I crawled under my car this weekend and saw that the rubber boots [CV joints ?] for containing lubricant, I guess, have deteriorated and are in tatters.
Is this something the home mechanic can do or does removal, and reinstallation require skills/tools that a patient and persistent home mechanic cannot do ?
What should the labor cost, i.e. to replace them all ? Also, what should the parts cost ?
What should be done other than replacing the boots, at the same time ?
Courtney, If you can't get "stretchy boots" as Skipweasel calls them, you should look into the cost of getting a rebuilt axle - apparently the cost of a replacement axle is cheaper than the cost of having a mechanic disassemble the joint, clean it thoroughly (hopefully there's no significant damage from dirt), and then fit a new boot and reassemble. (as per a recent thread in Audifans) Cheers! Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes (SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)
If I am able to go the stretchy boots route, what precautionary steps regarding possible dirt intrusion, should be taken prior to putting the new boots on ?
Please excuse my ignorance, but what else should this 'refurbishment' involve, e.g. lubrication, installation caveats, etc. ?
Maybe washing the boot confined mechanism out with a power washer and then lubricating, or what ?
Courtney, I had a boot replaced on my 1980 5k years ago - the shop took the axle off the car, removed the broken boot, and then thoroughly blasted out the old lubricant and dirt out with a parts washer and compressed air before relubing and putting the new boot on. I've cleaned and rebooted my 1962 DKW by myself - the joint is brutal to get the dirty grease out of - I relubed and installed the boot, and it is working like a charm. However, DKW joints are no longer available new, and you don't have to remove the joint from the axle to reboot it - the shaft between the joints comes apart. I wouldn't advise using a pressure washer to clean the joint, as the water may get in to a spot where it won't drain out. The best cleaning you can do is with the axle off the car and in a parts washer. The CV uses that blue special CV grease that will probably come with the boot kit. You should also check the joint for scoring and wear/play. I'm not an expert on CV's and am pretty confident that if given a worn/scored joint I wouldn't be able to tell if it's bad or not. If you go route of axle replacement, make sure that the replacement has the ABS teeth at the joint (apparently, some do not). Cheers! Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes (SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)
"Courtney Thomas" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net...
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