Yes I believe the shaft does come with new boots

I need to replace mine as well at 60k but I've been putting it off because it looks rather daunting/time consuming. I did a temporary fix that's holding up well, and I was likely just going to take it to a shop. Problem is that a shop would charge close to $350, and if I can get the whole shaft for that price, I'd rather just replace the whole shaft and just do it myself. Any opinions on this?

Ya thats what I would do! just do the whole shaft! What was your temp fix? I know my shaft is still good so I packed more grease into it and covered it with a plastic bag and taped it well..... Hope it works for a few days? Something is better than nothing I figure!

Well that's pretty similar to my fix. When I was doing my front brakes a couple weeks ago I noticed it was torn and leaking. So I cleaned the boot really well, filled the boot with as much grease as possible, covered the outside with some shrink wrap style plastic all the way around, then duck taped the hell out of it all the way around. It worked well enough to point that I don't even really have a desire to fix it!:rofl: But I don't really dig the brake pads I put on, so in a few weeks I'll get some new ones and that's when I'll do the shaft too.

Anyone know the best place to get the whole shaft loaded with boots and grease? Big core charge?

where are you guys getting the $350 quote for a half shaft? is this new or remanufactured?

couple years ago I could not find reman shafts.

They sell temporary CV boot fix kits.

they should be less than $20. It is just a cover for the cv boot so no water or dirt gets into it.

Temporary boot fix kit? If it works well then how temporary can it be!! If it keeps the grease in then great thats the whole point of the boot. Ideal supply ( A large car parts store up here had no shaft listing for the x5?)

it is temporary because it is attached by something like a zipper.

As the boot turns the temporary boot will only last a month to a couple months because the 'zipper' that attached the temporary fix is not that strong.

A regular cv boot is not zipped so when it turns it lasts longer. That is why you have to go the long process of getting this bad boy on.

At least that is how I understand it from my previous car. I had a temporary fix on it for 2 months then I decided to change the boot which was a pain in the ass.

I agree, it will be a pain in the ass!! I will get it done right because that is how I am!!

how would you know if you even needed a new shaft? Will it start making noises?