Rear axle damage on 2012 Mustang GT

[codereddew]

Hello all,

New to this forum, but I wanted to get some advice - ended up spinning out around ~20 mph and curbed driver's rear wheel which resulted in a broken rim on that side. Mechanic says axle is bent (rear driver wheel/tire wobbles when car is jacked up and put in gear) and is quoting me $850 ($500 for part+$350 labor) to replace the driver rear axle without new bearings.

Is this a reasonable price? I feel like it's a little high for only 1 axle without bearings, so I'm thinking about ordering these from LMR with these bearings and just having another shop install them.

I just wanted to confirm that these would work in a 2012 Mustang GT (auto 6r80) with 4.10 gears? Also, they should be able to use the existing C-clips, wheel studs, and ABS rings right (assuming no damage to them of course)? I wanted to get something a little sturdier as I want to take the car to the drag strip occasionally but I also didn't know if these were overkill (~420 WHP).

 

[J.Kidd]

Seems kind of high and I would question why he wouldn't be replacing the bearing and seal on that side. Honestly, it should take about two hours (tops) including time to pull out the old wheel studs and press them in as well as extracting and replacing the bearing and seal.
And then onto parts: you can get a PAIR of Moser axles for $400. The only other "parts", assuming nothing else is damaged, would be differential fluid and a diff cover gasket (or RTV). Can't hurt to shop around. Go online and see if you can find a recommended shop that has a good reputation.

But honestly, I have nothing to reference the pricing with. I can only go by what I would expect it would take me to the job...and I am no where near a trained mechanic. Good luck!

 

[Juice]

What is the shop's labor rate? @$100/hr thata only 3.5 hrs labor.
$500 for factory parts seems reasonable for a wheel and axle.
So what is the actual labor hours on the quote?

The wheel bearing is pressed into axle housing, and probably not damaged. I would not mess with it unless it is bad. (Visual inspection when axle is out.)
I would replace the axle seal though.

 

[codereddew]

What is the shop's labor rate? @$100/hr thata only 3.5 hrs labor.
$500 for factory parts seems reasonable for a wheel and axle.
So what is the actual labor hours on the quote?

The wheel bearing is pressed into axle housing, and probably not damaged. I would not mess with it unless it is bad. (Visual inspection when axle is out.)
I would replace the axle seal though.

He didn't give me actual hours on the quote but I'm assuming it'll take between 2-4 hours. And he quoted me $500 for parts for only ONE axle and replacing the seal (no wheel replacement as I already had wheels to replace it with). Also, I figured if he's in there, might as well replace the bearings as well as it would be an easy extraction/replacement with the right tools.

 

[codereddew]

Seems kind of high and I would question why he wouldn't be replacing the bearing and seal on that side. Honestly, it should take about two hours (tops) including time to pull out the old wheel studs and press them in as well as extracting and replacing the bearing and seal.
And then onto parts: you can get a PAIR of Moser axles for $400. The only other "parts", assuming nothing else is damaged, would be differential fluid and a diff cover gasket (or RTV). Can't hurt to shop around. Go online and see if you can find a recommended shop that has a good reputation.

But honestly, I have nothing to reference the pricing with. I can only go by what I would expect it would take me to the job...and I am no where near a trained mechanic. Good luck!

Yeah labor is probably on the higher end, but it's probably reasonable given my location. It's more so the price of the parts that I feel like I'm being ripped off on.

I just went ahead and ordered the pair of Moser axles from LMR for $400 + bearings/seal and some Royal Purple 75w90 gear fluid.

 

[RED09GT]

I would get new wheel studs, stock ones are cheaper than the time it takes to press the old ones out.

 

[codereddew]

I would get new wheel studs, stock ones are cheaper than the time it takes to press the old ones out.

Any specific brand you recommend?

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Any specific brand you recommend?

ARP

 

[RED09GT]

Any specific brand you recommend?

Stock Ford.

Almost all the drag wheels available for these cars don't need longer studs so no need to have to run ugly open end lug nuts or ricey extended ones on standard street wheels.
ARP's are great for a race car but if you don't need extended lugs, no point in having them poke way out.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Stock Ford.

Almost all the drag wheels available for these cars don't need longer studs so no need to have to run ugly open end lug nuts or ricey extended ones on standard street wheels.
ARP's are great for a race car but if you don't need extended lugs, no point in having them poke way out.

Except for tracks that enforce rules, he will need them if he runs a slick. A slick is open to interpretation by the track official.

 

[RED09GT]

You do need an open end lug for slicks but unless you are street driving on slicks, you are going to have to change the wheels anyway at the track so have one set of open ends for the track and closed ones for the street.
For the studs, the rule just states "The thread engagement on all wheel studs to the lug nut, or lug bolts to wheel hubs, must be equivalent to or greater than the diameter of the stud/bolt."
So as long as you have a half inch of thread engagement, you are good to go. My Weld RTS's with shank-style lugs have over 1 1/4" of thread engagement and even a conical style lug on my LMR wheels has 3/4" of thread engagement so unless you have some odd thick flange wheels, this should not be a problem.

I had long studs and open ended lugs on my fox and had the misfortune of having a flat. If you run open lugs, you'd better have a can of WD-40 and a wire brush with your lug wrench or you are going to be hating life if you have any amount of fine dust or dirt anywhere near your wheels and you need to get those open ended nuts off.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Thats why they make lugnuts with screw in dust caps. I wouldn't want 1/2 inch of threads holding ANY wheel on. To each their own. I will always be on the safe side.

 

[RED09GT]

Thats why they make lugnuts with screw in dust caps. I wouldn't want 1/2 inch of threads holding ANY wheel on. To each their own. I will always be on the safe side.

I'm sure that the NHRA has done sufficient research to ensure that their safety rule is adequate.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

I'm sure that the NHRA has done sufficient research to ensure that their safety rule is adequate.

Sure they have........thats why the tips of studs break and wheels fly off.

 

[RED09GT]

Sure they have........thats why the tips of studs break and wheels fly off.

Happens to a long ARP stud that is overtorqued as well-having length outside of the lug nut does not add any strength whatsoever.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

We can agree to disagree. Most of us use longer shanked lugnuts with extended studs.