This is a loooong thread, however the crux of the very first thread is to tell people how to do it the easier way. I do the same thing with my Volvos, i.e., undoing the INNER CV Joint.

For GKN-Lobro design: the idea is to undo the INNER CV Joint because it is much easier to undo the INNER CV Joint. The OUTER CV joint is always a bitch to deal with.

This is based on the assumption that the boot just cracked and spilled some grease and there is no damage to the CV Joint yet.

1- Use only BMW boot, or GKN-Lobro: rmeuropean dot com has it for cheap.

2- Once you undo the INNER CV Joint, you need to replace both boots (even though only the outer boot is bad). Stay away from Advance Auto boots, or EMPI boots, unless you want to do it again soon.

3- The INNER CV Joint: the 3-leg thingy is actually called Tripod.

These are the only 3 pertinent things for those experienced DIYers.

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1998 E39 528i 5sp MT
2006 E53 X5 3.0 6sp MT