Hi All,

I am new here. I just picked up a 1992 Cherokee Laredo (All stock). I took it to my mechanic for a look around and it appears I need A LOT of new suspension parts. I am getting all new brake lines, drums, and hardware installed now.

He sent me over an invoice for the parts and labor needed for the whole job. I need upper and lower ball joints all around, upper and lower control arms and bushings, new shocks, and new sway bar links. That all looked normal and the pricing and labor looked very fair. He is cutting me a deal to get all the suspension done at once.

However, there is 1 major repair I see on this invoice and it is for 2 front stub axles that are needed to be replaced due to leaking oil. He quoted me $1,058.60 A PIECE! And he said I need two of them. I am not very familiar with suspension parts and I have never heard of that particular part. I did some searches on rock auto, quadratec, etc for the part and it ranges from $80-$200 a piece, which sounds much more reasonable.

Does anyone have any experience with this? It has been keeping me up thinking about paying $2000 for 2 parts.

He said I had around 6 months before this becomes a serious issue, but since the Jeep is already in the shop I'd rather get it done, but $2,000 is just too steep.

 

Is this a 2wd? That's the only "stub" axle I ever heard of. At that price you could replace the whole damn front axle assembly on a 4wd! Hell, it only cost me $1000 parts & labor to replace the rear axle on my WJ.

 

Hi dave1123,

That was my thought exactly. For that price I might as well change out the entire axle.

My Cherokee is 4wd. The only notes is that it is leaking fluid from each side in the front. I just don't understand how the parts could be $1,000 a piece when an entire axle would be half that!

 

Try another mechanic. Some charge more for the same parts, and some charge more for the labor. Shop around.

 

I wouldn't think you'd need new axles, just inner axle seals. They are a PITA to change because the entire carrier assembly needs to come out to do it.

 

You need to replace your inner axle seals. Your axle shafts are fine. The seals are around $20 for both.
I recommend buying a good axle seal installer tool for around $100. It's worth it to avoid the hassle of running extensions through the axle and trying to hit a new seal in with a socket and messing up. Not to mention getting someone to help hold or hit.
It's also a good time to change the front ujoints.

Edit: I see you are not working on the jeep. You really need to be able to work on these cherokees yourself or you will end up spending more than they are worth to pay someone else to.
What is the cost without the two shafts?