And considering that GKN Loebro boot kits can be had for $15 from Pelican parts that's all labor cost! Must be estimating "by the book" which probably has them removing the entire wheel carrier to get to the axle, you only need to disconnect the strut/caliper though.

You can definitely do it yourself, it's going to take you the better part of an afternoon though at least for the first side, with a rented tool or two and a lot of greasy mess. Pushing the axle inward and drawing it back into the hub are two of the hardest parts, dealing with unscrewing the axle nut, etc.

Good luck!

Glad you got it off OK and that the chisel option worked.

I got a rotary hammer and an electric impact wrench from Harbor Freight. I also got the correct 12 point socket from Amazon. The electric impact took off the axle nut and the rotary hammer pushed the axle out with relative ease. I believe it was less than $150 for the two tools with their 20% off coupons that come regularly. Cheap in the context of the money saved, and having the tools for future use (as long as they might last.) Also used the impact to tighten the axle nut. Cleaning the axle splines and inside of the hub splines are important to get the axle through the hub more easily. With these tools, I think I can get the axle nut off and the axle pushed through the hub in ten minutes, if that is a helpful estimate. The bulk of the work shall be dealing with the joint and boot.

Your option is great as well Steve, I just couldn't justify buying more tools right now :)

My method was the harbor freight 24" breaker bar with the 36mm 12 pt socket I got from Pep Boys, then slid my 3 foot handle from my jack over the breaker bar to make a cheater and give me approx 4 feet of "breaker bar"

I had soaked my axle nuts in PB blaster for about 3 nights prior, and once I stopped the rotor from spinning (socket extension in the "vanes" of the rotor which propped against the caliper) the axle nut came undone quite easily!

For pushing the axle out of the hub my method was to use an axle puller flange with the threaded rod from a hub puller drawn into the center of the axle to "push" it out, that tool was rented from Autozone for free.


We all know my method of getting the axle back in the hub, I'm going to make a new tool and wish me luck on the other side!

Great advice!!!
 

I had a torn outer boot and read all of the various postings on how to replace it. After some deliberation I decided to try what I thought would be the easiest method, and it worked! Removing the caliper, hanging it from a bungee cord off the spring, removing the strut bolts the lower control arm, and removing the inner boot clamps, I had the triple bearing out in no time. My bearing was held in by a circlamp without any holes to get a grip on, so getting that out took a little more time. Then hammering off the triple bearing was fussy, but didn't take more than about 10 minutes. So old boots off, new outer boot on, with grease in both, and back together. Going very carefully, it took me about 2 hours. The other side, when I do it (not torn yet), will be much faster. Thanks for the great advice from everyone.

There is no point to this?
axle- 100 (-20 core return) so re-manufactured axle with cv boots is 80 plus tax
and cv boot kit on ebay is 30 and 40+ at dealership.

to do cv boot you have to mess with the axle while its off trying to get snap ring off and everything else.

Much easier to drive the heck out of the axle and than replace the whole thing.

Please correct me if i'm wrong. thanks

This made the most sense to me, though I went with new aftermarket axles.

If you do not feel the need to hold onto your prior units, I think this makes for as easier and cleaner process. Some folks are able to take things apart in-situ without much problem, but it seems the majority run into brutal time sinks or get stuck completely when trying to separate things. My experience getting the full axle assemblies out and back in was not too bad, and fairly clean.

Yes Alex many members have replaced with brand new assemblies for about 60 per side (Cardone Select is a brand new aftermarket assembly you can get from Rock auto for about 120 per pair, and no core charge) or about 80 like you said for a Reman axle after core return.

I elected to replace boots because I have low miles on my OE axles (68k) and my boots were not ripped to be slinging grease. I replaced the boots when small cracks started showing so I could get another 9 years out of the boots without trouble, but if I had ripped boots on the axles I would definitely just replace the entire assemblies, since the joints have been exposed to the elements and are compromised.

had a hard time finding it on rockauto. i pulled it up on realoem
RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 3.0i Final drive(frnt axle),output shaft,4whl

you have the link for rock auto?

thanks

Try this:

2003 BMW X5 CV Half Shaft Assembly