How good are A1 Cardone axles?

[masospaghetti]

I think my Ex (1998 4WD, V6, 207,000 miles) is running front original CV axles. I know for certain that the "dust excluder seals" are in multiple pieces and I think they are causing a squealing noise. The CV boots themselves are fine.

However, new Cardone select axles are not much more than new excluder seals from Ford. The Cardone select axles appear to include the seal:

I noticed the reman axles don't have the seal installed.

Should I get new axles, install new seals on my existing axles, or just run without the seals?

Thanks all

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Not uncommon for the metal band in the dust shield to separate and end up rubbing on the hub or knuckle creating a lovely rotational whining sound. Assuming the CVs themselves arent clunking or grinding, really no reason to replace them. I would say its purely a judgement call on replacing the dust shield, but certainly cannot hurt to put a new one in place.

EDIT -- just checked the fordparts website, saw this:

Part Name: CV Joint Axle Shaft Dust Shield
Brand: Ford Genuine Parts
Part Number: 3K070
Part Description: From 2-12-01 part is not required; Secondary seal

So... there's the reason you don't see it on the remans. Ford decided not needed.

 

[koda2000]

if your CV boots have been ripped for any length of time, the special grease gets thrown out and the dirt and moister get in. this will ruin your CV joint in no time. i've used (and sold) A1 Cardone reman parts (including CV axles) for many years. i've never had a problem with any of their stuff and, if i recall correctly, their CV axles carry a life-time warranty. unless you're gonna get rid of your truck in a few months, i'd just go ahead and replace the CV axles, rather than screwing around with replacement boots. it's just as much work (more actually) to replace just the boots.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

FYI - Ford sells the dust shield for $30 each. Whole axle is $55. Ugh!

It sits on the base of the threaded/splined shaft that goes into the hub. Supposedly the idea was to keep sand and grit out the back side of the hub. Only thing is that it's not watertight and in constant motion so most stuff will be flung off anyway. Maybe useful for slow deep mud crawling, by doubt serves much purpose in everyday driving.

 

[masospaghetti]

Thanks everyone for the input.

Very useful to know its basically an optional seal. I am not sure yet if I want to replace the axles as preventative maintenance or just to remove the old seals from my current axles. My current axles have good boots - but they are probably pretty old.

 

[obie]

If your axles are good, you can hold off on replacing them. When it does come to their end of life, you'll know. They make a lot of clicking noise and that's your cue to swap them out. No sense replacing perfectly good CVs.

Or... if you want your CVs to outlast everything else on the truck, get RCV Performance to custom make you some 4340 chromoly ones with beefy cv joints

 

[masospaghetti]

So...i got the old seals out of there (removed the wheel hubs and just pried them off with the axle in place).

Problem is, the noise is even louder than before!

Could a bad wheel bearing cause a high pitched noise? They are only about 1 year old, Timkens...they felt fine when I had them off and rotated them by hand.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

It's just the one side, right? Well, parts can and do fail. There are only a few parts in that area under movement. So possibilities include: hub itself; brakes (you did not mention if the sound changes with application of the brakes); rotor or wheel touching the brake dust shield, the caliper bracket, or even the tierod end or part of the lower ball joint.

My advice would be the get the entire truck off the ground on jackstands and have someone put it in gear while you watch and listen. Obviously have to be careful. Dont let speed get very high (like 10-15mph max) <<FYI - if it gets going fast, your ABS will think all 4 tires are slipping when you put on the brakes, best to put in neutral and pump brakes until it stops>> Should be able to isolate the sound fairly quickly.

 

[masospaghetti]

I did what you suggested - put the truck on jackstands, ran it in 1st gear on 4 HIGH, and the squeal came right out.

It was coming from the CV attach flange, where the front driveshaft mates to the transfer case. The shaft itself was fine (I disconnected it from the transfer case to see). I sprayed some wax-type lubricant behind the flange and all is quiet, for now.

Thanks for the tip! worked like a charm, and the problem wasn't even in the front end like I had thought.