have roadside assistance From Progressive on all my cars,it's only $5 every six months, anything's possible life happens!!!! You just learn to deal with it as it happens.

 

The reason why I have been down on aftermarket half shafts is I had two fail. One at 75k miles, the other at 120k miles. The first one the outboard splines sheared, resulting in no drive. The second one the inner joint came apart, the flailing half shaft then cracked the transmission housing. Both failures were due to poor quality parts.

The OEM ones last 200~300k miles without such issues, so I now keep on the ball and re-boot the originals at the first sign of boot cracking and avoid all those other possible issues (about once every 10~15 years or 100~150k miles, or so). The boot kits are only about $40 per axle from the dealer.

 

If you have an on line account with Auto Zone you can access your purchase history at a click of a button, as far as labor goes I don't let anyone touch my cars, i guess it's a trust thing, i'm lucky I can do my own work i call it Labor of love but I realize not everyone can do that and As far as Towing goes I have roadside assistance From Progressive on all my cars,it's only $5 every six months, anything's possible life happens!!!! You just learn to deal with it as it happens.

Keep the receipt, but I wouldnt worry. They make millions of parts and although there IS a chance you could get a junk one, its likely you would have had some kind of failure by now, the AZ axles are pretty decent.. are they as good as OE??? I dunno...My OE units lasted 90k miles... yes they were kinda old but the 90K were pretty easy going miles..the boots tore and before that they had some kind of a clunk....... they still seem ok and I suppose I can rebuild them but these AZ units have 130K HARD miles on them and so far mileage wise have outlasted the OE.

I've had both aftermarket and OE parts fail... but Ive also had both last ... in many cases the aftermarket lasts longer than the OE. depending on what it is....

Dont worry and just enjoy!