Are these cv axles worth the extra cost?

Generally from my experience, anything with a lifetime warranty is shit. You gotta figure if they're willing to replace it for free, how cheap are the materials going into it?

 

Exactly this.

Important to recognize the conjob psychology at play here.

"Back in the old days", when most products were American-made, back when US manufacturing was still strong, before Corporations sold us out/killed our domestic manufacturing industry by otusourcing those jobs to Asia so they could make more $$ to put in shareholder pockets, "Lifetime Warranty" was a badge of honor products wore to express to the customer, "This product is so damn good, we believe it will never fail on you, and we feel so strongly about it, we'll replace it in the unlikely event it ever fails". Some USA-made companies continued it for a long time, including Craftsman, until that sold/folded. Some, like Snap-On, still do, and they're still some of the best tools money can buy.

As such, it's what the older generations taught to the their younger generations, "this is a mark of quality". I think we're only now getting to the point where people are finally starting to realize, in today's hyper-globalized world, where the Corporate focus is no longer on the product and brand reputation, nor the customer, it's now squarely focused on revenue generation, the inclusion of "Lifetime Warranty" is now a sign of, "This product is sub-standard, below OEM quality, it's not properly tested for quality control, and if it doesn't fail right out of the box, we will replace it when it fails sometime within the next few months or couple of years". And they find really f'n sneaky ways to get out of replacing it if they can (See NAPA and their bullshit about 'must be same store' and 'must have receipt', which is sometimes a receipt that fades to illegible over time).

And on the generational thing, all the evidence you need lie with MOOG parts. I can't tell you how many MOOG suspension parts, specifically, I installed onto all of my GM and Honda vehicles before I finally woke up and realized Toyota is a far more reliable, less problematic, longer-lasting brand. If you go to nearly anyone that's over 50yo today and has been wrenching on vehicles most of their life, and ask them what brand they gravitate toward for ball joints, idler/pitman arms, and other steering products, they're probably still going to say "MOOG is the best there is", and they'll believe it too, after their early decades of fail-proof experience.

But the reality is, a MOOG part isn't a MOOG part anymore, it's the product of whatever Mainland China warehouse will produce the part looking generally similar at the cheapest possible cost, and they drop it in a MOOG box. Which, for the record, is exactly what NAPA, TRQ, and other brands do these days as well, which is why, when you look up the massive lower ball joint MOOG had a couple years ago, with over 15,000 parts affected, inside the NHTSA recall report here, you'll see several other brand names included in the recall: NAPA, AC Delco, MOOG, Sankei, Tenneco. Why? They sourced some or all of the parts from the same freaking place. SAME SHIT DIFFERENT PILE.

Anyway, all that to say, tl;dr -

• Companies see and exploit historical brand loyalty as a value add-on, while knowingly selling you inferior parts (i.e. consumers need to wake the fuck up)
• Lifetime Warranty should be treated as a red flag these days, it's most-often a sign the manuf'er knows the part is inferior and will fail
• Skip this hassle and loss of time by always buying authentic OEM parts, b/c those companies won't compensate you for lost time or damage caused by using their shitty parts

/SOAPBOX RANT

 

PS - Some NAPA stores will make exceptions. My uncle used to own/run one in the San Antonio area, and if you had a NAPA receipt, he'd do the legwork to ensure any walk-in customer got taken care of with NAPA brand parts.

As with all things, "YMMV / Your Mileage May Vary", it seems like everything is a compromise these days, and it all depends on whose name is on the deed, or who the manager is, or what the person behind the counter actually knows.

The one thing that's not-so-variable is, "Most aftermarket parts are utter bullshit, and subpar at best". And it's getting harder to get guaranteed authentic parts with outlets like scAmazon, fleaBay, and WallyMart's storefronts allowing in a gaggle of knockoffs/counterfeits into the supply chain.

There are certain exceptions to that brand quality rule, but generally speaking, it's spot-on in today's world.

 

Our local Napa's have a variety of owners, like franchises. There are 2 owned by the same folks that operate the one here in town. I can use either for returns. Came in handy when my daughter's Napa gold AGM battery went bad. The other store was halfway between here and her college town.

 

Is there an oem rebuild kit for oem axles? I still have mine, but i’m glad my trackmotives have a lifetime warranty. No problems for 2 years, but i wouldnt hesitate to swap em for fresh ones if i ever need to.

 

I've seen The Car Care Nut rebuild a Toyota CV on his channel, but I've never seen the triple-head or whatever you'd need to rebuild ours. I feel like we covered this in the past, and there has to be a parts source Toyota is using for the rebuilt units. Or maybe there isn't, which is why re-man isn't available anymore.

It looks like there's a reboot kit in EPC, but I don't see a rebuild kit. Diagram (for an '06 which uses the same axle as all 2000-2006) is here and pic below: https://toyota-usa.epc-data.com/tundra/uck40/3806/chassis/4302/

The boot kit 04438A with inboard boot, clamps, grease is p/n: 04438-0C010
The boot kit 04438 with both boots, clamps, grease is p/n: 04438-0C020

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