CV BOOT REPLACED IN 30 MINUTES

[JBF]

Mine's in for a service and the garage just said it needs two outer CV boots on the front - £700. No thanks!

Looks like I'll be doing some DIY over x-mas. I have to say after reading these posts I'm not feeling too good about it

As someone previously asked - is it not worth changing the inner and outer at the same time given the amount of effort required?

Any special tools needed? Where am I best getting the boots/grease from, stealers?

[X5one]

I did both inner and outer with BMW parts. I figured it was not much more work... You can get them from ESC Tuning. I found the oem parts to be of much higher quality. I would also replace the axle nut. I found the you really do need an impact gun to get the axle nut off. The special tools might include the snap ring pliers and cv boot clamp pliers(the tool that tightens down the metal rings that hold the boots to the shaft).

Part numbers
31-60-7-507-402
31-60-7-565-315

Have Fun!

[JBF]

I've had a look through the guides and this doesn't look impossible but I don't have a garage and it's snowing at the moment. Bummer. I also have no access to an impact wrench. I managed to change a friends CV boot a little while ago which wasn't too bad (axle nut came off fine with a breaker bar) but that was a crappy suzuki baleno - this seems a bit more difficult.

Might have to look at having an independent garage do this as I need to make a long trip over xmas.

[btmed]

I had tried to change the boots, $15 kits, but couldn't get the joint seperated. Ended up taking to a front end speciaist. I bought the whole axle assembly each side $77 with core return. My guy istalled both and did a front end alignment for $198. The axles are cardone? from napa with warranty. Back from Houston this weekend with no probs. Now on to steering angle sensor problem.

[JBF]

The local garage said five hours labour to change both sides. I knocked them down to four hours and they agreed to change the front rotors/pads at the same time which saves me a job in the next month or two. They even got it booked in for tomorrow!

I'm supplying BMW parts which I picked up from the dealer earlier - £250 of which £160 was for the front rotors. The labour is costing me £200 so in total £450 which doesn't seem bad considering the genuine parts. Dealers wanted £700 to do just the boots and £1000 with the brakes.

The local garage also tracked down the source of a very annoying squeak/creak which the dealers claimed they couldn't hear (very obvious even while just rocking the car). It's coming from the passenger side rear suspension airbag. It doesn't look like there's any obvious wear so they are going to give it a clean and lube up the rubber skirt. Possible trouble ahead?

Was very nice to get in the pit and take a look at the undersides of the beast. I'm tempted to buy a control arm kit as a spring/summer project.

BMW X5 Control Arms Tie Rods Links Kit 01 02 03 04 05 - eBay (item 390263071404 end time Jan-15-11 12:11:11 PST)

[amacman]

JBF , the droplinks could be fitted upside down to increase service life provided they are not badly worn . usually only the lower ball joint wears so flipping mid life will increase serviceability .

[JBF]

Looks like the joint may be shot. They said when they replaced the RH boot the joint had seen better days - apparently one of the ball bearings dropped out on removal which shouldn't happen. Noticed a grinding noise on the drive home above 40 mph (window open of course). We've had a real cold snap here so lots of grit/salt on the roads. Strange that it wasn't making any noise before the boot change but seems like I was unlucky on this one.

How can I test whether this is the joint or possibly the bearing that's given up while the axle was being removed etc?

[JBF]

So, I've been testing. No popping so far as I can tell, certainly not at low speed or in reverse. Thought I heard a couple at higher speed but could also have been bits of ice on the road.

It seems to be more apparent in long right hand turns. I took a few videos:

YouTube - X5 grinding
YouTube - X5 noise 2

Could also be related to the new rotors/pads but seems less likely.

[Quicksilver]

After reading all of this I believe i'll get an indy to do mine when the time comes.

[amacman]

sounds like crud on brake pads or possibly crud between hub and backplate .