Anyone replace a CV axle boot? I'm doing it. -PICS

[stephen9666]

The inner passenger side boot on my girlfriend's VW Beetle is just starting to get some minor cracking, and will probably fail in a year or so. From what I've read, this is the boot that fails on these cars the most by far. Some people suspect that it's because it's somewhat close to the exhaust.

Many people just recommend replacing the entire axle because you have to take it out, but that doesn't take into account the fact that many aftermarket axles are complete junk. So, I decided to replace just the boot.

I bought a Beck/Arnley boot kit on Rock Auto. It looks very high quality. It's made in Germany and comes with all new hardware, which was good to see.

I'm taking a quick break. I have the axle out and I've disassembled the inner joint. This is a messy job, but so far it's been pretty easy.

I may replace the outer boot while I have the axle out. It's not showing any real signs of deterioration yet, so I've yet to decide what I'll do. Carquest was the only place that had an outer boot kit in stock. It was Mevotech brand and was pretty affordable. I was surprised when I bought it that it is made in Canada and looks to be pretty good quality.

 

[The Critic]

What kind of clamps will you be using on the finished product?

I too, completely agree that a re-boot is the way to go if the torn boot is caught early on. Many of the aftermarket "Chaxles" are iffy. The idea of grinding the joints does not float well with me either.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
What kind of clamps will you be using on the finished product?


This application is a little unique, as there are no clamps on the inner. You can see the flange that bolts on the transmission side. The other side is just held on with friction. But, I may put a zip tie on just for extra protection.

On the outer, it has the two normal clamps. I'll try to crimp them with a pair of side cutters. Otherwise, I'll just buy the special tool locally (it is available) or put on a different kind of clamp.

Here's the Mevotech boot kit I got at Carquest.

 

[Audios]

Buy the pliers, they make such a nice finish when you can find the room to fit them in tight spaces.

 

[threeputtpar]

The boot kit didn't come with the axle bolt? They're a one time use bolt. I don't see a new c-clip, either.

The old bolt also works well to get it to pop off of the inner c-clip that hold the joint onto the shaft.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
The boot kit didn't come with the axle bolt? They're a one time use bolt. I don't see a new c-clip, either.


It does have a new c clip in the hardware package. On B/A kits the new axle bolt comes with the outer kit. The cheap Mevotech outer kit didn't include an axle bolt. I've read many times online about people successfully reusing the axle bolt, so that's probably what I'll do.

 

[zzyzzx]

It's the rebuilt axles that are junk, not the new ones.

That, and an axle can go bad from wear without the boot ever going bad.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
It's the rebuilt axles that are junk, not the new ones.

That, and an axle can go bad from wear without the boot ever going bad.


Eh, I'm sure there are still questionable "new" axles. We've all dealt with aftermarket parts that were "new" but didn't fit or function as well as the OE parts. I'd still rather keep my OE axles.

And, in theory they can just wear out without the boot breaking, but how often does that happen? I don't think it's too common.

These OE axles have 115k miles on them, they're working fine, so with new boots I'm guessing they'll last the life of the vehicle.

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx


That, and an axle can go bad from wear without the boot ever going bad.


Not aware of such circumstance in my 20+yrs of servicing CVs on FWD vehicles....

Q.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: Quest
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx


That, and an axle can go bad from wear without the boot ever going bad.


Not aware of such circumstance in my 20+yrs of servicing CVs on FWD vehicles....

Q.


With enough miles on them, they do.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Originally Posted By: Quest
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx


That, and an axle can go bad from wear without the boot ever going bad.


Not aware of such circumstance in my 20+yrs of servicing CVs on FWD vehicles....

Q.


With enough miles on them, they do.


If you pull the OE ones apart and clean and re-lube they will go a very long way.

 

[Astro14]

240,000 miles on the original front axles on my 4 Runner (they're CV joints, with boots)....with the Toyota ADD of that year, they spin constantly (no load) when in 2WD...

Re-booted once, and even though the lift kit causes them to run at a slightly greater angle than designed, there is no wear in the joints themselves.

Axles can last a long, long time as long as the grease stays clean and in the joints. They generally die after a boot failure allows either 1. dirt in or 2. grease out.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx


With enough miles on them, they do.


And with a lever long enough I could move the world...

Theoretically you're correct. But again, how often do you see axles that are just worn out and not destroyed by a broken boot? Not too often, I would guess. When I worked in a shop in college I never really remember us replacing ones that were just worn out. They pretty much always had failed boots. I remember a few that were damaged by road debris or collisions, too.

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx


With enough miles on them, they do.


Just for the sake of argument: define enough miles? 500k? 1 million miles? factory OE shaft? reman? aftermarket ?

I bet the by the time your CV shaft has accumulated such mileage then your trannie and/or engine would have been worn out also....so what is the point?

I'm only aware of 2 things most commonly happening to CVs these days: (a) an improperly induction-hardened reman/new CV joints and/or shafts; (b) dirt/grid/improperly inspected/prepared and repacked CV joints.

A repack without proper cleaning and inspection is just as bad as an improperly hardened aftermarket shaft, IMHO.

Lastly: properly hardened CV joints shall be just as hard wearing as any typical wheel bearings, thus we should expect similar service life unless subjected to abuse or improper preparation.

Q.

 

[ChrisW]

I've had good luck with Raxles axles for my '94 Civic when I was running it. When I was looking for new axles, the Raxles were more expensive than your box store parts, but when they came in the mail, the quality and craftsmanship was worth it.

 

[artificialist]

My father had a 1995 Accord with worn inner CV joints. The boots were completely intact. At around 130,000 miles, there would be a loud thud going from drive to reverse.

Also, I deal with worn CV joints with intact boots when:
Dealing with a car that already has rebuilt CV joints on it or
One of the cars that made the 1980s really sucky for car designs.

 

[ChrisW]

Here's the link to raxles Raxles, sorry, I should have put that in my first reply.

To the OP, hats off to you, rebuilding a CV joint or replacing the boot is something that for some reason just seems much too daunting of a task when it comes to working on the car.

 

[zanzabar]

The cost of those boot kits always seemed exorbitant ($25-30) when you can just buy a whole new axle for $100.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: zanzabar
The cost of those boot kits always seemed exorbitant ($25-30) when you can just buy a whole new axle for $100.


These kits were cheaper than that. The outer kit was $15. The inner kit was $1.83 + shipping on closeout on Rock Auto, but you can normally buy them online for about $15 shipped.

And again, with low-priced axles, you don't know what you'll be getting. You could have good luck, or you could get something that's complete junk