I took my 1989 Chrysler Lebaron to get the front breaks and rotors replaced and asked my mechanic to check if they see any other obvious problems with my car. He called and told me my front left axle shaft was badly torn. I‘m just curious, what does the axle shaft do and how much of a problem would it have been if I didn‘t replace it? I am getting it fixed, mainly just curious. Also, how much would you guesstimate it would cost to replace? (Just to compare to his price).
tears in the protective grease boots can occur for different reasons age/wear and or hitting something underneath while driving are the most common. normally it is wise to repair the axle as soon as you notice the problem to avoid any unnecessary breakdown. the axles send the power from the engine through the transmission to turn the wheels. rebuilt axles installed can run you from $249 to $300 each side. -ken
The axle boot protects the CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT from breaking and spinning out it's lubricant. A torn boot will EVENTUALLY cause your CV joint to break down and lose it's bearings. WHen this happens you DIE on the road. THe axle will no longer MOVE the wheel xisince there is NO connection to it. ANd your DIFF will try it's hardest to turn the axle that is already DEAD. A replacement , rebuilt axle is about $100 or so most places, but things ALWAYS increase in price these days. The rest is LABOR and hoist fees. You must remove the AXLE NUT and BRAKES and move the whole hub carrier out of the way to remove the axle. It takes about HOUR_ TWO to do this job. THe CV joint does nearly ALl the work on a front driver. It MOVES TURNS, provides POWER to the wheels and is how the trans sneds power to the wheel for going forwards. GOOD LCUK!!
