To add to the confusion I think GKN was the original supplier for the soft boot and Loebro for the hard boot but now they are the same company and both names are on the boxes!

Back when I did get OE BMW boots they came with the really heavy duty clamp that you would probably have trouble installing with the usual tools.

Subscribed. I need to do this job and don’t want to loose the thread.

At 143K miles, I wonder if I should replace the axle seals too...

Just received the Cardone front axles from Amazon after reviewing posts here. Will share my experience once I get them installed.

Very important trick for installation

https://youtu.be/Qo4aeTEFGZs?si=D-UrIABTDW6Lvn-H

I did GKN ones from FCP. They were not cheap. But I've never had anything but terrible luck with the less expensive axles, I'm done with those. lifetime replacement on good axles

Only one of them came with a nut, and it was the wrong size nut and I didn't want to buy another never otherwise used 12-point socket, when I just bought one for the stock nut. The missing nuts held me up about a week. So make sure the ones you're ordering from wherever come with new nuts and you have the correct socketry which may or may not be the same OEM size.

I didn't do the seals because it didn't look like they were leaking at the time, and now lo and behold the one is leaking, so I get to do it again. Which I knew I was going to do them again anyway soon due to the oil pan gasket, so I guess that was why I decided not to do the seals. Definitely do the seals while you are there.

They were pretty easy to carefully tap out of the hub with the right size punch into the hole in the center. Getting the new ones back into the hub was a little harder. I hammered the ring on the hub with a 4x4 block of wood for a long time and it slowly walked in. The block of wood didn't hold up so well. Tapping them out of the diff was a little tricky as well just required some rotation, and then getting them in also required correct orientation per the video. Which I was not aware of when I did this job and struggled a bit to get the clip in.

I plan to replace the axle seals x 2.

Re O-rings x 2 (1 in the front diff, 1 in the RH carrier)...
Should I leave them alone?
I hardly ever hear a leak from these 2 O-rings.

PS: helped a friend replace the 2004 X3 E83 Front Diff
a few years ago, and I am trying to avoid removing th
Front Diff.

Hopefully better than mine. Rebuilt OE from cardone and I’ve got a blown outer boot on the left, and cracking outer boot on the right. 2 years and maybe 13k on them.

Not sure about the e83 front diff, but the e53 is painful to get in and out. I’ve got a very slow weep somewhere along the mating surface of the two half’s, and am ignoring it. I thought I could shortcut Bentley when I did the motor swap and sneak the diff in after the motor was in….nope. Motor has to come up a bit and subframe needs to drop a few inches.

The E83 X3 front diff is painful too.

Anyway, at the Front Diff side, 3 potential sources for leak...

- Axle Seal, after 143K miles and millions of revolutions by the
axles, any seal dealing with a rotating shaft will leak...
I will replace the seals.

- Gasket at 2 halves of front diff. Rarely leaks, even if
it leaks, it is a slow leak. Probably can watch.
Btw, do they sell the gasket or you have to make your own?

- The 2 O-rings, I have not heard any complaints in this
forum over the years... probably can watch them.

I am just trying to minimize my work lol...

So, the E53 2006 X5 M54 6spMT with 143K miles...
- CV OUTER Boot leaks on the L side.
- The R side shows rubber cracks but no leak yet.

As mentioned above, the OUTER boot has 2 choices. If you look closely,
the difference is mostly in number of ridges: 5 vs 4:

* 31607565316
* 31607507402

I have not done the CV Boot yet but from looking at FCPEuro website (prices
as of Apr 2024), I think I have the "31607507402 type"...

PS: For 31607507402, Autohausaz website says: "For models with
production date through 3/2006. For models with 92mm ID and 24mm ID
boot connections, MUST verify prior to ordering as variations do exist."

I don't have 31607565316 in front of me, but it appears to be made from
"thermoplastic", the hard plastic seen in 2004-2009 Volvo S60, V70 P2
series, which is much better than rubber.

Anyway, even if rubber, I cannot complain that it lasts some 18yrs/143K miles...

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