Anyone done CV Boot Boot DIY?

[gwinder]

I just had my local indy do mine for $238. There are some jobs I don't mind doing myself...this wasn't one of them. Too many things to go wrong and too many tools needed.

Gary

[katit]

Originally Posted by gwinder

I just had my local indy do mine for $238. There are some jobs I don't mind doing myself...this wasn't one of them. Too many things to go wrong and too many tools needed.

Gary

I would do this for $200 parts included any day

I would rate this job harder then water pump just because of physical labor.

[we350z]

Originally Posted by e53fl

The air chisel worked great, no vice needed. I held the shaft in one hand and gently hammered the cv bearing off and it fell down into my hand...I eased up to a very slow speed as it neared the end of the shaft so it wouldn't shoot across the room. To pry it off as evenly as possible, I moved the chisel around and pryed at 3 different locations on the bearing so it wouldn't bind.

It worked for me as well, it's my new favorite tool, lol. First I tried to use the tie rod puller to get it off ... bad idea. I almost had a heart attack when I knocked one of the bearings off. I couldn't get it back on and was starting to worry that I had ruined the joint permanently. After cleaniing the bearing and knuckle off very carefully with a clean paper towel and applying a thin layer of new lithium grease I was able to pop it back on fairly easily. You just have to get it on the right angle and apply pressure. I was releived to get it back on. I then used the air tool approach but first with the pointy hammer attachment. This did very little, so I switched the the chisel. Then I almost knocked off another bearing and got concerned about scratching or scoring the bearings so I came up with an idea:



I cleaned off the excess grease with a paper towel and taped the three bearings on the tripod in the "up" position. This also protected them from the chisel itself and allowed me to easily position the chisel better on the bearing and axel. I only hammered from 2 positions since it was awkward from the 3rd (but now i realize I could have spun the wheel bearing to rotate it - oh well). I was also a little worried about the strain the hammering might be placing on the outer joint. I started to see more and more of the spline and then I slowed down near the end and it dropped right out:



I am going to clean the bearings really carefully with qtips, break cleaner (is this safe to use or should I use pure alcohol?) and air gun then re-grease before re-mounting it. I am just a little worried cuz i knocked the one bearing off and the air chisel shot some metal particles around (mostly from the chisel piece itself).

I am debating on whether to clean out the inner boot and tulip receiver as well. I guess I figured I might as well since I have a whole tub of new amber lithium grease.

Originally Posted by e53fl

It was easier than getting the brake rotor off which was a pisser for me.

Funny, mine fell right off when i removed the hex retaining screw.

Originally Posted by e53fl

Anyway, I slid the old boots off and new boots on and then used a large socket to hammer the cv bearing back on the shaft..a little time consuming because I didn't have anyone to hold the socket in place while I hit it and it fell off the bearing after each wack.

I am just pulling the boots off now, but I too figured that I would use a large socket and mallet to put the tripod star back on. Will this put excess stress on the outer joint too? I didn't think of it but I guess it would be a bitch without someone holding it. I assume it doesnt matter in what orientation you put it back on, thought now I am thinking it may have been a good idea to mark it so I dont have to mess with lining it back up with the tulip receiver by turning the swivel bearing.

Originally Posted by e53fl

I used the new c clamp that came with the boot kit and it clipped back in place with a little effort.

I was planning on re-using the retaining clip. It looks fine to me, is this a bad idea?

Originally Posted by e53fl

The boot kits come with a packet of grease which is the same for both the inner and outer. The grease is identical to the grease in the outer. My inner had differential/transfer case fluid in it from the bmw factory but the inner boot kit contained the same grease as used in the outer. Hope it works...don't see any reason why it won't because it works fine for the outer.

That's interesting that the inner kit comes with the grey moly, I was wondering about that. I would be hesistant to use the moly in place of the lithium but you are probably fine. After all, they are differnt types of joints but still both metal on metal i guess.

Originally Posted by e53fl

This job is not hard if u take ur time and use the right tools especially the ball joint tool from autozone that we350z shows a picture of...It makes the ball joint separation effortless. The air chisel works great too. It took me three 2 hour nights to complete the job....Well worth the effort considering I saved between 500.00 and 600.00.

I am a weekend warrior, not a mechanic. If u can replace a waterpump then u can replace the cv boots as well. Thanks to everyone.

I agree completely. I am DIY'er to the bitter end. It took me about the same amount of time. I could do it again in 3 hours or less for sure. It's not that hard, just a lot of physical steps. I just wish i knew all the little tips and tricks I put in this thread before I started haha. I hope everythign works when I put it all back together tomorrow

[e53fl]

I am just pulling the boots off now, but I too figured that I would use a large socket and mallet to put the tripod star back on. Will this put excess stress on the outer joint too? I didn't think of it but I guess it would be a bitch without someone holding it. I assume it doesnt matter in what orientation you put it back on, thought now I am thinking it may have been a good idea to mark it so I dont have to mess with lining it back up with the tulip receiver by turning the swivel bearing.


I positioned the assembly so that the shaft , end with the bearing removed, was sticking straight up in the air. I held the shaft up, putting upward pressure on it, so that when I hit the socket and bearing downward it acted as a buffer so that the outer bearing would not take the full impact. So, one hand help upward pressure on the shaft while the other hand hammered the bearing back on.....Slow process by yourself but I was able to do it.

[katit]

Originally Posted by e53fl

I assume it doesnt matter in what orientation you put it back on, thought now I am thinking it may have been a good idea to mark it .

Tapered end goes in first. It makes sense, this was made just for ease of assembly. Ideally you should also mark which roller goes in which groove. I didn't do it, but it certainly good idea.

[we350z]

Originally Posted by e53fl

I am just pulling the boots off now, but I too figured that I would use a large socket and mallet to put the tripod star back on. Will this put excess stress on the outer joint too? I didn't think of it but I guess it would be a bitch without someone holding it. I assume it doesnt matter in what orientation you put it back on, thought now I am thinking it may have been a good idea to mark it so I dont have to mess with lining it back up with the tulip receiver by turning the swivel bearing.


I positioned the assembly so that the shaft , end with the bearing removed, was sticking straight up in the air. I held the shaft up, putting upward pressure on it, so that when I hit the socket and bearing downward it acted as a buffer so that the outer bearing would not take the full impact. So, one hand help upward pressure on the shaft while the other hand hammered the bearing back on.....Slow process by yourself but I was able to do it.

This is what I was going to do as well. I was thinking about taping the socket on or something but either way I think I will get it on. What kind of hammer did you use?

I only have normal 12-16 oz claw hammers and a rubber mallot. I think i need 3 lb sledge? Like this.

did you oil/grease the spline when you banged the tripod back on or not? I would imagine you dont want to do this buy maybe it wont go on otherwise?

I ended up re-using my old clamps since i broke the new ones. It's really strange how you have to bend them to tighten them. Again, what a retarded design. I think i put too much replacement moly grease in so I squeezed a tiny bit out. Range of motion looks good and boot has officially been replaced!! Just gotta put the inner boot back on regrease and mount it back up

[we350z]

Yea, too late now lol. I ended up turning the axle around a bit anyway to make cleaning the base easier before removing the old boot. But It always make sense to put things back EXACTLY the way they were (i.e. same grooves and rollers) whenver possible. Oh well, maybe next time Not a big deal.

I also took the time to clean out the old grease from the tulip receiver thing coming out of the diff. I sloshed it out with clean new latex gloves then hit it with a little break cleaner and paper towels and blasted with the air gun. Just gonna pack both sides with tons of lithium amber grease and should be all good.

Originally Posted by katit

Tapered end goes in first. It makes sense, this was made just for ease of assembly. Ideally you should also mark which roller goes in which groove. I didn't do it, but it certainly good idea.

[e53fl]

I used a 3 lb hammer

[e53fl]

HEY KATIT, what grease did u use for the inner cv bearing????

[katit]

I used Synthetic lithium grease I had on my shelf. It looked very similar to stuff that was there. I didn't clean old one out of the pocket. So, I just added a little bit.