Question:My mechanic tells me my front-wheel drive (FWD) car
has a bad outer CV joint. He says the shaft has to be replaced.
Isn't there a less expensive way to fix it?
Answer:Time is money in the auto repair business. It's
much faster and easier for a mechanic to replace the entire driveshaft
assembly with both joints on it than to mess around replacing
a CV joint on your old driveshaft. Removing the old CV joint
from the shaft, disassembling and inspecting the other CV joint
on the shaft to make sure it is still good, reassembling and repacking
both joints with grease and installing the boots and clamps is
a messy and time-consuming job. So that's why your mechanic is
trying to give you the "shaft." He isn't trying to
cheat you. He's only trying to save himself some time and effort.
The cost of replacement shafts for most FWD cars today has
dropped to the point where a complete shaft assembly with new
or remanufactured CV joints costs little more (or in some cases
no more!) than a brand new replacement joint. That's why most
mechanics have gone to swapping shafts instead of replacing individual
CV joints.
When the shaft is changed, your old shaft and joints are exchanged
for the replacement shaft. Your old shaft is then returned to
a company that specializes in shaft rebuilding. Your old shaft
is then rebuilt using new or remanufactured joints. The shaft
then goes back into the parts distribution pipeline and is sold
to the next person who needs one. That's how the system works.
It's recycling in action, and it actually saves consumers a lot
of money.
If you're pinching pennies and/or don't plan to keep your
car for a long time, you can save some money by asking for a shaft
with remanufactured, rather than new, joints. The warranty won't
be as good, and the joints may not last as long as brand new ones,
but you get what you pay for.
Shafts for import vehicles typically cost about 30% more than
those for domestic vehicles because there are more different designs
of import shafts and joints (some of which can be very difficult
and expensive to obtain).
