Last weekend I finally installed all of the front end parts I ordered. This includes both outer tie rod ends, sway bar links, and strut assemblies. The truck fought me the entire way. My truck doesn't have a lot of corrosion underneath (I definitely have seen worse) but I still had to use penetrating fluid and sometimes even a torch to break loose some of the nuts and bolts underneath. Quite frankly, after I got the passenger side put back together, I was losing my patience and trying to hurry with the driver side.

As I was installing the strut assembly on the driver side, I guess I must have put too much force and pressure into pushing it in place that I pinched and tore the outer CV boot twice. Both of these tears are about a half inch long.

At the time, I needed my truck back on the road and just put it back together. I've put maybe twenty miles on the truck since then.

I'm looking at my options and I see that it only costs $20 for a new CV boot, but I'm not sure how much work is involved with replacing the boot. I assume the axle would still need to be removed from the truck to replace the boot. A new axle half shaft costs $70 from Autozone, but I read that the aftermarket half shafts aren't nearly as well built as factory ones.

What are your opinions?

 

No wrong decision there I suppose. Just don't wait too long or the decision will be made for you.

 

Well I guess I should have clarified. I'm concerned that the aftermarket CV joint half-shafts aren't quite as well made as the factory CV joint half-shafts; that's what my research leads me to believe. My factory half-shaft is fine aside from the torn boot. Is it worth the extra labor to replace the boot versus buying the cheap aftermarket CV boot?

Regardless of what the answer may be, I went ahead and just bought the aftermarket unit to save time. I'm keeping my factory half-shaft just in case, it's covered in a plastic bag and placed in the box that the new shaft came in. If there's any hint of trouble from the new CV shaft I'll put my factory one back in with a new boot. So far so good with the new half-shaft, my truck has stock size suspension (and all brand new strut assemblies and front end components) and tires so hoping for no issues. I will update this thread if I do have issues.

 

I replaced my cv axle half shaft on the drivers side this weekend. I was battling the same dilemma... replace the boot on the old shaft, replace with an inexpensive aftermarket shaft or pay 3-4x the aftermarket price for the MC part. I opted for the Precision aftermarket brand from OReilly. The swop went smooth. The only thing I noticed is that the axle on the OE part barely squeezed through between the sway bar end link and the strut. The aftermarket part made it through easily. I didn't measure, but I assume the axle diameter is a little smaller on the aftermarket part. I also kept the old part, just in case. Good luck!

 

I guess the small difference in the axle shaft diameter could have been the build up of gunk on it too. The axle nut did go from a 13mm on the OE part to 15mm on the aftermarket part.