this is what happens when you let a stoner service your car

on the one hand, i should commend whoever did this for replacing the boot and not wastefully replacing the whole shaft. on the other, they shouldn't smoke too much weed while doing it.

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they forgot to remove the hose clamp. needless to say, the joint didn't last long.

Reply to
jim beam
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If the boot was split before that stoner put a new one on it's still a waste of time. The whole joint or axle needs replacing..

What's a hose clamp doing there anyways????

Reply to
m6onz5a

They used the hose clamp to compress the clip (snap) ring on the transmission end of the axle shaft. I suppose the theory is that this makes it easier to plug the axle back into the transmission. You compress the clip ring using the clamp. As you slide the axle shaft back into the transmission, the clamp slides down the splines as the snap ring moves into the transmission gears and eventually "snaps out" to retain the axle. I've only done a few axles but never needed to do anything like this. Usually the axles can be bumped back into the transmission without an aide like this. I've never actually had to do the CV joints on a Honda, so maybe this is a Honda specific trick.

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

once it starts making its clacking noise in turns, yes. but if you catch it before then, and clean it properly [which isn't easy], you can indeed replace the boot and successfully repair the driveshaft.

ideally though, you should replace the boot before it breaks - regular inspection allows you to see cracking and how serious it is before it breaks on the road and allows joint-killing grit to intrude.

it's not supposed to remain there - it's to compress the retaining ring and hold it closed so you can reassemble the joint. [then it's supposed to be removed!] the retaining ring is sprung out and is too large to pop into place otherwise. and the rzeppa joint carrier doesn't have ramps on it that would allow insertion without a ring compressor - an oversight in my opinion.

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Reply to
jim beam

trying to "blend in" ed? do you think such masquerading actually works?

Reply to
jim beam

Don't forget water and road salt.

Was the clamp making noise?

Those balls in the joint were junk, right? Or is it just the photo?

A couple of the balls looked like a black and white photo of the planet Jupiter.

Reply to
M.A. Stewart

if you mean that notchy "clunk" each time it was getting caught in the joint, yes it was.

junk. that is a dead joint i cleaned up for the photo.

it's a pet peeve of mine that people don't pay attention to joint boots and just keep driving them till the joint is unrepairable. if you have the tools, which really aren't very expensive and which pay for themselves in just one use, boot replacement is quick, simple, and cheap on a shaft like this. and a damned sight better than cheapo chinese aftermarket replacement shafts that last barely 30k before their soft poorly fitting innards start to tear themselves apart. provided they're not gritted, the joints on oem honda driveshafts can last hundreds of thousands of miles - just keep an eye on the boots and replace those boots when they've started to crack. correctly prepared, it takes an hour from wheel off to wheel back on.

Reply to
jim beam

I don't take the wheels off on VWs unless they are alloys and they are such that you can't access the hub nut just by popping off a hub cap.

Of course, I haven't had to service a CV joint in ages. Last time I had one go bad must have been around 2004-ish.

nate

Reply to
N8N

That works on a VW because they bolt the front half shafts to a stub axle coming out of the tranmsission. Most Japanese and US cars "plug" the half shafts directly into the transmission. For these you can't get the axle out of the transmisison unless you release the front upright from the lower suspension arm so that you can get enough clearance to pull the axle out of the transmission. You can't release the upright from the lower suspension member unless you take off the wheel. I like the VW system better.

Ironically, the last time I had to replace a CV joint boot it was on a VW and that was around 1995 (when my Sister sold her VW and bought a Honda).

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

if it's fwd, you don't need to take the wheels off. just set the steering on lock, look at the now exposed boot, then reverse and check the other side. couldn't be easier.

the whole point is that you shouldn't "wait for them to go". if you do the boot when it's evidencing cracking, but before it tears, you don't have to replace the joints. tools to do the job are cheaper than a new cv joint, and boots are cheap too.

Reply to
jim beam

You're welcome to the VW system with its internal star bolts that freeze solid and strip the star wrenches. I'll take the Hondas every time. It might take longer on a Honda than on a VW whose bolts have not yet frozen but the Hondas can be *reliably* disassembled irrespective of age and you won't need to replace any tools trying to do just one side.

(On the other hand, the VW brake proportioning system--at least on early

90's Jettas--is both breathtakingly simple and simply brilliant. Go figure.)
Reply to
JRE

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