While rotated my tires I noticed the boot my driveshaft (driver's side adjacent to transmission) is busted. There is still some black grease in it. I've been told it will make noise before becoming a real issue, but would like more advice. I'm going to drive it before repairing it or paying the local expert to take care of it for me. The proper repair involves hammering out the driveshaft and replacing it. Apparently it's possible to replace the boot only, but it's difficult to remove the shaft without critically damaging it? I'm wondering if adding grease and wrapping it (although totally kludged, and far from ideal) would be a reliable alternative. My car is at 80K. Thanks for the advice!

 

See pic

 

No one has any advice in two hours? =( I'll check again later...

 

You won't have much success wrapping it as it spins and grease will make its way out. You could use a boot repair kit, but with the design you need to replace the inner to get to the outer... If you dint put them on nice they will leak, spinning grease is guaranteed to find its way out of any imperfections. Other option is a new axle.. I went with a non OEM one and at its price I can go through a couple for the cost of an OEM one.. Fingers crossed. Its not hard to install. Drivers side does need a push to pop in.

Phil.

 

Thanks for the advice Phil. I'm up for a DIY, but I've never done this job, so I might need to buy some tools. What's needed for the job ...

besides a big hammer?

 

element, I'm going to send you a PM. I'm interested in knowing where you found an aftermarket axel. The OEM one is over $500!

 

You need to tape it up now while you're still driving around trying to make up your mind what you want to do. All it takes is a small amount of dirt getting suspended in the bearing grease to start making life inside that boot a living hell for those bearings! Their days then become numbered.

The dealer does sell a CV boot repair kit. I think it is worth a shot considering how much a new axle is from BMW. Pelican parts lists it at $670

A friggin huge prybar is the most useful tool to break the axle loose from the small snap ring that holds it in the transaxle. Beyond that, the goal is to have all the tools to be able to tilt the hub carrier out of the way so you can pull the whole axle out. If you were really desperate, you could put the new boot on with the other end of the axle still connected to the hub carrier. I'd rather take the whole thing out to avoid getting frustrated with the lack of space, contamination from a dirty garage floor, and not having much room to work. Just my 2 cents. If this at all sounds intimidating, have someone else do it. Not a cheap part to screw up on.

 

I'm going to replace the axel. I'm going to drive it in the meantime without concern for the bearing because there's already dirt in there and the plan is to replace. I am looking into using my warranty with the local mechanic I have a one on one relationship with, so $300 deductible for OEM? =)

 

If the boot is torn, dirt has already gotten inside the joint. It is now wearing out.

The good news is that you can usually go for quite a while after the joint has started clicking (or making other noise) before you absolutely must replace it. There are aftermarket replacement boots that you can put on without disassembling the half-shaft, but they are far from perfect, and they don't get out the abrasive dirt that's already in there. But they can probably buy you more time.

I know someone who drove his old Honda until the CV joint was clicking while going in a straight line before he replaced the half-shaft. I don't think I'd wait that long on a MINI, especially not the way I like to drive mine, but still...

It is best to just replace it, but it may not be critical to do it at this instant.

 

$500+ OEM front left driveshaft vs $100 aftermarket... Any thoughts? Are these aftermarket axels crummy quality or is it really just a dumb piece of metal?

 

It's not based on my own direct experience but on the Audi forums I also follow the company Raxles has good reviews for quality and price. Maybe they have a MINI replacement part? Perhaps it's worth a look.

 

I just replaced a cracked boot on my CV joint. I got the kit off of Amazon for around $20. I didn't even need to pull the CV shaft out...I just jacked up the car, and did it underneath the car. As long as you have some basic mechanical skills, it's an easy job. Also, there are some Youtube videos on replacing the cv boot on a mini.