2003 Camry cv shaft replacement recommendations?

Joined
May 25, 2005
Messages
772
Location
Northern Michigan
In checking the front end of the 2003 Camry it seems the passenger side CV axle has quite a bit of play in it. I've been chasing down a vibration that cropped up after remounting the all season tires several weeks ago. The tires have less than 10k miles and the shop said the balance was spot on...tires also seem OK with no observed wobble on the balancer. The shop agreed that the play in the axle seemed excessive and that could be causing the vibration (years ago I had a similar problem with my old minivan and after multiple balancing and a new set of tires it turned out to be a CV axle...new axles cured the issue. The car currently has 98k miles and is in fine shape. If I do end out changing out the axles, what is a good brand? Prices are all over the place and I know quality is too. The last time I purchased any they were Carquest brand for the minivan. They were ok, no issues. That was a few years back. Any thoughts on just going with the Carquests? The price is right on them but I have no idea if they're a quality unit.
 
I know nothing about the quality of CV axles.
But I would buy what the shops use,Carquest or NAPA?
They don't like to replace them if they fail early.
 
Aftermarket axles are junk.

I’d buy one already pulled from a junk yard and have them repack with grease and replace the boots.
This x1000. Buy a used, good OEM axle and roboot/regrease it. That's the only reliable option on my van, which has eaten up like 5 aftermarket axles. Even the ones that didn't fail quickly had vibrations :oops: I've used LKQ online for buying axles, and it's worked out pretty well. They sent me the wrong part once but they fixed it.
 
If Raxles offers axles for your Camry, they are the best choice.

Otherwise, Cardone HD axles. The HD uses thermoplastic boots.
 
+2 on the junkyard part. I wouldn't even regrease it, just palpate the boot and make sure it feels kosher.
 


Use OE Toyota boot kits and chances are you will never do them again.

What kind of play is this? up and down or in and out? Did you check the play at the inner joint itself not the shaft?
 
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Replaced the original axle shaft once on my old VW Cabriolet with an aftermarket unit from AA. It lasted maybe six months/3K miles and had to replace it. AA didn't balk at all about giving me another one. I got so much better with the job the second time it was almost worth the trouble.

CV joint.jpg
 
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