[fooledyas]

2011 328xi e90 need a new right front axle.
I'm wondering about others experience with various options.
I can do used from a well rated recyclers.
Or I can do the gkn rebuild. Or the oem original, which is harder to find, more expensive.
Not that concerned about price but car has 120k so also not interested in wasted investment.
Thanks

[lobotomy]

The only advice I can give is what I have read from others who have posted about this over the years. A few have purchased aftermarket rebuilt axles that would not fully seat, with some damaging the diff because the c-clips on the axles that lock into the case were too large. At least one post I recall a user noted this before he installed his axle, and swapped out the c-clip from his old axle to the rebuilt. I do not feel paying more for a quality rebuilt axle from a reputable BMW retailer is a "wasted investment". The one thing these incidences had in common were that they were cheap aftermarket rebuilds. I see one reputable BMW parts website carries GKN OE axles (new not rebuilt) for $375 USD. How much is a rebuilt GKN going for?

[Suvorovo]

I bought a new driver's GKN axle. Man, the worn one came out easily and the new one just slipped right in without any issues. Well worth the money for a peace of mind. I've also seen some horror stories from people using after market CV axles.

[caldep]

Had to replace one of my front axles on my e91 three years ago. My indy recommended the GKN even though I was quite hesitant based on the stories I had heard.
60k later, no issues so far.

[Leucosticte]

GKN for sure, if you're tight on money you can get a used axle with under 100k miles on it from ebay for pretty cheap.

[fooledyas]

Went with GKN. So far so good. Exact match for one I removed.
Thanks for the advice.
Was a little more of a job than I expected, mostly due to ny rust.

[Brian86]

GKN are the best. I wouldn't be surprised if they are the OEM supplier.

That said I've had a set of cheap chinesium GS*P half shafts on the front of my wagon for nearly 100k miles of regular daily driving. They are fine.

Plan was to rebuild and reboot the OEM half-shafts after one of the boots split but I couldn't find boots anywhere during the covid stupidity of 2020 so I just got cheap axles from rock auto. They are still on there and chugging along.

[STooK]

Just changed both my fronts a couple weeks ago. Went with brand new GKN from fcp. A bit pricey at $800 for both sides plus another $500 for install but it completely got rid of this bad shudder I had for the past 2 years. Don’t cheap out, go with GKN.

[Leucosticte]

Originally Posted by Brian86

GKN are the best. I wouldn't be surprised if they are the OEM supplier.

They are, my original 2006 axles say GKN on them.