Have to replace a CV boot...
- Thread starter swampdodo
- Start date
dealing with all that nasty grease can be torture 
Your BMW has CV axles in the rear you donut.
**** changing the boot just replace the entire axel they're relatively cheap.
slap those fvp premium axles on and see how far they get you
Since the beginning of time man has searched for immortality and ways to cheat the CV boot process. Split boots and expand-o boots like this are two examples.
I'm not convinced either is a good idea. This is one of those things in life where you've just gotta suck it up and do it right, plus the right way really isn't that bad.
Ok, I'm off to pound diet pills so I can sit on the couch all day and not get fat, and anxiety meds because I heard they make you have more friends.....
I'm not convinced either is a good idea. This is one of those things in life where you've just gotta suck it up and do it right, plus the right way really isn't that bad.
Ok, I'm off to pound diet pills so I can sit on the couch all day and not get fat, and anxiety meds because I heard they make you have more friends.....
Depends on the car I guess.slap those fvp premium axles on and see how far they get you
I changed both on my beater a few years ago for $130. Forget the brand but they weren't FVP I've never heard of them. Look and operate just like the OEM ones, no difference whatsoever.
I got mine online from PartsAvatar.
I know that but in almost 40 years of driving bimmers (bought my first-a used 1971 2002 in 1974) I've never had a rear CV joint leak much less the bellows go bad. It seems the 3 series "X" cars (AWD) can't go more than 75k to 100k miles without needing new front axles dues to bad CV joints.
That's because the boots in the rear are not stressed as much as the fronts...since the front not only have to deal with suspension motion, but the motion of turning the front wheels....which leads to a question...
If you have CVs in the front...would it be wise to make sure your wheels are at the neutral position (pointed straight) when parked...especially, for a long period? (This may be hard to do in places like San Francisco, where you are suppose to turn to wheels toward the curb when parking on the streets.)
The cheap ones are rebuilt crap. Most of the vibrate. Few of them last as long as OEM.
Better to reboot an OEM than buy a Cardone or other rebuild.
Sounds like a BMW problem, then. Boots have lasted well over 100,000 miles on my Volvos and 4WD Toyotas.
I suppose I was lucky then.
Noticed one boot was torn, my mechanic in winter is an hour away so figured make it worth the drive.
Changed out both as a preemptive strike towards good maintenance. They perform swimmingly, no vibration, just as good as OEM.
Sometimes folks luck out. I didn’t. Three rebuilds in a row, from IPD, a good company with a warranty, had awful vibration.
Sure, they sent me new ones, but my time and labor matter, too.
So, I gave up, bought a new GKN, and voila- vibration gone.
Been in service for 100,000 miles.
My dad had this years ago on a '94 Caravan. Had a local shop in Omaha replace his half shafts (from AAP he said).....bad shimmy under throttle. They then replaced one or both again (can't remember if one or both) and it improved somewhat but still there. I think he just lived with it after that.
I put some inexpensive FVPs in a '98 CRV front and it was fine, but cheap axles are always a crapshoot -- kinda like buying power tools from Harbor Freight
GKN supplies axles to BMW. It's considered the gold standard in the bimmer world.
