Some years of VW Golf, Jetta, Beetles seem to go through inner R/side boots at a good rate because of heat, the outer are composite and hardly ever fail.
Axle boots as regular maintenance?
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I've lost many a good front axle due to the boot tearing, usually during the winter, and almost always when there is road salt on the road. Before I even realized the boot was torn I look under the car to see the characteristic grease thrown all over and a worn out CV
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy
I regularly coated my boots on our 97 Escort with a liberal spray once a year with Silicone. After the excess flung off, it protected the boot.
Sold the car after 10 years and 150k miles on the OEM boots and never a leak or issue. If I lived in the prairies I'd do it again!
It's like adding a liberal coating of lotion to you skin on a cold, dry winter day. It nicely hydrates and keeps things soft and supple
Your spray likley did nothing. My 25 year old BMW has original shaft boots and they still look like new...no cracks at all
So say you.
Your BMW is RWD, just like mine. As it's not in contact directly with snow drifts, it's likely it never came in contact with anything.
Also, RWD boots aren't as stressed as boots FWD boots are. The DS of a FWD car is stressed far more than that of a RWD vehicle.
So no, I don't believe you.
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy
I regularly coated my boots on our 97 Escort with a liberal spray once a year with Silicone. After the excess flung off, it protected the boot.
Sold the car after 10 years and 150k miles on the OEM boots and never a leak or issue. If I lived in the prairies I'd do it again!
It's like adding a liberal coating of lotion to you skin on a cold, dry winter day. It nicely hydrates and keeps things soft and supple
Your spray likley did nothing. My 25 year old BMW has original shaft boots and they still look like new...no cracks at all
So say you.
Your BMW is RWD, just like mine. As it's not in contact directly with snow drifts, it's likely it never came in contact with anything.
Also, RWD boots aren't as stressed as boots FWD boots are. The DS of a FWD car is stressed far more than that of a RWD vehicle.
So no, I don't believe you.
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: Tegger
Originally Posted By: Trav
Some cars come with composite boots
Would these be the ones that have a radiused "divot" in the bottom of each pleat?
I don't know what you mean. The composite boots are harder and are a thermoplastic.
If it feels like plastic and not rubber its a composite boot. Many VW cars use a composite outer boot with a neoprene inner.
The "composite" boots I'm familiar with have a lot more pleats than the ordinary ones. The material is more like plastic than rubber.
Each pleat is sharp-edged at the top. The bottom of the pleats do not simply change direction, but have a small radius at the bottom which acts as a stress-relief.
These boots are almost indestructible.
Originally Posted By: Tegger
Originally Posted By: Trav
Some cars come with composite boots
Would these be the ones that have a radiused "divot" in the bottom of each pleat?
I don't know what you mean. The composite boots are harder and are a thermoplastic.
If it feels like plastic and not rubber its a composite boot. Many VW cars use a composite outer boot with a neoprene inner.
The "composite" boots I'm familiar with have a lot more pleats than the ordinary ones. The material is more like plastic than rubber.
Each pleat is sharp-edged at the top. The bottom of the pleats do not simply change direction, but have a small radius at the bottom which acts as a stress-relief.
These boots are almost indestructible.
Originally Posted By: parimento1
I've lost many a good front axle due to the boot tearing
This is quite unnecessary. Regular "neoprene" FWD boots take several years to go from the first signs of cracking to a full split, allowing LOTS of time to react and get them changed.
How to check your FWD's outer boots without tools:
1) turn the steering wheel all the way to the RIGHT
2) walk to the front of the vehicle on the RIGHT (US passenger) side
3) look inside the wheel well in front of the of the right wheel
4) the boot will be quite visible, with its pleats stretched wide open; any cracking will be abundantly visible.
Turn steering wheel all the way to the LEFT and repeat for the LEFT side.
Depending on application, I have personally seen boots take roughly 4-years to split, from the first signs of cracking.
I've lost many a good front axle due to the boot tearing
This is quite unnecessary. Regular "neoprene" FWD boots take several years to go from the first signs of cracking to a full split, allowing LOTS of time to react and get them changed.
How to check your FWD's outer boots without tools:
1) turn the steering wheel all the way to the RIGHT
2) walk to the front of the vehicle on the RIGHT (US passenger) side
3) look inside the wheel well in front of the of the right wheel
4) the boot will be quite visible, with its pleats stretched wide open; any cracking will be abundantly visible.
Turn steering wheel all the way to the LEFT and repeat for the LEFT side.
Depending on application, I have personally seen boots take roughly 4-years to split, from the first signs of cracking.
Aside from keeping the undercarriage clean and cleaning salt off the boots is there anything else that can be done to preserve and extend their life? I had one go on my in my 2000 Century, it lasted 15 years and 125k miles of NY potholes and salt. But if I can get them to last longer that would be great.
My first FWD car was a 1989 Honda Accord. I thought I would "preserve" the boots by applying silicone to them at each tire rotation. The inner boots rarely tear so I used to just do the outer boots. That car would go through outer boots like clockwork, about every 100,000 miles. I stopped applying the silicone after the first 100K. I had to replace CV shafts at around 200K and 300K due to torn boots. Looking at the ones on my 2012 Mazda3 it appears that they are made of a "stiffer," but still flexible, material. Perhaps they will last longer.
Bluestream your time will come. I experience ripped boots on a regular basis I just hunt up the good'uns I have stashed in the shed. E 28 half shafts are easy to R+R. I rebuilt one shortly after buying my first 528e. I degreased, then re-greased after inspection per the manual. A snap ring is involved. What a mess Afterward, I just harvested good axles.
I have not done a CV joint because of a failed boot in over a decade, 2003ish maybe...
About a year ago I replaced a bunch of stuff on the front of my 2003 Saab - brakes, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, etc. The car had about 148k miles at the time. To replace the wheel bearings/hubs I had to pop the axle half shafts out. I had never dealt with CV joints before but was always curious about them, so I went ahead and disassembled the outer joints, cleaned, re-greased, and put on new Moog boots and clamps. It was pretty straightforward and easy to do. The old boots were actually in pretty good shape, so who knows how much longer they could have lasted? But with the age and mileage it seemed like a good idea to service them.
HAH! Sorry, but I wish I could have kept my OEM axles and just rebooted them. Turns out, Hyundai makes some "unserviceable" axles which cannot be separated. Had to throw them back on and drive to NAPA across town to pick up CV axle shafts to fit my car.
On the plus side, NAPA covers them for a lifetime warranty, so if they to ever fail, I'll just pop it out and swap them for new ones.
On the plus side, NAPA covers them for a lifetime warranty, so if they to ever fail, I'll just pop it out and swap them for new ones.
They sell reman cv axles for both the cars you list so someone is getting them apart and servicing them.
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