CV Boots

[desrste]

At what point should CV Boots be replaced? When they are showing major wear, at the point they are tearing, ??? Any comments?

[jazz47]

Start planning to replace as soon as you see the tear. You don't want dirt(gravel) getting in there ..... worse loosing all the grease from the inside

[desrste]

jazz47 - Thanks for the reply. I actually posted this just to see what everyone would say but it seems that maybe most might have thought of this as a "dumb" question. Truth be told I am just trying to get my head around the fact that my X5 is at the dealer right now and they are trying to fix the adaptive headlights since they will raise and lower for no reason...really kind of funny to see it happen unless you happen to do it on the highway to a big rig and blind them in their side mirrors...boy that guy was peeved and there was nothing I could do. Anyway, I digress but point is they were looking at the sensors for the lights that are attached to the front and rear axle for ride level and low and behold looks like the CV Boots are tearing. Well my X5 has been in the shop no less than 8-10 times in the last 6 months because the technician did not re-attach the front lower control arm bolt properly and it detached itself from the wheel while I was driving it amongst other things. Fortunately no one was hurt but again they have had the front wheels off on this thing multiple times over the last 3-4 months and never once said anything about the CV Boots. Makes me wonder if they are really looking when the Manager says they will give it a complete and thorough inspection. I was just trying to get a gauge from the forum as to when these things need to be replaced and what to watch for as a less than mechanically savvy guy.

Thanks again for the reply!!

[pbuckler]

I agree that you need to replace them at the first sign of any tearing. I recently had mine in for a tune up and they noticed a tear in both CV joints. They said I was lucky that no gravel made its way in there and that I still had grease inside. But here is the best part. They quoted me $900+ to replace them. I said no thanks and got a quote from a reputable shop down the road for $700. The crazy thing is that the service manager called me after I left, so I told him how much the quote was down the road and he agreed to match it! So I will always get a second opinion when dealing with my local stealer, I mean dealer!

[bd3500]

Originally Posted by pbuckler

I said no thanks and got a quote from a reputable shop down the road for $700.

Did they just replace the covers? Even $700 seems a bit high. I had one torn cover one time and it ended up being like $35 for the cover and $95 for an hour of labor.

[ftgambit]

The CV Boots are the worst thing flat out with the X5 design, you think they would come up with a more durable synthetic boot, especially given the importance of the part. its not some little hose you can get away with. your bearings go your looking at $1000+ repair job...

Heres the breakdown for what it should cost for CV BOOT repair.

90% of the time its only the outer boot that needs replacing the inner boots and the rear boots rarely tear or break, that being said if your front inner boots are still good and your replacing the outer ones, you might as well have them replace the inner boots it only takes a few extra minutes no need to remove the axle from the gear box and they just top it off with grease and slide the new boot on. You will save yourself a potentially far greater expense later on. If your inner boot is ripped then have them pull that sucker and wash out the entire bearing and shaft to remove any dirt or debris.

Labor for outer replacement with inner replacement no damage boot, should be about
2.5 to 3 hours, my shop in Vegas charges $95/hour
Boot Kit/per boot costs $30-$50 truth is I can find it online for $15 but shops are running a business and I doubt they will let you bring your own parts, they refer to it as
"Bringing your own meat to a Steakhouse"
They make some money on the parts and labor so just ask them to give you a little discount on the part price if they can. or knock some time off the labor work.
Ideally you should be paying around $335 per axle for boot replacement
Hope this helps.

[pbuckler]

Originally Posted by bd3500

Did they just replace the covers? Even $700 seems a bit high. I had one torn cover one time and it ended up being like $35 for the cover and $95 for an hour of labor.

Yup, they replaced all 8 joint covers. They brought their labor down from 9 hours to 7 hours. Thats how they justified the lower price. It is a pretty labor intensive process and with a shop rate of $90 an hour it is a bit pricey.

[X Foomph]

If your X is still at the dealers, ask the shop foreman if you could have a look at the CV boots yourself. Preferably up on a hoist where you could just walk in underneath and inspect said boots. Any decent mechanic will let you have a close up peep, as long as they don't have insurance restrictions in denying you/joe public workshop access. Take a rag and wipe down around the clips as well, should be nice n dry. Obviously look for cracks and or tell tail signs of grease spots on the rubber boots.

Do a search, tons of info on CV boots. GL

[desrste]

Originally Posted by X Foomph

If your X is still at the dealers, ask the shop foreman if you could have a look at the CV boots yourself. Preferably up on a hoist where you could just walk in underneath and inspect said boots. Any decent mechanic will let you have a close up peep, as long as they don't have insurance restrictions in denying you/joe public workshop access. Take a rag and wipe down around the clips as well, should be nice n dry. Obviously look for cracks and or tell tail signs of grease spots on the rubber boots.

Do a search, tons of info on CV boots. GL

Thanks! I have been doing research and unfortunately this is one of those items that everyone on here says you need to know about. Well I did not know about this particular issue related to the X5 or else I would have pointed it out to the Manager at the Dealership I work with. The thing that I just have a problem with is the fact that my car was certified in March of this year after a service tech did not replace one of the bolts on one of the front lower control arms. Yes indeed you guessed it...it came off while I was driving, but, thankfully did not do too much damage. It has been in and out of the dealership every month since that occurred and I just can't believe this is something they would overlook. Now I am being told that the grease from the joints has contaminated my brake pads and I need new ones...another $150!!! UGH WHEN DOES IT STOP!!!!

[jazz47]

Sorry to hear about the frustrating dealer experience. Missing the cracked CV boot is a major oversight by the dealer .... especially if you are always there. In addition the CV boots are a common replacement item on the X5, they should have noticed it.
If the manager is not taking care of you with all this incidents, it maybe time to find a different dealership. The least they could do is replace your pads on the house.