CV BOOT REPLACED IN 30 MINUTES

[daneshfar]

I live in Louisiana, so no snow or salt etc exposure. Always garaged at home and overall looks great for 10 years old. But as i state before, changed the original one at 45k and now at only 76K needs it again. Curious if you never had to change your original CV boots at 160K thats incredible.

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by daneshfar

I live in Louisiana, so no snow or salt etc exposure. Always garaged at home and overall looks great for 10 years old. But as i state before, changed the original one at 45k and now at only 76K needs it again. Curious if you never had to change your original CV boots at 160K thats incredible.

So your first owner? Or you have contacted every owner and verified no salt/mag chlo exposure? If your X was EVER exposed to salt/mag chlo and not properly chassis washed, any exposure to moisture (wet roads/high humidity) will re-activate the corrossive process on rubber/plastic/exposed metals. Mag chlo is tenacious as coffee with cream and sugar, it sticks to whatever it dries on.

CV boots have been sprayed with tire cleaner, rinsed, allowed to dry then sprayed with Maguires Endurance for rubber. This has been done during tire rotation (every 10k miles), started doing this at 100k miles. Air bags are done too.

[daneshfar]

i'm first owner, and i can tell the second boots were not as good quality as first. No I did not clean them like you did, but obviously you doing something right, but you only did that after 100K. I don't have any air bags on this car. Your ideas are good to put on protectors on this rubber. There is this silicone lubricant used in swimming pools at 6 bucks a tube, designed for chlorine and salt. Maybe we should lather this on it too.

[TiAgX5]

I always try to be proactive when it comes to items like this. The name brand tire/rubber cleaning products are no scrub/no touch whatsoever, it's unreal how much grime and dirt comes off them, when they dry they are ultra flat black and unprotected, the Maguires Endurance makes them ultra gloss black and protects (no sling formula keeps it on). I hit the sway bar and subframe bushings too. Of course the black plasitc body panels/trim/tires/air vents get the treatment twice a year.

I'm 2nd owner, found 1st owners business card in glovebox, called and got history.

[peabo]

Originally Posted by dville

Everyone explains things slightly different, and some people pick a little from each one.

If I had to do it again.

No need to remove anything except the wheel.

Try doing the OUTER boot first, using clamps, or quick blows, then if no go, don't waste any more time like I did.

To save the hassle I went though.
1) Buy INNER and OUTER boots and $8 CV boot clamp from Advanced Auto Parts
2) Jack up front
3) Unbolt the straight control arm at the engine side
4) remove inner and outer boot clamp, hold rotor and pull outwards,
5) remove the C clip from the inner bearings (3 wheeled thing)
6) tap or pull the inner bearing off
7) remove and replace both inner and outer boots and clamps
8) tap back on inner bearing, reinstall C clip
9) Fit inner joint back into the cup, tighten all 4 inner and outer CV clamps,
10) reinstall control arm but only tighten fully with front wheels on the ground.
11) Put wheels back on.
DONE

I needed to replace the driver's side outer CV boot on my wife's 2001 X5 last weekend. After reading all of these posts, I ordered the outer boot kit and planned on 1 hour (twice the "projected" time..).

Like many others, I could not separate the axle shaft from the outer CV joint. No amount of prying or banging did anything. I pryed so hard, it stretched the inner boot alot, maybe too much, so I read dville's alternate solution, and this is the way to do it!

To the ones that can separate the shaft from the outer CV joint (30 minute method) congratulations! To the ones that can't, dville's method above is the best alternative.

The only way I would do the replacement the "long" way is if I had to remove the outer CV joint for repair or replacement. Even then, that method is so involved, I would bring it into the dealer for them to do it.

Some thoughts from my repair:

1. The cheap CV boot clamp pliers I bought from Advance Auto broke after the second crimp. I figured I wouldn't use them much, so I didn't spring for a better quality set. I returned them for a refund, then ordered a professional quality set of pliers (Lisle 30800) from Amazon for under $30: Lisle 30800 CV Boot Clamp Pliers : Amazon.com : Automotive These will last a lifetime.

2. Have the inner CV boot grease on hand. As other have found out, this special inner grease isn't stocked anywhere!


Peabo

[Multibeemer]

Your experience is EXACTLY what I went through. But if you're not one of the extremely lucky ones who can separate their outer axle shaft from the CV joint, separating the inner joint is by no means an easy task. Took me a solid six hours per side, and it was an exhausting six hours.

Peabo -

What type of grease did you end up using on the inner CV joint? The "special", uber-expensive stuff, or something different? Glad you were able to get it done.

[peabo]

Originally Posted by Multibeemer

Your experience is EXACTLY what I went through. But if you're not one of the extremely lucky ones who can separate their outer axle shaft from the CV joint, separating the inner joint is by no means an easy task. Took me a solid six hours per side, and it was an exhausting six hours.

Peabo -

What type of grease did you end up using on the inner CV joint? The "special", uber-expensive stuff, or something different? Glad you were able to get it done.

Hi Multibeemer,

I called my BMW dealership's parts department and asked if they had the inner CV boot grease. He said no, but said there was an approved substitute for the inner CV grease. He said the service manager told him that I could use Valvoline DuraBlend Synthetic for CV joints.

I stopped by AutoZone which had it. I came in a 400 gram container, and I used a little over 100 grams to pack the inner CV and boot. It wasn't bright yellow like the factory grease, so I'll find out in a few years if it was an acceptable substitute!

Peabo

[Ricky Bobby]

Can any of the BMW techs on here give me a definitive answer as to whether I can undo the wishbone control arm at the frame and have enough clearance to swing the axle out of the hub? I'm doing wheel bearings and want to know the easiest way with least disassembly to push the axle out of the hub and get it to clear so I can tie it off to the side while I press the wheel bearings in and out.

I know for a fact I have enough clearance if I disconnect the strut but if a tech says I can get the same room or more just disconnecting the control arm at the frame I will do that. Thanks!

[stevekat]

You can definitely unbolt the front lower control arm that is furthest to the rear in the front system, from the frame, and subsequently clear the axle from the hub when you 'push' it out. Do not forget to put the weight of the car on the ground when you replace the bolt and torque to spec.

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

Can any of the BMW techs on here give me a definitive answer as to whether I can undo the wishbone control arm at the frame and have enough clearance to swing the axle out of the hub?

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by stevekat

You can definitely unbolt the front lower control arm that is furthest to the rear in the front system, from the frame, and subsequently clear the axle from the hub when you 'push' it out. Do not forget to put the weight of the car on the ground when you replace the bolt and torque to spec.

Thanks so much for the response! Would be much easier than unbolting the strut in my opinion, and yes I will torque to spec with wheels on the ground and replace the bolt and nut since they are torque to yield!

I got worried on pages back because some of the guys in this thread said they unbolted the lower wishbone control arm at the frame and weren't able to get the axle cleared out of the hub, just needed to make sure I could get my wheel bearing presser in behind the hub!

Going to do my outer boots as well while I have the axles hanging there and when I replace my wheel bearings/hubs, hoping I can do it without removing the inner joint (those boots are fine), so only having to remove caliper, brake rotor, and disconnect control arm is a much easier method to swallow to get this job done, than having to disconnect and take apart the entire front suspension.