oh also. i noticed the little rubber thingy on the axle is split
i think it's called a boot or something.. anyone got an idea how much that would cost? not broken , just the rubber thing... can that be replaced without
having to remove the axle?

 

Its the CV boot and get it fixed ASAP otherwise you will end up with dirt in the joint. It will get dirt into the joint which is hard on the bearings and the joint will lose all of the grease which will leave the joint unlubricated. It will cost about $100 to get it fixed or you can do it yourself. Not sure if theres a walkthrough for it but you can check www.scoobymods.com for a guide to doing it yourself. Depending on the car manufacturer some CV joints just pop off of the axle shaft without having to remove the axle from the car. You will need to remove the hub from the lower ball joint so that you can lift the hub up to get enough room to remove the axle from the hub (after you impact gun off the axle nut).