bmw x5 e53 2005 CV boot vs Axle replacement cost vs difficulty

[oldskewel]

Pricing does not make a lot of sense to me.
Here's one of the boot kits for my car for $10 from FCP, by GKN, which is the OE supplier for these.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...em-31607507402

EDIT - and BTW, looking at a few of those GKN boot kit pictures online now, I see they all seem to show a single packet of grease. I bought my 4x kits from RM European (and as mentioned previously in this thread, all came with 2x 80g packets of grease, while the spec for each joint is for 80g total), and I wonder if maybe RM European threw in extra grease packets just because they're awesome??? It also makes me wonder again about the inner vs. outer grease types that Attacking Mid raised.

And the MSRP for the BMW logo on that part brings the price up to $50-$60.

???

Too bad you read all 40 pages. There's some great info in that thread, but the reading time kind of kills the efficiency if you can't quickly get to the good stuff.

I completely agree on your comment regarding the c-ring (it has a circular cross section, not rectangular) in the rectangular groove. There is no taper on the groove edge. As I have found on other cars, this requires a little finesse. Specifically, the method is to apply pressure by levering the splined shaft out using a small pry bar or a big screw driver. That will hold the ring with some pressure against the side of the rectangular channel. Then maintain that pressure while rotating the axle shaft.

You will need to have both front wheels jacked to allow the axle to rotate while a helper rotates the opposite wheel. By rotating and applying pressure at the same time, you allow some movement and encourage the c-ring to align itself where the curved portion of the ring surface then provides the bevel to compress the ring and allow it to escape the rectangular channel.

Briefly, the trick is to apply separation pressure with a lever, while rotating the wheel to allow alignment. Brute force may get you in trouble. Or not. ;-)

For me, it was my outer boot that failed, but having all 4 replacement boots (2 inner, 2 outer) on the shelf and ready to go, I replaced the inner one as well even though it looked fine. At least here, the parts cost is so low that it is not a factor vs. the effort to separate the axle and read the thousand-page thread. Getting access to one boot means the other one can easily be removed as well by sliding it along the length of the shaft. After replacing the grease and boot in the inner joint, I carefully cleaned the inner boot and it did look near perfect. However, with the flaky records I have from the PO, I really can't tell how old it was.

[talljames]

Guys, what brand and model rotary hammer do you have? thanks I was thinking of just a breakerbar and pipe.

[andrewwynn]

I plan on using a big vice grip and pry bar. (or I engineered a special clamp to grab an axle for this purpose that is basically a steel plate with a hole the diameter of the axle, cut in half and threaded to bolt back together. I designed to use for changing boot or axle. It can be very hard to find a place to push on those guys.


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