So I was under my car last night replacing a bad tie rod and I noticed that my inner CV boots are cracked. Not leaking yet but I'd much rather replace the boots than the axle. I did some searching and found some decent info on here, and I have the Bentley manual but I've never worked on CV joints before and I'm a little intimidated. Is it doable?

I'm a moderate at home mechanic with basic hand tools (no air or electric impact wrench) I've done simple jobs like brake jobs, oil changes, coolant replacement, radiator replacement, thermostat, and of course tie rods. However I'm kind of slow in the garage, it took me 2 and a half hours to replace a tie rod and I'd done it once before. And I'm a student/stay at home parent so I don't have tons of free time.

It looks like the procedure is remove the wheels, disconnect the tie rod and lower control arm, unhook the inner CV boot, Tap on the end of the axle to push it inwards so you can pull it out of the wheel hub, and then separate the CV joint. Clean the joints, replace the boots, pack with grease and reassemble.

I have to get the car aligned this week so I figure I'll ask the shop what they would charge me to replace the boots, I think if it's less than $300 it's probably worth them doing, anybody know what it should cost? or how long it would take an average home mechanic?

My worries are I don't have the special pliers for the clamps that go on the CV boots and if I get stuck in the process, I'm probably going to have to have the car towed to a shop.

Any and all advice is welcome.

 

There's nothing really special about doing them, but it is messy. Just make sure the axle is seated all the way in the transmission. I highly recommend borrowing or buying decent CV boot pliers. The stuff you find at China Freight or Vatozone is not up to the task.

By the highest quality boot kit you can find Loebro/GKN or OEM MINI.

Don't waste your time with EMPI axles or boot kits. China junk

 

Sweet, It sounds like you don't have to take the axle out of the transmission, but can just take apart the CV joint on the car, is that right? or should I plan on taking the whole axle out?

Is there much of a difference between the Loebro/GKN and OEM mini? pelican has the GKN for $12.50 a boot and the OEM for $50 a boot. I definitely don't mind spending the money to get the right parts the first time but the GKN are actually a dollar cheaper than the EMPI.

 

GKN is the OEM supplier so it is a perfectly fine replacement if you don't want to go with Genuine. I would go with either GKN or Genuine. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

I did my first boots two years ago and realized it was pretty easy. And messy. Given the huge difference in quality between cheap replacement axles and original ones, it makes huge sense for a diyer to reboot.

Most shops won't reboot anymore as the like the economics of selling and installing new ( cheap crap) axles. Don't let them talk you into this...

There are lots of YouTube videos on it, and some showing the job can be done in 30 minutes! Probably took me 2-3 hours per side the first pair I did. I pulled them all the way out as it let me see better and work on the bench instead of under the car. The really fast way is to do it on the car. I would be faster now for sure. Having a good pneumatic impact wrench to get the axle nuts off is key.