arrite guys, I had my open diff replaced for a lsd recently, and after a few days of driving & all, one of my axles made a loud pop and the car no longer moved. I had it towed to my local mechanic who said I needed a new axle. I want to replace both since I dont want to risk the other one doing the same thing. In any event, I need new axles but dont know whether to get 'em new from the dealership, or a used set off of ebay. The guy at the dealership says that they come pre-balanced new, and used ones might be out of wack. In any event, should I get 'em new or used? HELP! Thanks!

 

Depends on your power lever if nothing crazy ebay all the way. If crazy or going that way I would buy from the dealer or a set of low mileage used factory ones. I picked a set up with 50k on them for $125 delivered.

 

^ I plan on turbo-ing the car, but not within the next few months. 250whp would prob be max power i'd run.

 

I would try and find a set of used factory axels before dropping the cash on new ones. I have MSM axels in my car and I think they will hold and from what I can tell the 1.8l axels are beast. I do not hear a lot of problems with them.

 

I have broken several axles drag racing with slicks. I always get axles from the junk yard, and never had any issues with them being bent or unbalanced. Incorrect ride height is usually the culprit of broken axles.

I would suggest getting them used if you are on a budget, and would also suggest replacing only the axle that broke.

 

^ really? I figured two new ones properly installed would be better than one semi-new one properly installed?

 

Waste of time and money.

I would buy new only if a used one was not available, or if it is overpriced used.

 

^ ah my bad, by "new" in the statement above, I meant used.

 

You can get a set if you want to, but you do not need to install both of them.

My car tended to break one side more than the other. If you do some hard core launches and find yourself breaking the same side again, you will have a spare. There is no left or right.

 

Try an independent axle shop, most rebuild and sell axles for about half the price of a parts store and they work just as good.

You can probably get a pair for less than a $100.