Finally a torn left outer CV joint boot - see PICS!!!
 

I'm so excited, after reading so much about torn CV joint boots, I finally have a torn boot for myself!!! This is just great, after 73K miles, I now can go to the $tlr for a $450 boot replacement, or can I? I noticed over the past week, a "klunk,klunk,klunk" or a "scrape,scrape,scrape" kind of noise only when accelerating while turning left at medium speed. I decided to take a peek underneath the X, and much to my surprise, the left (driver's side) outer boot is torn/ripped. All others look almost new. Now, my question is, since the joint is making noise, can I get away with just replacing the boot, or is the CV joint damaged and needs replacement? If the CV joint needs to be replaced, then about how much $$$'s are we talking? :bawling: Here are a few PICs of what I found (sorry, it was dark out and I used a led flashlight to take the photos):

Been there, done that, dirtied the "T" shirt!

If the joint is making noise, it is NFG. You need a new joint or the whole axle.

See the article on the homepage for DIY replacement, otherwise, better find a good independant mechanic to do the job for you

the stealer will quote you a lot of moolah. they will probably want to replace the whole axle. I'd say with parts and labor either way it will be 800.

I got charged $600 for both front CV boots.

Are you really excited? Or are you just B.S'n? Because I wouldn't be excited about these cheap BMW parts that they use on the X's. I'd be a little pissed off. But either way, you are going to have a nice bill coming your way. I'm probably going to have the same problem soon enough myself. Maybe I should just change them before it happens. My next stop is my indy to get the boot changed this way no axle issue.... Good Luck...

you not the only one
 

well well, i just went to the dealer stealer today but thank god my warranty covering the cv boot.....i noticed mine because the inside my wheels were covered in grease........I was wondering if this is why my steering wheels is making a clicking sound when i turn the wheel slightly to the right and back to the left.....feels loose......can someone explain..????

what kind of warranty do you have? the BMW CPO warranty does not cover CV boot covers... The dealer will charge closer to $900 USD not $450 for a CV boot cover job..

Just curious , why wouldnt CPO cover the CV boots/axles? Isnt this considered part of the powertrain warranty?

Replaced mine for under 30 bucks:thumbup: If you don't have damage to the bearings, you can replace the boot yourself. Follow the steps in this DIY'er below
http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/s...mw-x5-e53.html

i said CV Boot covers.... the rubber thing that protects it... not the actual axle itself... BMW considers this wear and tear... I verified with 2 dealers when I was doing an inspection to see if mine were OK..

isnt that part of the axle? So why not have the whole axle replaced then if they cover it.

Because BMW's CPO warranty contradicts itself? I once went in for suspension work because the CPO coverage says front suspension is covered... Then they tell me, it only covers front suspension if something catastrophic occurs like a front axle falling off... not wear and tear items like bushings, ball joints etc...

Well that sucks if you ask me, I just had my two front bushings changed because one was cracked so they had to change both. I didn't pay a dime, this is under my ext. warranty.

Same story from two dealerships in Boston area also ....wear and tear suspension items not covered by CPO and CV boots are considered a wear and tear item.

Just looked at my Ext. Warranty, and everyone is right, they also do not cover CV Boot!!! They say its my responsibility to maintain the boot and if I did I wouldn't need a repair of the axle and what ever else there is... WTF!!!!:rant:

Hmmm interesting both from the New England states......Coincidence or Conspiracy?
Bmw will replace an axle shaft under warranty but not a CV boot? Strange, the axle shaft is at least 10 times more expensive than a rubber boot . Just doesn't make sense. you guys are getting the shaft ( no pun intended)

The boot is part of the axle, they both work hand in hand , the cause for the boot to tear is because of movement of the axles. The boot gives in before the axle all the time.

So really, how do yo u "maintain" CV boots? I think thats alot of :bsflag:

Avoid pot holes, Avoid U turns, Avoid hard accelerations....Yes Simply BS.
Bmw has come up with a BS fine print.

this might be insightful

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...placement.aspx

I just got mine replaced the other day under warrenty and only had to pay the $50 deductable. I brought it in for a clicking noise but then told him that the CV boot was torn. They replaced both front joints.

are you guys kiddin
 

well i hope my warranty covers it, i will be getting the call today and i see what happens. Yesterday when i went in to drop the truck off, i had talked to the service manager directly and was telling me that my ext. warranty most probably will cover it, and went even further to say that they will replace the other side as well because it looks like its also wearing, so i was under the impression that it will be covered, well at least until now......well i wait and see and keep you all updated....:confused:

When my CV boots failed under CPO, went to 2 different BMW dealerships to see about coverage. Both said no. At that time, I just had to deal with it. Now seeing that some of the dealers cover it and some don't pisses me off to a higher level. This wishy washy Bull$hit is what at the end of the day makes me not want to deal with any of the dealerships. Understanding these vehicles have a ton of hp and being all wheel drive makes it that much worse. The boots are junk. Plain in simple. Goes with anything freaking rubber on the truck...cooling hoses, breather hoses.......

Before anyone flames me, this is why I 1st try the work myself and if I can't I take it to my indy guy.

Well the stealership can feed us a bunch of BS I guess. In the end though I'm a DIY'er for just about everything on these cars and yes I have replaced my own CV boot. Hell you all should see my 740il's M60 engine in pieces:D

my local dealer has stated that CV boots are not under CPO warranty. I have 2 BMW tech friends that tell me the same thing.

its covered
 

well i just got a call from my stealer, and they are covering the cv boot but originally said they would jus do both sides because the other one will most likey go, but now they are like to wait it out, and also they are replacing the ball-joints... what do the ball-joints actually do?

thats really messed up how here in canada they are covering it under my ext warranty and other ppl in the states are having headacheds with their stealers..... YOU GUYS HAD ME SCARED>....:rolleyes:

BimmerDude, of course I'm B.S'n! Based on the posts for this thread, it sounds like I'll be lucky if I can get fixed for under $1K - not something I'm looking forward to. I have no warranty, but the $tlr was nice enough to replace both wishbones before my warranty expired in 09/05 (about 10K miles ago). Since the CV joint is making noise when I take a left turn, I assume the Joint and axel are spent. If that's the case, I'm not going to rush to have it fixed since it's now spring and I'm taking my 550i out from winter storage. The X5 will only see about 1K or 2K miles tops between now and winter. I may as well wait and get my money's worth out of the spent CV joint and axel that I bought with the truck. ;)

:iagree:
You are absolutely right, I can't believe a cheap $30 boot can destroy the CV joint and cause a $1K repair bill - really bad design IMO. I think some Saran Wrap and twisties at each end would probably last longer than these cheap boots! :rolleyes:

If you're out of warranty, plan on spending a dime. I've had to replace 2 boots and 1 axle. I think elves are conspiring against me in the middle of the night.

you live in FL too, without salt, road rash, snow and other road hazards that would prematurely wear your CV boots out...

Besides the mischievious(sp?) elves, I don't know what caused my issues. I just hope I get a little reprieve before the next one.

It is a known fact that an X5 will have issues with it's CV joints, dont know about the newer ones, but the 1st gen X5's have this problem. And to say that most dealerships will not cover the boot under warranty, but will cover the axle is ridiculous and insane. The joint will start to tic tac like a clock in just matter of time after the boot tears. So for those with extented warranties you are better off waiting for the axles to start clicking before going in to the dealer.

The boots a cheap, the dealers are cheaper! It's up to each dealer to read into the CPO contract whatever they choose. When you ask BMW NA you'll get "Each BMW dealership is an individual entity that we have no control over...." That's their out. Then when you ask the dealer you get "BMW NA will not allow me to replace it under the CPO contract...." That's the dealer's out. If you are one of the chosen you may get boots covered but you will have paid a lot of money over the years to be in that group.

Bingo......we have a winner;)

:iagree: Your're right, why not just wait?
Does anyone have any experience on how long the joint will last before it's either unsafe or fails completely? I'm contemplating letting this CV joint shred itself over the course of the summer. I'm not going to drive it much this summer since I've taken my car out of winter storage. I guess my question is, can I go say 1K or 2K miles before I need to replace since the damage is already done??? :confused: If so, then I'll deal with this problem in September or later!

This simple "maintenance" has worked well enough that I now spray all my cars cv boots during each oil change. Does it work? So far so good, I'll report again the next time someone points out the cost the cost to replace these boots.

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...thoughts.html?

whoa
 

just got mine back and cv boot repaired, labour was out of hand on it but parts were not so much, oh and a rain sensor module that blew my mind when i seen the price, thanks to the ext. warranty i walked out the same as i walked in, but only 50 bucks short which was my deductable......

when i first bought the warranty i thought the 50 bucks was ridiculous but now its like whatev, these dealers can make a bill!:rolleyes:

Okay, well its been roughly 5 months and now the other side (passenger) is leaking out grease onto my wheels, so i am guessing that the CV boot on the other side is cracked, damn dealers should have just replaced it when they did the drivers side last time around. The Boot doesnt seem torn that much or at all, but there is evident grease forming on the wheels.Any input on a easy repair for the boot, or shall i just go the the dealer again and get it done?

And thanks to this thread it just solved the mystery of why I had so much grease on my drivers side wheel (after a 1,400 mile trip to the coast). So my X goes to my indy mechanic tomorrow to have the CV boot replaced. And unfortunately I don't have warranty. (sigh)

Good news! I just got my X back from the shop. It was $233 to replace the CV boot including parts (a whopping $44). My right CV boot is starting to crack so we are going to do that one in about 2,000 miles when I need my next oil change. I'm happy it wasn't too spendy and I didn't have to do the work and that makes me grin!

so how long can i go with my cv boot torn, there is very little grease on the rim as of now?

For anecdotal purposes mine had not split before I went on vacation. We drove 1,400 +/- miles and when I got home it had. That was over 7 days so that is concentrated where as I wouldn't drive that much in a month; would take me 2 months at my current rate. But my indy mechanic said I didn't want to wait on this repair. I would think if you have wet weather coming it'd not be a good thing...??!!

I'm glad my original post helped you out and looks like you got a great deal from your indy. I paid about $700 for the entire half-shaft axel to be replaced after I allowed the CV joint to shred itself until I no longer could drive it. Glad you caught yours before it started making the dreaded "scrape-scrape-scrape" or "click-click-click" noise!!! :thumbup:

Check out my thread below on this very topic. I received alot of criticism over this research on this subject as you can see in this related thread. Bottomline, if the joint is making the "click-click-click" noise, you're done - the joint needs to be replaced. If no noise, then just the boot can be replaced. I had the entire half-shaft replaced after about 2K miles for about $700 at an indy. The $tealer wanted over $1,300! Good luck and let us know how things work out for you! :thumbup:

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...-see-pics.html

What speed will you hear click-click-click if your axle is toast? Mine blew super recently and I haven't been driving much at all so I think i can just replace the stupid boot.

Usually about 25-30mph while taking a turn on the side the boot is torn. My left boot was torn, so anytime I took a left turn under acceleration, I heard the clicking at about 25mph or so. If you don't hear the click, then most likely, just a boot replacement will do. Keep us all posted!

I'm afraid to drive the car with the boot torn on the bottom and the grease gone. I hear of people driving for a long time with torn boots tho, how safe is it to take it on a test drive?

I already got a replacement boot.

Please help!

Mine was torn too. But I can feel the vibration on the steering wheel when making the leftest turn, like U-turn. However, did not hear noises or feel the vibration in normal driving. Is my CV still good?

leftest? You mean when the steering wheel is turned all the way left? i think the click is the half axle not the cv. Maybe you have multiple issues?

It shouldn't be a problem to take it a couple of miles to see if you have the clicking noise. Just remember, without grease in the boot, the friction will take over eventually and destroy the joint. About 2K miles in my experience! :thumbup:

That's excellent information. I should have checked earlier but no harm in doing it now. Thanks again!

Just a friendly reminder folks - let's renew this thread - wintertime is brutal on CV Joint boots. Look under your car today to see if your CV joints are torn before it's too late. If you have grease spilled on the wheel, and no "click-click-click", then call your trustworthy independent shop today before you need a new joint. Pay particular attention to the driver's side outer joint - this one is most likely the first to go! Happy New Year everyone and hope this helps!!! :thumbup:

Axle Replacement DIY Procedure
 

Does anyone know of a DIY article that deals with the replacement of the entire front axle assembly?

I have a 2001 X5 4.4 with about 96K miles. Both of my front cv boots died a long time ago. I was already hearing the clicking noise so I knew I would have to replace the entire axle. To answer the question that many have asked, the axles joints are very strong and will last in excess of 30K miles even after you hear the first click. I would not suggest you drive in this condition though.

Anyway, I've stopped driving the X5 and have ordered a whole bunch of Front end stuff to replace and install this weekend or over several weekends. I'm going to do the brakes, rotors, sway bars, control arms and both axles. Everything is fairly easy to do except the axles.

Any inforomation is much appreciated. BTW, I have read the DIY for the CV boot replacement which covers a lot. It seems that a few more steps and you could probably replace the whole axle following those instructions

MT

it would be the same as the boot replacement. except you'll just pull the half shafts out and put in the new (or reman) ones. no messy grease!

How long does a dealer take to get this done?

Thanks FAst
 

That's what I figured. It's still a helluva job for one person to do. I plan to just take my time and leave it in the garage until I'm finished. I expect to run into some problems particularly when it come to removing the axle shaft.

After the stealer charged me $1500.00 for an alternator replacement a few years ago, I started doing all of my repairs. This site has been gold and one of the reasons I have held on to the X5 this long.

I still love the way it drives, but I hear the transmissions start failing around 100K. Hmm.. Do I sell it or Keep it????

HI, I need oem parts...
 

Hi man, Please give me the number parts of the boots for repair my X5...

Nuts, my CV boot is ripped too, this post is so helpful, while I don't have the clicking noise yet, what is the correct phraseology one must say to have the dealer cover the boot? I might go with a DIY, thanks!

Bump, Bump, Bump, with all the deep snow this winter, just a friendly reminder to take a quick look under your truck to ensure you haven't ripped your CV boots. If so, then another 2K miles or so, you'll be replacing the half-shaft. If you replace the boot before the CV joint is damaged, you'll save a bunch of money. Do a search for DIY CV joint boot replacement and tell us all how much money you've saved!!! :thumbup:

Dealer replaced my left outer cv boot under factory warr.:thumbup: 06' @ 48k miles

When I went in to get my engine looked at, they also told me both outer CV's are bad.

qty----- part number -------------description------------- price ----total
2 -------BM31-60-507-402 -------Repair kit booter outer --88.79 ---177.58
2 -------BM33-41-1-133-785 -----E31 hub nutm27x1.5 ----22.66 ---45.32

labor hours - 6

Labor = 810
Parts = 222.90
misc = 29.95

Total - 1062.85

So......I guess repair rather than replacement is an option. Cant I just repair the boots myself with something similar to what ever repair kit they are using? The parts are cheap really. The labor is just stupid.

This is not of immediate concern to me yet. First I need an working engine.

This is insane. I just replaced the whole axle with a brand new unit in about 3 hours for $110. If you can do it, by all means do it. If not, buy your parts ~$200 for 2 brand new axles and have an indy do it for probably $300 in labor. $1k+ for boots is truly ridiculous.

Hey Folks,

My 2 cents......just had my outer left boot done at 110,000ks, to my knowledge this is the most common boot to go..why I do not know? I may double up on things and am trying to answer multiple posts.....anyway

It is not a good idea to keep driving if your rubber boots are cracked or about to go because you want to avoid replacing any thing else but the rubber boot and the lube.....nor is it a good idea to do unnecessary mileage if you get the clicking noise because things can potentially get worse and cost more and in some cases (non x5s) which I have read about led to loss of steering at the affected wheel which puts your life and passengers in danger.

Checking the cv boots is a service item in which one I can't remember but since I don't believe in BMW'S Ultra extended servicing BS I would get them all checked regularly.

Once the rubber seal is split the inside can become contaminated with road debris i.e. rocks, dirt, gravel etc which in turn rubs against the precisely machined metal surface underneath causing further damage and performance issues.

This is why in theory many dealers replace the shaft because diagnosing whether there is any surface damage and then re-machining yours exceeds the cost of replacing entire shaft with a BMW factory re-machined shaft. Of course they will keep yours and re-machine it and stick it in the next sorry sob's X. You can request a new one but how much and willing the dealer would be I do not know?

My boot and ac re-compression where done together and took 3 days at a very busy dealer. The boots are a wear and tear item however when you buy a cpo/ prem selection (aus) they really should cover it because they are certifying it/ saying this car is in excellent condition, an 'about to go' cv boot is not excellent at all. I know many older subaru forester owners who at 150,000kms have not needed this maintenance and they look at me like wtf when i say have you had your cv boots done?

The grease on the wheel arch is the tell tale sign to a split boot but if you are unsure take your car to a lot, drive and reverse it with wheels fully turned each way and if you get clicking bumping you know for sure....it is not a pleasant sensation at the wheel.

There are some excellent web pages on 'CV' tech on the net. It would be good to hear what a mechanic X member has to say about cv boots though.....

1 boot on my 06' took about 3 hours, gave me a loaner car and went home called 3 hours later.

Boots
 

I had both front axles replaced last year with non BMW parts for half the price and hardly any labor. My guys said the new boots were thicker and no AS susceptible to tearing easily....