'98 V70 NA 5 spd. FWD - Passenger side front axle

[E Showell]

My passenger side front axle (Empire aftermarket) is going. My brother and I put it in as a replacement of the OEM probably 5 years ago. Marty at Raxles is out of Volvo OEM cores. I bought a driver side axle from him last November for $304 with an $80 core. I had to eat the core since the drive side was also an aftermarket Empire unit. Now I can pick up an Empire replacement for less than $100 plus shipping, or I can get a new Volvo OEM unit for $340. I'll probably keep the car for another 5 years -- or about the life of an Empire axle. Which one would you go with?

I'll probably do the labor and I'll probably have an alignment done after, which in my neck of the woods runs about $90.

So -- c. $200 for aftermarket or more than twice that for OEM? Thoughts?

[cn90]

Ask your local dealer where they get their axles from.
Probably NAPA but I may be wrong.

[E Showell]

Is NAPA supplying blue box Volvo parts? That would be the first I've heard of that.

[cn90]

Not really, but I know Volvo dealer in my area used local parts store to get:
- Axles
- Steering Rack

And whatever they do, the parts are very good and last a long time.

I bought my car used and the Volvo dealer gave me old service records, both the Steering Rack and the Axles are rebuilt stuff.

IIRC, they told me they got their stuff from NAPA. I need to verify this.

[cn90]

Just called my local Volvo dealer, they get these things from NAPA to save the customers money.

[E Showell]

I called my local NAPA -- they said a rebuilt axle would be $62.00 with a $67.00 core. I asked if the rebuilts were built up on Volvo OEM cores and they said "yes" but in the same breath indicated they would accept my Empire aftermarket axle as a core, so I'm thinking an OEM Volvo core may not have been used to produce the remanufactured unit. Can't beat the price with a stick. Thanks Cn90. I may go that route after all.

[cn90]

Plus NAPA has some kind of warranty too.
Of all the axles issues going on, I think NAPA axles *seem* to be better than axles from Autozone, Advance Auto etc.

I think you will be fine with NAPA.

[erikv11]

There is a place in Denver called CVJ axles that has been getting a fair bit of chatter recently, maybe give them a call.

http://cvjaxles.com/

EMPI is going to be hit and miss, as is whatever the NAPA near you is currently selling. You may get a good one, you may not. I highly doubt the NAPA ones are built on OEM cores (where are they getting the cores, if Marty can't find them?) but it is possible. That's not a recommendation for or against, just a comment.

[cn90]

I wonder if there is a way to look at a let's say NAPA axle and see if it says "GKN" or Volvo on the axle.
Does anyone know if the factory axles have any logo engraved on it?