Side by side comparison of OEM vs cheap part

[Slumpert]

I ordered new inner and outer repair boot kits from Courtesy Nissan and the package for the outer kit had been taped closed and the parts in the bag are so inferior aka cheap, it can likely only mean some a-hole returned his amazon $5.00 kit in the bag back to them.

While I am sure Courtesy Nissan will take care of this for me, I has given me a unique opportunity to compare two sets of new parts directly. Most of the time the old part is crusty and broken and tossed into trash so the new shiny part looks better, but is it really?

So for these two kits, here is my hands on comparison. Granted I have no idea where the cheaper one originated from, so if you recognize it, please feel free to shout it out.

The cheap one is very thin walled, and stiff , feels like plastic - compared to the OE boot which is thick rubber and soft.

The cheap one does not have lip on the end to keep the clamp in place, just few raised spots - compared to fully formed grooves for the clamp.

The cheap one came with crimp style clamps, to be honest they feel like quality clamps that I would not have issue using espcially if it was non oem (likely thinner axle), compared to flip lock clamps which are engineered to be perfect fit.

The cheap one came with 1/2 of the amount of grease and it is already black.. OEM kit had 300g of nice and clean grease.

The cheap one came with a axle retaining clip that is already rusted looking and it has larger diameter than the OEM kit. Likely going to take a lot more effort to shove back into the transmission and who knows if it will ever come back out in a year when that plastic boot splits.

The OEM kit also included new retainers.

Here is photo of the generic kit sent to me.


And here is what was in the sealed Genuine Nissan kit.

[Rogue Jarhead]

I’m glad you posted those pics and comparisons. Though part of telling the difference between the boots themselves is the feel, you are exactly right. Few people get to do side by side comparisons on the exact same new part as you have. Often the part theyre replacing is worn out or broken so it doesn’t really lend itself well to comparing. I’ve seen those plastic boots vs the actual rubber ones and you can obviously see and feel a difference. Yes they last about a year and then you get to do it all over again.

Not only is this true of cv boots but the axles and every other part on a vehicle. I replaced the drivers outside mirror assembly on my daughters older 94 Toyota a year or so ago. I used an aftermarket part, new is hard to find and taking the value of the car into consideration aftermarket was fine in this case. The mirror didn’t fit right and was obviously made of cheaper materials.

You’re doing your own rebooting? That’s a far better choice than putting in a cheap aftermarket or reman axle just because you have a boot split. Rest assured the reman or aftermarket axle uses the cheap boots.

I just did a little research on cv axles and Nissan sells the joint ends themselves, both inner ($175) and outer($225) at one online dealer, versus buying the whole axle at over $500 each. Usually it’s just one end that’s bad, of course while the axle is off it’s a good idea to throughly clean the other end, regrease and reboot it.

[Slumpert]

Yea I am going to tackle the repair.

The broken boot dumped its grease load on my driveway just this last weekend. Freaked out when I first saw it, then I realized it was likely a boot issue and seems I blew the drivers side inner boot first..

Hoping to just leave the carrier side in the transmission so I don’t mess with fluid level or anything.
Might even try skipping the strut bolts and undo the LCA arm instead. Yea still have to u do stabilizer and steering links, just like the idea on not messing with strut bolts.

[Rogue Jarhead]

I think you'll find that you need to take the whole axle out. If you do it's a good idea to replace the C clip on the end of the axle, the part that goes in the transmission. Also not a bad idea to get a new axle nut. As long as your'e at the Nissan dealers anyway swapping out that Amazon boot. Don't worry about fluid loss you'll have it jacked up on that side, so you shouldn't loose more that a 1/2 qt-1qt. It will make quite a mess if you don't have a pan under it when you first pull that axle.

Get a couple of cans of brake clean, and get rid of the old grease in that joint clean it right up. Put that new grease in the joint and seal it right up with the clamps.

Do you have boot clamp pliers? They are vary handy to have to ensure a proper seal on the boot. Autozone , NAPA, Carquest etc should have a cheap pair, I'd say get a nice pair but unless you plan on going into business the 10-15 times you use them over your lifetime, cheap will probably be fine.

By the way good luck and have fun.

[amc49]

It's much more likely to affect wheel alignment when loosening the LCA versus the strut. Especially if the strut engagement is marked before loosening anything.

I compare OEM and other parts all day long. And even take them and mod to make them last longer.

A boot feeling like plastic normally will set off warning signs but Ford uses some that are hard as plastic yet they last 200K miles FYI, so not necessarily bad. As well, the more pleats a boot has the longer they generally last too, each one then has to stretch less in the groove and what kills them. CV joint grease IS black, it has moly in it which changes the color. You may have too MUCH grease in the bigger packet as they often just use a generic one to save inventory costs, you ALWAYS reboot using the exact amount called for in the manual, using too much changes the compression ratio inside boot and often blows it out. Meaning compare the packet to manual spec. You need no lip inside boot, the clamp is what holds it on and I've even used standard hose clamps to hold boots on if used correctly and they last forever. Depending on which boot gets changed, there is also a length measurement and set that may need to be done for the plunging boot, if not then clamped in wrong place the boot compression/extension then quickly blows the boot out again and tied very closely to the amount of grease used. The triangle shaped spring clip is not needed after the axle is trapped in place and only for axle handling outside of being installed, many axle makers now do not even use them at the OEM levels to save cost. The OD size of the small clip has nothing to do with the amount of difficulty getting axle in, it is tied to the THICKNESS or gauge of the wire which needs to be exact. I use the clips over when needed depending on the wear on them.

I have rebuilt every set of FWD axles on every car I have as needed and they last forever commonly using very cheap low dog axles at $50-$75 each. You just have to look at your parts closely.

FYI, Nissan itself may have put that lesser quality kit back, MANY of the OEMs use lesser quality parts all day long now that the parts stores offer lifetime warranties, they do it on parts owners will never look at critically and then the lesser cost gets the dealer much more pure profit as they WILL charge at the normal Nissan price. When working in parts I saw our OEM dealer clients do that stuff all day long.