CV boot question 95 Camry

[Dohc98vteC]

It just had the water pump go out at 91k, and mechanic replaced the timing belt and was pointing out that the drive shafts needed to be replaced. Supposedly you can't just get new cv boots, have to replace the whole shaft. Well, looked on Autozone.com and they do sell just the boots. Should I go ahead and replace the whole thing or have them repacked with new boots?

 

[ThirdeYe]

Replace the whole thing, it will save you a lot of work and headaches. Plus they're not much more expensive anyways.

 

[rpn453]

If you're paying someone to do it, you should probably just do the whole shaft.

I've never changed a driveshaft, but I've done 2 sets of boots once they started to rip open. It's not difficult and you can save a little bit of money. The only significant extra you have to do compared to just changing the complete shafts is a good cleanup of the bearings. I soaked them in brake cleaner, drained, blew out with compressed air, and repeated many times until they were clean before giving them fresh grease. Just make sure you equalize the pressure in the boots properly. It's something that will help the boots last that you probably won't get with a rebuilt unit.

If the boots are cracked and you plan on changing the whole shafts, then obviously there's no need to do it until they break right open. If they're cracked and you want to put new boots on, just wait until the grease actually starts to seep through or rip a little (quick check at least every oil change). They can often go for many years even when cracked.

 

[kschachn]

FWIW, Toyota generally sells rebuilt driveshafts for a very reasonable price. I looked here:

http://www.toyotapartsandservice.com/cvAxles.do

but I was not sure which one you have. You can use that part number on an online seller such as:

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=213747&catalogid=0

Your experience may vary though as some are cheaper than others.

 

[rotorray]

If you're planning on keeping the car a while longer I would recommend the re-built shafts with new boots. The CV joints will have been taken apart and overhauled, in addition to NEW grease and the new boots. They'll be good for about another 100K miles. Cheap preventive maintenance insurance. Can't go wrong, IMHO.

 

[Tosh]

Change the boot only if the satisfaction of doing it yourself counts (which it does for me). It's a messy but interesting job to dig apart and clean a CV joint. Everyone should do it at least once in their life. (But if you get an old or bum quality boot, then you'll be doing it again in a couple of years.)

 

[Vaca]

Quote:

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It just had the water pump go out at 91k, and mechanic replaced the timing belt and was pointing out that the drive shafts needed to be replaced. Supposedly you can't just get new cv boots, have to replace the whole shaft. Well, looked on Autozone.com and they do sell just the boots. Should I go ahead and replace the whole thing or have them repacked with new boots?

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I have a '93 Camry that developed cracks in the CV joint boots about 3 years ago at about 168,000 miles and I just cut the old ones off and put those $15 split boots on after cleaning up a bit and repacking with the moly grease. Very simple and the original joints are still perfect (no noise at all) ay 199,000 today!

This Camry has lived its entire life in NJ and PA and is not garaged and as my third car it gets all of the winter abuse and dirt road abuse etc. that I save my Lexus from and my wife's SUV from.

But, IF you're going to remove, or have someone remove, the half-shafts, I would just replace them with a good quality Toyoto rebuilt unit. But, if you catch the torn boots in time, just go the split boot route.

 

[alreadygone]

Remanufactured shafts (most have lifetime warranty) are waaaaay too cheap to dither around with replacing boots. (Especially if you're paying me to do it!)

Bob

 

[JohnBrowning]

I would go the split boot route if the joint is still intact and wait for it to fail before i would replace them all together. I would not hesisatate to use an aftermarket halfshaft if the price and warranty were right. Autozone usualy has good prices and lifetime warranty. All of the halfshaft manufactures/remanufactures rebuild them to the latest spec. so I would not worry about getting it from toyota if they are high on price.