CV joint boots

I have tried split boot replacements and they haven't worked out well. I have given up on them.

I use only integral boots now.

There is a new technique which allows an integral boot to be installed without dissembling everything but it requires a special stretching tool to do it.

Boots can be replaced with relatively simple tools, and it is within the reach of most fair amateur mechanics.

I've heard of others having problems with split boots, so I looked into another method. I've changed a cracked boot with one of these tools:

Split boots are crap. They're easier to install, but they don't seal adequately. Water is the first enemy; road grit, the second. Do it the hard (right) way. Buy a boot kit from a reputable manufacturer and pull the axle to disassemble and install.

The first URL says "Installer will avoid removing axle and disassembling of joint ". I assume it stretches the boot so it can slip over the end of the shaft but I'm having trouble visualizing how you can change the boot without removing the axle.

If someone can explain how this can be done on the car, please share.

Thanks, Bobby

the whole point of a split boot is that you don't need to do anything like take the shaft out - which "slipping over the end" would require - it's split so you just leave the shaft in place, get rid of the old boot, clean up & fit the new boot around the shaft, then glue up the seam. some boots are held together with screws, but whatever the seaming method, the principle is the same.

if you want to replace a boot "properly" with a non-split boot, you /do/ have to remove the axle and remove the end that seats in the diff/transaxle. that allows both boots to be installed without any difficult stretching problems.

Murphy wrote

what does this "tube looking thing with a black pointy cone" (in the picture) do?

isn't this another split boot? I mean, how can it be installed "without disassembly"? the page has a model/name "CV Flex Boot Standard - Astoria 2000"

FB3000 Standard Flex Boot Features & Benefits: # Universal Flex Boot # Fits 90% Of Domestic/Import Cars # Replace without dissasembly # Includes heavy duty band clamp

so it sounds like this is a split boot but has some kind of jig to hold it or something? I cannot tell from the web site. Last time I changed one, the part I got said it could be slipped over the shaft. There was a cone shaped tool available but I disassembled and installed as normal as I discovered this after opening the box at home. Too lazy to go back to parts store and look for tool. Anyway, when I saw the tool in the URL in the original post, I assumed this was that cone-tool. Must be something else.

bb

You can download step-by-step instructions on how to install here:

http://t> Murphy wrote

The boots I am talking about will actually expand to slip over the CV joing itself, over the axle splines, etc. They are not at all split boots.

You can load them onto an air powered 'piston' shaped tool that will expand them like you wouldnt believe. But, I imagine that without the tool, you would be just as well off to take the axle out and do it the old way.

I wouldn't waste my time on split boots, unless it was just to limp home from a trip, and even then they may not make it.

Too bad there's not a way to, say, staple and glue the two split parts back together, assuming the rest of the boot is good...

-- OM

This makes sense. I guess I confused "remove" with "disassemble". It would be nice if you didn't have to disassemble the front suspension. On my wife's mazda, on the passenger side, after taking the suspension apart and sliding the spline out, removing the axle is just a tap but on the diriver's side I guess there is an advantage of not removing the shaft as the transmission fluid falls out.

Thanks for all of the dialog. Bob

you can try loctite 404. rubber would have to be ultra clean though.

"With lubricant. Place the (black pointy cone) on the ground and center the boot over the cone. Holding the boot to the installer use a firm and fluent motion to press the boot to the base of the cone.

Place the installer & cone over the joint. Drive the boot over the joint by striking the base of the installer grease the joint. And stretch don't over the joint until a tight fit is formed. "

Read more

It sounds like a good idea, but it really isn't. If you can't clean the joint before you put the new boot on, it is just a matter of time before it will fail. You need to clean the joint before putting the new boot on.

------------- Alex

Of course, if the boot is compromised and there is water, salt, dirt inside, the joint should be cleaned and repacked. You might be able to get it clean enough using a solvent wash without opening the joint, but getting new grease into the inner bearings might be a problem.

Some people actually identify and replace deteriorating boots before they go completely to hell.

The first boot I replaced, I inadvertantly allowed the joint to separate(even after being warned and taking considerable care) , and needle bearings and balls went everywhere. I finally managed to find them all, clean everything meticulously, and packed everything back into place. This was a real learning experience which I do not care to repeat.