Model S Aftermarket CV Axles - Success!

[tezcatcatl]

The chances that there's already been damage that isn't yet obvious is nearly 100%.

I'd replace the shaft. I'd also make sure to clean the boots and wipe down with silicon spray every 6 months or so. I've done this for 35 years on my cars and have never had a boot failure on on my of my 300K+ mile cars.

Thank you for the info!
It is weird for me that CV joint by itself is more expensive than the Shaft + CV joint set.
Looks like I will go to the dealer and let them change the whole set. This way atleast I will have warranty on the part they put in and their labour.
Cheers!

 

[ngng]

props to you for diying this yourself. you 100% need to torque the axle nut to the correct value. the fact that it was loose from the factory is kind of scary!! not sure if you reused the old axle nut (i read you reused the old washer), but if you did, you will want to use the new axle nut since they are one time use.

for anybody attempting this themselves i would also suggest buying the correct wrenches or sockets you will need. you're saving money already, so don't use an adjustable wrench!! also a good idea pick up some moly grease and apply it to the cv splines. and finally, DONT USE BLOCKS OF WOOD to support your 6k lb car!! buy PROPER jack stands.

a few notes on trakmotive themselves: they are just another chinese mfg of axles. it is very likely you will be doing this job again in the near future. I am all about saving $$ on parts, but I will not buy reman or chinese axles. if available, I would prefer a low mileage OEM axle to a new chinese axle. the tolerances just are not there. the reman axles are even worse since they grind down the races which causes premature failure with the bearings.

 

[ngng]

I’d say that you would need to replace the CV shaft. Replacing the boot is not good enough. Inside of the boot is a flexible joint covered in a thick grease. Any contamination to the grease will result in a failure of the joint.

I would only be entertaining replacing it and getting alignment done

if you catch a failure early enough you can replace the boot and repack, but, it's more of a pain than it's worth

 

[tezcatcatl]

if you catch a failure early enough you can replace the boot and repack, but, it's more of a pain than it's worth

Yeah just replacing the boot would save me 200~ bucks. Betting on a potential failure which would cost me 600~ bucks.
I decided not to bet and just get it replaced.

I will check the part that come out, observe the state of the grease and the tear of the boot.
If it is not so dramatic, I might keep it as a spare in the garage. If and when the time comes, I might reuse it with a new boot and new grease. If it looks nasty, dump it.

 

[ngng]

Yeah just replacing the boot would save me 200~ bucks. Betting on a potential failure which would cost me 600~ bucks.
I decided not to bet and just get it replaced.

I will check the part that come out, observe the state of the grease and the tear of the boot.
If it is not so dramatic, I might keep it as a spare in the garage. If and when the time comes, I might reuse it with a new boot and new grease. If it looks nasty, dump it.

if you decide to replace that axle with something rebuilding the OEM axle isn't a hard job, just messy. that's what I did with my porsche axle that had a torn boot. bought a used OEM and am rebuilding the one I pulled as a spare

 

[tezcatcatl]

if you decide to replace that axle with something rebuilding the OEM axle isn't a hard job, just messy. that's what I did with my porsche axle that had a torn boot. bought a used OEM and am rebuilding the one I pulled as a spare

Hmm you got any directions / guides etc. on this?

 

[ngng]

Hmm you got any directions / guides etc. on this?

let me check when i get home. youtube is a good start. it's not like tesla's axles are proprietary. you will likely just need axle grease, something to clean the old parts with (i use heated simplegreen), new boots, clamps, clamp pliers. if you've caught the failure early enough that's all you really need to do.

 

[tezcatcatl]

let me check when i get home. youtube is a good start. it's not like tesla's axles are proprietary. you will likely just need axle grease, something to clean the old parts with (i use heated simplegreen), new boots, clamps, clamp pliers. if you've caught the failure early enough that's all you really need to do.

Ah you mean just replacing the boot. I thought you were doing some surgery into the CV Joint

 

[ngng]

Ah you mean just replacing the boot. I thought you were doing some surgery into the CV Joint

no, that is usually unnecessary unless you've been driving on it for a long time. the cv joint is easy as well. you just buy the joint and swap out the old one

 

[tezcatcatl]

no, that is usually unnecessary unless you've been driving on it for a long time. the cv joint is easy as well. you just buy the joint and swap out the old one

What I found online was the boot for the CV joint. Which is what is torn on my case. I think

 

[airborne spoon]

Pretty good writeup and the pics really help understand what youre talking about. Only thing i'm not a fan of is you saying to use the axle as a slide hammer. Instead a rubber mallet or type hammer should be used to smack the end and beat it into place. I've done a few CV swaps over the years in other cars, and a dead blow hammer has the best effect without potential damage to the CV joint.
Some folks dont know this but there is a online free service manual, so that can be used in conjunction with your guide and hopefully it'll help people save money by not paying the overpriced labor rate tesla charges for everything.

Driveshaft Assembly - Front - LH (Remove and Replace)
Driveshaft Assembly - Front - RH (Remove and Replace)
Jackshaft Assembly - Front (Remove and Replace)

 

[SwissPatriotRG]

If it's just the boot torn a bit and leaking grease out, and you caught it before it started making noise, chances are the bearing in there is still fine. It would have to sling all the grease out for it to start wearing out and making noise.

People replace torn CV boots all the time and rebuild the shafts. It's very common in the repair world. Tesla CV shafts are not special, and almost certainly made by a 3rd party company with standard size boots. Take that to an axle shop and they will be able to rebuild it no problem. A boot and grease is probably less than $40 to do yourself.
EDIT: just looked, Triscan sells the boot and grease, and individual CV joints if you just want to replace that part instead of the whole axle. Axles are relatively easy to fix TBH. The outer CV and boot are usually the ones to go because they have the most articulation and exposure to damage.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Thanks alot for the detailed explanation. I feel like this will come handy for me one day sooner or later.
May I ask you a question, considering your experience with this?

I recently bought a Model S P90D. I took it to the dealer before buying it for a general inspection and they found out that Front Right wheel has the halfshaft connection cover thingy thorn on the wheel side and grease is leaking.
I asked them to take photos but they forgot so I couldn't check myself yet. There are no noises, no rattles, nothing, yet.

Dealer that said this part is not serviceable and recommended changing the whole halfshaft, which is quoted at ~440 euros something excluding labor.
I on the other hand, found this: https://www.autodoc.nl/triscan/14452978

My question is, if I buy this, can my regular mechanic easily replace the cover, refill the grease and done? Atleast until the potential wear kills the halfshaft?

The labor is such that it's just easier to get a new half-shaft, IMHO.

Recommend buying one with a life-time guarantee given that these appear to wear somewhat quickly on the Model S . . . .

 

[SwissPatriotRG]

I would also like to comment that blocks of 4x6 lumber are perfectly acceptable for holding up a 6000lb car. I would wager that the 4x6 block of wood I put the car on has a higher load capacity than the typical jack stand, and is less likely to be erroneously deployed. It's a block of wood, there is no mechanism to fail. Looking at you, harbor freight.

Firefighters often use wood cribbing to prop up vehicles to stabilize them to work under them. A single 3.5"x3.5" contact patch on a 4x4 timber can hold 6000lbs. A single 5.5"x5.5" contact patch on a 6" wide block can hold 15,000lbs.

Cribbing and their weight limits - Firehouse Forums - Firefighting Discussion

The top extrication forum, moderated by Ron Moore

forums.firehouse.com

Wood blocks are plenty strong to support the weight of a vehicle.

 

[SwissPatriotRG]

The labor is such that it's just easier to get a new half-shaft, IMHO.

Recommend buying one with a life-time guarantee given that these appear to wear somewhat quickly on the Model S . . . .

A new axle is about $250. A CV boot is what, $40 and takes 5 minutes to swap out once the axle is out? If you're already doing it yourself, how much do you make an hour?

 

[TSLA Pilot]

A new axle is about $250. A CV boot is what, $40 and takes 5 minutes to swap out once the axle is out? If you're already doing it yourself, how much do you make an hour?

More than $250 an hour, and it takes me at least half an hour just to jack the car up;-)

Regardless, if you're going to all that effort, and the part cost is so low, why take the chance on something else failing soon thereafter? Seriously: Rock Auto has Model S front half-shafts at under $82 each now--perhaps time to stock up, even if you don't them yet?

2015 TESLA S ELECTRIC CV Axle | RockAuto

RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.

www.rockauto.com

 

[tezcatcatl]

Where I live, I only have Triscan option. Boot with grease is 90 eur.
Whole halfshaft is 235 eur.

Probably something like 150 eur of labor on it either option since labour is similar. So it will total to 90 + 150 or 235 + 150.
Either 240 eur or 385 eur. Add the ATF oil (see the paragraph below) and it is either 312 eur or 457 eur. This is the cost in a regular mechanic.

On the other hand dealer servicing option costs 581 eur to replace the whole halfshaft with original part (2nd generation, whatever it means) including the front differential ATF fluid. (2 liters costs 72 eur).

The torn on the boot was very very tiny so I have closed it with silicone for now and will just wait until the CV joint gives up its life. Once it does that, I will replace it in the dealership, and I will get the dead one repaired in an axle shop, keep it as a spare (if that is possible to repair).
I have bigger problems now. Looks like the car I bought had an accident which was hidden from me and Tesla missed all the damage. I found out myself..
Now Tesla quoted 17000 eur to repair the whole thing.. So.. I am having lots of fun with this car for sure..

 

[dmwahl]

I have a '15 85D with 113k on it, been noticing what sounds like a can with a rock inside coming from the front end when I go over rough roads up to 40mph or so. Pulled the front wheels off thinking it was sway bar links or other suspension related issues and found my passenger side front halfshaft was leaking grease (the little tear right next to the band). From the looks of it it happened a while ago, the crud covering everything was relatively dry. The driver side looked nice and clean.

Question... does that noise seem consistent with a CV axle going bad? (perhaps moot since the axle needs to be replaced anyway). I've replaced them before on other cars, but always did it before they started making noise as I'd notice it during an oil change or something and do it proactively. I've never actually heard what they sound like going bad. Hoping it's just the axle and not another issue. FWIW I can also move the leaking axle by hand a bit more than the driver side and it makes a little louder noise when I do so.

 

[davidc18]

with the torn cv boot I would expect the joint to be bad. you will have to get the entire axle. several places online to order them.

 

[tezcatcatl]

Small update, I got my right halfshaft replaced. Unlike what the dealer claimed, no ATF oil was leaked during the process.