Looking for a price range for some work on a 2000 Nissan Altima GXE.

Supposedly I need:
1. Go get my CV shaft? replaced - The guy showed me where the boot was torn but can't I just replace the boot and repack the grease?
2. Get tranny flushed.
3. Get power steering flushed.

About how much should all this cost? Also is there such a thing as a 60,000 mile tune up or did I make that up?

Also is it possible to get estimates on this work from various mechanics for free? Or do they usually charge an estimation/diagnostic fee?

[Edited on January 6, 2006 at 11:26 AM. Reason : more ?s]

1/6/2006 11:18:09 AM

zxappeal

1/6/2006 11:19:54 AM

you can replace the boot, but usually have to pull the axle and remove the cv joint to replace it.. it can get quite messy, too.

definitely go with zxappeal

1/6/2006 11:21:34 AM

I was told it would be 1.5 hours of labor when I was looking into replacing a halfshaft on a 96 altima. I think the drivetrain didn't change at all between 96 and 2000, so you can expect about the same. zxappeal quoted me the best price for the job, and I've heard he does pretty good work.

They do make boots that can be put on without removing the axle, I think they're called split boots. I was not able to find one for my Altima though.

Since there is already a tear in the boot, the joint really needs to be taken apart, cleaned, and inspected - or completely replaced. Once dirt gets in that boot, it is doomed to fail. This takes a little over 10,000 miles on an Altima driven not very gently about half on the highway, half in the city. When it's really going, you start hearing a popping during sharp turns. It causes a slight vibration at highway speeds before that happens.

The usual solution is to replace the whole unit - two CV joints, a short axle, and shafts to connect to the transmission and the wheel hub at either end - this is sold as one piece and can be called a halfshaft, a driveshaft, a driveaxle, and you can add the word "assembly" to any of those names. Napa has the cheapest price I could find for a remanufactured version - ~ $80-90 plus a $60 core deposit which you get back when they get the old one. Nissan wants about $500 for brand new halfshafts.

Mechanics should give you estimates for free.

There is such a thing as 60,000 mile service. Read either a Haynes manual, your cars manual, or go to Nissan's website. Any of these will list the things that are done at any service interval.

Also, get your valves checked/adjusted sometime. These things get noisy around 150,000 miles, and it will bug the crap out of you. Taking care of the head might prevent that.

1/8/2006 12:53:57 AM