To swap CV joint ends or not?

I am no expert, but I recently disassembled and rebuilt one of mine. They seem like such robust parts I can't imagine that they wear much compared to other parts. Additionally, the main point of wear would be the large balls and their races, which move in and out with the road surface. I doubt reversing the direction of rotation wouldn't affect the in and out wearing effect.

 

Let's start with a bit of reality/logical thinking. Millions of regular passenger cars use this same style of joint, and none of them have ever had their axles "swapped" to decrease wear. Millions of those same vehicles put more miles on in 5 years, than some of our cars ever have (or will ever)... and they're running just fine 10-15 yrs later with 6 figures on the odometer. Of course, many of those cars also have specific L/R axles of unequal length, so you couldn't swap them even if you wished. But the fact of reliability remains.

The failure I most often see with CV joints is a split boot, slinging grease - and deferring repair for so long that it damages the joint. Avoid that, and you'll be fine.

 

Good post.