OK, then I should be able to do what you did. I have a 2000, but with only 68Kmi. I think my inner boot looks fine. I did only get the outer boot, so I only have one bag of grease. I'll just pick up some more at AutoZone.

So what you are saying is removing the axel from the engine side is way easier than removing the wheel bearing from the axel on the other (wheel hub) side. Also the wheel bearing, if removed should be replaced due to the fact that they do not come with anti-seize on them.

How do I remove the axel from the engine side? Do I need any special tools, or are there any tricks? I would imagine the entire assembly will just slide out towards me then I can pull stuff off the opening on the engine side right? Is there anything to be aware of when putting the axel back in? Does it need to be greased? I had to grease my motorcycle axels when I put them back in.

So in the DIY i should be able to skip any step that refers to the "swivel bearing", correct? That should be:

Step 1 (Just lift and remove wheel)
Step 4
Step 8
Step 9
Step 21
Step 30

I replaced mine today. What can I say? Good thing I read this post today. Axle is sitting there for good. Usually I use my air hammer to get axles out, this one won't budge. So, I went other way. Undid big clamp on inner boot and slided whole assembly out. Worked like a charm. I have balljoint separator, removing tie rod and arms wasn't a problem.

Finished job under 3 hours. I made some pictures, maybe we can use them to update DIY guide? It's definitely soo much easier. I suggest to get inner boot though. Grease is different from CV Joint boot (I used lithium) and those clamps from Autozone shitty. Next time I will just get inner kit (if there will be next time)

I don't buy boots from a dealer, so they like $10 ea online, no bid deal at all.

Skip #1, #8 and #30. Instead of #8 loose inner boot (big clamp)
In step 9 remove whole deal.

Important! (it is not in guide). I had to loosen subframe bolt for lower arm so I can swing it out (#6) Those bolts have to be tightened with car on a ground. When you finish with everything, push on fender few times so suspension sattles and then tighten those arms to subframe. If you tighten them on a car with suspension uncompressed - those bushings will wear out very quickly.

I am happy to hear this post helped you out and your are all set now! 3 hours doesn't sound bad at all.

I'm a little bit confused tho. So you did do the shortcut, right? You had problems pulling the axle or no? I saw the kits on ebay 2/~$30 shipped, but they are not OEM (maybe thats a good thing tho).

I have high temp constant velocity grease that came with my OEM Outer CV Joint replacement kit (it also came with some clamps and stuff). I assumed the inner boot uses the same grease? You are saying this is not the case? I was just going to get some more from AutoZone.

Please clarify :)

I think DIY guide should be updated since this method seems easier and faster since there are less steps. Also I guess it is just a bad idea to remove the bearing in the first place.

Thanks for the tip on the subframe bolt. That makes sense, I am about to install sub frame spacers on my 300ZX. Supposed to be awesome suspension upgrade and takes 30 mins to do.

Yes, I used shortcut. It's not shortcut per se. It's even longer way of doing it, but it becomes better way to do it just because of the problem removing axle from hub. When you push axle out of bearing, nothing will happen to bearing, but it just sits there so tight that moderate ways didn't help. So, I removed inner joint.

Yes, inner grease different. Seem to be regular lithium versus moli grease in cv joint. I order from Autohausaz.com - boot kits at $10ea and shipping free if you do $50 in parts. I get lots of BMW parts from them, they carry decent quality parts.

There is 2 arms connected to subframe. I had to loose 1 bolt. If you don't have tool to separate ball joints - you may have to remove carrier together with arms. Just start working on it - it will be obvious what I'm talking about here.

So I take it when you removed inner boot, a whole bunch of dark grey moli grease didn't dump out? What does the lithium stuff look like? What is the consistency compared to moli.

Can I get the lithium grease at any auto parts store? Autohausaz does seem to have good prices but I have to pay tax since I am in AZ. I also prefer to match OEM parts for stuff like this, I am kind of anal about it.

It looks like in this pic the inner boot comes with the same moli grease:

Inner
Outer

Yes, on pictures is does. I don't know to be honest. I would just use what comes in a kit. I trust this parts source, but you can go with dealer or one of the mail order dealers.

Thinking about boot though.. The thing is that mine wasn't split. I had other side replaced under warranty and I know they go pretty close to each other. I was out of warranty and went ahead and replaced other. It wasn't split, but it was cracked and it was just matter of time.

So.. What I'm trying to say is that I didn't have to take CV joint apart for cleaning since it wasn't exposed. I just wiped off as much old grease as I can and added fresh one. If it was contaminated - I don't think CV joint could be taken apart while axle still in a hub. And it will be hard to clean it well when it's still connected. Just some thoughts..

Now I am getting even more confused. You did not take apart either cv joint for cleaning? I guess I wasn't planning on this either since I caught it early, and the outer boot is split on the bottom. It's harline, not a gaping hole so based on all this i doubt it is contaminated either. Just all the moli grease fell out. The other joint is intact so no cleaning necessary either, just refill the boot with grease when i put it back on.

From some brief googling, I think either grease can be used. It sounded like white lithium is used on universal joints and moli used on constant velocity joints. Maybe the mech who replaced your inner boot previously just used lithium instead. I'll know when i pull the pig off, enought speculating. Just want to make sure I have everything I need, I'm sure I won't because something always gets forgotten or some surprise comes up.