Is the FEQ Brand Axle Shaft a Safe Buy?
 

I went to a independent BMW specialist yesterday to diagnose a knock (turns out to be end links d/s) and to determine a price for replacing both front axles.

I informed the owner ( 7 years with BMW) that I would be supplying my own parts for the axle replacement. He immediately guessed which aftermarket brand i was planning on purchasing and recommended against it.

He claims they can cause long term damage to the the differential because the aftermarket shafts hit it or sway, or are loose - something to that effect.

He mentioned they had to do total differential replacements at BMW due to owners installing aftermarket shafts such as FEQ.


So my beloved forum members, do any of you agree with his assessment of the FEQ axle?

$850 per axle from BMW or $150 per from FEQ.

You know which one I want.

PS: The d/s CV is beyond repacking and repair. He recommended the p/s gets a repair kit, but If I go with the FEQ shafts I will opt to just replace it to be safe.

PSS: The d/s shaft is non OE already from a replacement last year, and the p/s is OE. I was told this from a very quick visual inspection the BMW indy owner. Go figure right? OE one may only need a repair, non OE total replacement after one year... none the less.

https://www.autopartsway.ca/PartDeta...haft_Assembly/

Thanks guys,

I used EMPI brand front axles and have had no problems at all. Perfect fit. I compared the OEM axles against these, side by side, and noticed no difference. Measurements were spot on. I can't speak for FEQ but I see no issues with aftermarket parts as long as they are well known.

So to review your post, you have failed a non-OE axle shaft after a year, your mechanic has basically put you on notice that there could be consequential damage (so forget any warranty on the repair), and you want to go with the cheapest will-fit part you can find?

I can see the logic if you are just getting it running to dump it quickly, but if you plan on keeping it I don't understand why you would go that way.

Get one OE shaft, and one repair kit for the passenger side.

In this case I would only use an aftermarket part that came with personal recommendations from a mechanic that had more experience than a single example.

Exactly. More specifically I want the cheapest will-fit part that I feel safe using. The purpose of this thread is to determine how accurate his assessment of the particular brand is. I am not concerned with boot longevity. Because the OE ones fail as do the non-oe ones. Or I am not $800 concerned enough to buy OE axles just so I have a boot that might last longer. The current non-oe shaft has to be replaced due to not replacing/fixing the boot fast enough. It is not clicking, but as I have learned from this thread, if the tear is their long enough, and enough grease has spewed out, it may be a better idea just to replace rather than repair.

As far as the passengers side, I do agree that repairing the OE CV is better then replacing with aftermarket axle. I will do just that for the passengers side.

I am certainly not the first to purchase aftermarket axles, and I was hoping someone here could corroborate the mech's statements or share their experiences.


Just to clarify, the mech did not say there was consequential damage to me vehicle due to the failed non-oe shaft. He said that the FEQ shafts I was planning on purchasing could be no good for my vehicle. I want a second opinion.

My question again:

Has anyone else heard of or experienced damage to their differential from using FEQ axles or other popular aftermarket axle manufacturers?

No comment on that brand in particular, but see this thread:

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-assembly.html

Many aftermarket parts will work fine. If you are doing it yourself, and you consider your labour to be free, it may be worth it. If your mechanic is charging you, you just have to make a judgement call on what redo would cost.

Good luck.

Thank you JCL.