Organized Garage Status

We had rain a couple weeks back here in SoCal, I guess it was a bad idea to do burnouts in a 205k miles 22y/o car. Discovered the issue by accident as my power steering pump high pressure hose started leaking really bad all over the exhaust manifold and started smoking really bad one night so I was forced to inspect underneath.

Rebuilding these parts is always a option, but if I can find a good aftermarket brand that sells it as a whole and at a good price, I go for the entire assembly. Overall, the process is easy and straight forward. The only issue I had was reinstalling the C-Clip back on the carrier bearing bracket. The aftermarket axle inner CV joint had a flat back, compared to the OEM that had it at a conical shape, which helped pushing the C-Clip into position.

Since changing the axle, I've noticed that it has lessened the "slack" that I feel when pressing the gas pedal for acceleration and suddenly letting go of it for deceleration. I've been trying to address that issue since getting the ES, and I always thought it was the motor and tranny mounts causing the issue, but replacing those didn't completely remove it. The other CV axle, recently started leaking, and I can almost bet that replacing it will completely get rid of the "slack". The car also drives way smoother than before, and I haven't even replaced the struts to feel this type of difference.