Excellent advice - thanks to all!

In my case there's nothing at all wrong with the axle itself, just a torn boot on the outer CV. Car only has 90K on it. However, my wife has been driving this one lately and I haven't been paying as much attention to it. Last oil change I noticed the torn boot and tons of grease on the inside of the wheel. My guess is that it has at least a couple thousand miles on it with the boot torn, though it isn't showing any symptoms of problems yet.

My plan was just to replace the whole axle shaft mostly out of laziness, but I like the idea of rebooting an original axle. Would I be asking for trouble if I just clean and regrease the one that's on there, slap a new boot on it and go?

Thanks again,
Chris
Lockhart, Texas
2005 X5 3.0 Schwarz Black
2002 X5 3.0 Titansilber