95 Rodeo V6 4WD

- a year ago while getting new tires put on, the mechanic mentioned the front left axle had some play in it... he was able to wiggle the wheel laterally and mentioned something about ball bearings. I left it alone as I don't drive the vehicle much.

- last month after bringing it in for a transmission check-up, they did a brake check also and saw something in the front left axle... mentioning it was a plastic boot and grease was drying up or all-but-gone. Grease was supposedly all over the place outside. I can't recall if he said there was a crack or not.

- yesterday my car passed inspection and he didn't mention anything about this until I specifically asked if he saw something with the axle... he pointed out the left front right away and said grease was all over the place outside of it. He would only say to get it fixed before it actually breaks because he's seen something like that do some major damage.

Exactly how dangerous is this situation? Again, I use this as just a once-a-week car, if that, but an important trip is coming this weekend (just highway driving and I won't engage 4wd). Is it still safe enough to drive on without repair? Would the axle fall apart making a turn or driving on the highway? Usual cost to fix? Tranny place quoted a $150 part plus 4 hours labor while this guy that just passed me for inspection thought it was just 1 hour labor after the part for about $225 total.

If you have auto locking or manual locking hubs this shouldn't be a problem at all unless you use the 4WD. The reason is that the front drive axles don't even do anything unless the 4wd is engaged. If 95's have drive flanges, making it so the axles are always engaged with the wheels, the front CV axles always turn with the wheels whether or not 4wd is engaged. I'm pretty sure 95's came with auto locking hubs so as long as you don't use the 4wd, you can get this fixed whenever you feel like it.

The labor for replacing the axle is a bit closer to 4 hours. The guy that said one hour was thinking it was a straight forward as most front wheel drive cars. With Rodeos there is a lot more stuff that needs to come apart.

thanks for the response - yes it's auto-locking though I have to be at a complete stop. He took a look and quoted me $325 for the whole job and that includes a new part instead of a remanufactured one which he couldn't find. I'm having a friend take a look to see if he comes to the same conclusion. Is it exactly the axle or the cv boot? I'm having trouble understanding exactly which part needs to be replaced.

If the mechanic is worth anything, he is quoting to replace the axle. I won't re-boot an axle when it is not known how long the boot has been torn. If he is quoting you that price to replace one of the axles, take the deal. That's a reasonable price for replacing a Rodeo CV axle. If he is quoting to re-boot the axle, run away. He'll probably use a cheesy quick boot which take less than a half hour and won't fix anything.

does this also mean the wheel being able to move laterally (in and out) a bit is ok? That has to do with bearings right?

No, that's not ok. Could be wheel bearings, ball joints or steering linkage.

No, that's not ok. Could be wheel bearings, ball joints or steering linkage.

Sounds like wheel bearings AND ball joints to me...in which case, YES your wheels can go flying off on the highway at speed. I was very lucky mine didn't, they were FAR past needing replaced. All 4 of mine (ball joints) were shot at around 170k or so; we simply repacked the wheel bearings.

If yours are original, they are probably shot.

Can you post a pic of what parts they are referring too?

so do I have 2 separate problems here or is the replacement of the axle going to take care of that movement too? Doesn't sound like it's just 1 thing although I thought the ball bearings were related to the grease being all over with a cracked boot. I want to do minimal repairs since I hardly ever use the vehicle but want to keep it around as a backup - don't even need the 4wd as I have an awd now.

I remember seeing in the maintenance schedule a requirement to repack the bearings for 4wd. Can I just have this done (how much?) and be in the clear for a while?

As far as a pic, I can probably get under there and snap one but I don't know what parts the mechanics are talking about as any info given to me was just via phone.

If you're not using the 4WD then you can skip the axle work. They do nothing when in 2wd. You could even take them out all together without affecting the anything.

Do get the wheel bearings re-packed or replaced.