CV Boot

Hello Mr Joe.

You will get a kind of grinding sound when a CV joint is contaminated with dirt, and a much louder noise, banging, clonking, and scraping if the joint had broken apart in it's housing.

Looks to me like the Outer CV joint would cost you £68 GBP (euro-car-parts), plus £13 for a new gaitor, and then £40 for me to fit it for you! The main cost involved (judging by the way you spell tire/tyre), would be bringing the car to England so I can do it for you!

I recently had a gaitor split on my V70, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easily all the suspension components came apart. The driveshaft is held into the gearbox by a circlip, retaining it in position when you remove all the other suspension parts, and therefore you don't lose all the gearbox oil. This is unlike most other cars I have worked on, and saves lots of work (draining and re-filling gearbox, plus carefully removing/storing the driveshaft). Anyway, I removed the assembly from the car, washed the CV joint to remove any dust which may have ingressed, and re-assembled. I don't know how long the Gaitor had been split for, because I only noticed it when giving my alloys their 6 monthly remove/clean/polish.

Anyway, money can be saved by doing the job yourself, but I'd estimate a dealer would charge at least 2 hours time, and the joint would cost about £120 or more. The main hub nut on the end of the driveshaft will be VERY tight, and you'll need a substantial socket/handle to remove it. A 1/2 inch drive socket bar would simply bend. I used a 3/4 inch drive bar, and had bo problem. Just remove the nut with the roadwheel still on, and the brakes firmly applied by an assistant.

Hope this helps. Joe Landy Peterborough UK (using google to access ng while my ISP is playing up)