Both cv boots are split on my "J" reg'd. 1600. The MOT man failed it. Other maintenance is needed, but not serious (loose bumper/light, broken rear coil spring, number plate light, n/s handbrake not working), so I was thinking of having a go at fixing it.
A quick Google shows that I need to take the wheel off, remove the bottom joint (is this a ball joint? Do I need a special tool?), cut off the old boot, clean the grease and muck off, undo an (internal| external)ly expanding circlip (circlip pliers needed?), pull the shaft off, re-grease, fit new boot, re-fit botom joint, secure cv boot with clips, re-fit wheel.
Is the job as simple as above, or much more difficult? I've also seen advice that says the whole lot needs dismantling, which means undoing a tough 30mm nut, and lots of ooh-erring.
A pro would change the boot without removing the drive shaft, big nut, or the wheel, but an amateur will find it difficult. The circlip has flat ears, there is a special tool to hold this open while removing the cv boot, it is possible to improvise using the right width of screwdriver blade.
I would recommend that you remove the drive shaft (one first then refit it before removing the other) and do the job on the bench. The new genuine boot kit will come with a new circlip, so you can see what you are up against. I wouldn't recommend a pattern boot, genuine are not expensive.
Just get one of those 'glue' on kits from Halfrauds for the MOT, they really are a bit of a pig if you haven't done it before. I didn't remove the hub on mine, it was too difficult, I removed the circlip from the shaft and undid the bottom joint.
So it's an external clip? I haven't done a cv boot before, so I'm unsure as to what I will find.
I was toying with the idea of stick-on boots, but they're a) expensive, and b) don't seem to be well regarded (!). If I remove a driveshaft, does it just pull out of the gearbox end? Will oil go everywhere? Do I need to undo the "big nut" and extract whatever gubbins it holds on?
I'd consider taking it to a garage if they charged a reasonable amount, and DIY the rest of it. The back brakes are a bit of a PITA, though, undo/bang/clump/heave/lever/thud/thud/thud/SPROING!/ubbgre. The spring is quite easy, though.
I'm told they only last 5 mins, and the MF has quoted me £15 +VAT each!!
so it is possible - what is particularly piggish about the job? Isn't it a case of undoing the circlip (he says wisely, having never seen the thing) and pushing the hub outwards/withdrawing the drive shaft?
However when I tried this the ball bearings all fell out!!! - Trying to hold the balls in whilst aligning the splines, then getting the circlip on, it just turned an awkward job into a complete pig....
That's not saying you may have a problem, you may find it a two second job, my only advice would be not to follow the Haynes manual......
NO DON'T. They're crap. Just change the boot properly. If you must - use a stretchy boot, they're OK, but the glue-em-up ones almost always fall apart a few days later.
Heh, exactly what happened to me when I did a CV boot on my A6. I just collected all the balls together, gave them a good clean up, gave the inside of the CV joint a bloody good clean (removed every last trace of grease so it was lovely and shiny again - the rag I used wasn't by the end of it though!), then put all the balls back in their tracks, packed it with grease (the tube was more than adequate to fill everywhere with grease that needed to be filled, with a fair bit to spare) and carefully put the driveshaft back in the joint. Maybe a lot of that was unneccessary, but it left me feeling like I'd done the job 110% properly :-)
Heh, very true. My Haynes manual said that the easiest way to separate the shaft from the joint was to wind a Mxx (can't remember exactly what size it specfied) bolt into the end of the shaft (it's got a allen key style bolt) until it popped out. I went down a local place that would *definitely* have such a bolt in stock, armed with the CV joint (with driveshaft attached) and the bolt (as specified by Messrs Haynes) wouldn't fit - bloke reckoned it was some weird non-standard size - the hub bolt was no good as it wasn't long enough. So I whacked it with the hammer, and that worked. Though some grease from the joint did spill over my neighbour's otherwise perfectly clean garage floor.
Undo bottom ball joint and release the hub from ball joint, cut the old boot completely away, open the circlip with the correct little tool and push the wheel outwards while holding the shaft toward the engine. The cv stays with the hub, the shaft with the gearbox, clean, grease and fit the new boot.
Whole job less than 15 minutes, no problem. However, I do not recommend an amateur to try it first time, especially if they don't really understand all the principles.
Definitely stay away from glue-up boots, they are dreadful and rarely last the trip to the mot station.
Not serious in that it's only the handbrake that isn't working on the n/s rear, and it should be just a "free it up" job, and in that the broken rear spring doesn't seem to affect the handling (I have not carried a heavy load) and is easy to replace.
Just went to the MF, £42 for the spring and boots.
I got some one-piece boots. However, they did not come with new circlips. The retaining clips are like thin Jubilee clips, but with no screw - some protuding lugs pressed out of one end engage with a series of holes on the other. I wonder whether I need a special tool. I will have to buy some circlip pliers, a ball-joint splitter, and maybe a thing to do the clip up. Anyway, it's s'posed to be nice weather at the weekend...
The message from Chris Bacon contains these words:
You can use a pair of side-cutters, preferably an old blunt pair. Squeeze the vertical bits so they bend under the "roof", then tap the roof flat with a small hammer. That's "tap", not wallop. If you wallop it the hook will come out of the hole and you'll be annoyed.
Years ago on a couple of mk2 cavaliers I was able to replace the boot by removing the driveshaft from the CV joint only by turning the steering to give enough clearance. I certainly wouldn't bother remiving driveshafts from the gearbox or taking the CV joint off the hub *unless* the CV joint itself is likely to be knackered.
I have, a Mk3 Golf 2litre Estate on the A31 into Bournemouth at 70Mph.
There was a big bang, a thud followed by an O'Feck..... The AA man just got a tow bar, unfortunately the Drive shafts fell off on the way home, not a very bright decision to tow the thing, A flatbed should have been the way, or a front lift.
Well, that wasn't too bad. Took a bit longer than 15 minutes, though. Got a circlip tool from the MF (ouch! £6.99). They lent me a "ball joint splitter". I had assumed that these ball joints somehow came apart, but no, the tool's just for pulling the shank of the retaining stud/bolt out of the "bottom arm" (tech. term). Anyway, jacked the car up on a piece of 9"x3" passing completely under the car from side to side, undid the anti-roll bar & ball joints, cut off the N/S boot, wiped away some gunk, and looked for the circlip. Couldn't find it. Wiped away more gunk, got inspection lamps - found it. I had been expecting a circlip with "eyes" at the ends, but no, on these the clip had simply got bent-out ends. Hard to see, right next to the drive shaft in a little hole machined out of the inside star-shaped thing, hole about 1/2" wide, 1/4" deep. If you can't see it, rotate the drive shaft until the machined "hole" comes into view. Applied circlip tool, which needs a steady hand to keep in place while the shaft is pulled out, helps to expand the circlip and rotate it fractionally before it's fully open. Pull out drive shaft (an "Ahhhh!" moment). Fiddle with CV inner gubbins 'till it comes out, a bit like a metal puzzle. Clean it up, put back in, cut off corner of grease bag, squirt in grease, fit new boot, push/wiggle drive shaft back in, do up boot retaining clips which are not easy - I suspect a special tool like a pair of pliers with a thin blade instead of one jaw would be useful. Alternatively, plastic ties. Did other side, drove wheels off ground to distribute grease, done.
Thanks for all advice.
Also did rear O/S coil spring, secured headlamp with some old galvanised strip, tightened up bumper, fixed N/S handbrake - some twit had *fully* done up the balancer, without checking the supposedly self-adjusting mechanism inside the hub, which wasn't. Result - the handbrake actuating arm (on the rear shoe) was fouling the hub, and had worn a nice trench in it.
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