CV boot maintenance....

[ex_MGB]

Those independent suspension RWD cars have ruber boots as well.

 

[Stanley Rockafeller]

true, but the dirfference is, is that with the RWD IRS cars, there's much less movement in the boot, than with the front driveaxles, as well as less things to damage the rear boots (i.e. snow and ice).

I honestly can believe that this has not been discussed b4, esp on a message board such as this...

 

[dwcopple]

quote:

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Originally posted by kenw:
an Escort for a BMW or Volvo. Now there's a even trade......

any decent rubber protectant should work.

or you can fix them yourself for about $15. if they ever fail.

if you repalced them every year along with new axles, they musta had your number. No way they should fail that often and cetainly not the CV!!!. My camry's are still original (180k), but granted I don't see much snow and ice (or salt).

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How can you fix them for $15??? I just got a 1991 Chevy S-10 Blazer that needs an inner and outer one replaced....

 

[Steve_RI]

You have to pull the axle, clean the joint, and replace the boot (that's the $15). It's a lot of work on some vehicles, and very messy. Most of the time you are better off just replacing the entire axle.

 

[Stanley Rockafeller]

The reason why Im interesteed in this topic, is b/c once you notice the split in the boot, it's usually too late, and some wear has already occured on the joints.
The split boots are an option, but i've heard nothing but bad stuff about them, esp the messyness of them, and reduced life expectancy over regular boots.

 

[kenw]

if done right (granted they aren't easy) they seal very well (the one i used had a tongue-and-groove interface and sealed very well.) They were screwed together in both the peak and valley of the bellows.

but even if they are harder, they are still easier than taking the entire axle out and introducing more potential contaminants, especially since you have to remove the other perfectly good boot. If all you have is a damaged boot and the CV is fine, it's a reasonable solution. If you ARE replacing the CV, it's more work than necessary.

One friend used tiewraps to stitch the sides together until he could get the screws inplace. This should be significantly easier than trying to hold the halves together and manipulate those screws and nuts. I only wish I had thought of it...

 

[rpn453]

quote:

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Originally posted by Stanley Rockafeller:
The reason why Im interesteed in this topic, is b/c once you notice the split in the boot, it's usually too late, and some wear has already occured on the joints.

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Just check them every oil change; you should be able to spot small cracks well in advance. My girlfriend's '93 MX-6 currently has very deep cracks on what are likely the original boots. The cracks were first noticed about 2-1/2 years ago, but they're still not all the way through. I take a quick look at them every month or so. I'll change them when I see evidence of grease seeping through. I'm curious as to how much longer they'll go!

 

[cousincletus]

I never thought about ice sticking to the boots and splitting them. Here in VA that's not usually a problem. I think the spray silicone would keep the ice from sticking so easily. It's easy to spot a split boot as you probably already know by the grease that's slung everywhere.

 

[kenw]

they make split boots that don't require you to remove anything except the old boot. They can be a pita with the small hardware but I've used them. They work well. Used one on my dodge caravan years ago, i reckon we put another 50k on it after.

 

[surfstar]

just replaced an axle on my mx6, but by inspecting the boots you wouldn't know it was bad. there were no rips or cracks through the rubber, but the inner boot had lost enough grease to have been clicking around turns for a while now. suprisingly easy job, though - 3 bolts and a little hammering and you're done.