CV joint boot, Replace???

[ericn33]

My driver side cv boot is torn, but the joint is fine (I think). I do not want to use one of those crappy replacement boots. Ya know those ones that bolt together. I want to put on the real boot. Is the out cv joint hard to take apart, and is it worth it. I have installed rebuilt ones before and they cost about 80 after core charge. I would rather save the money.

How do you put on a CV boot???

[easyryder]

You have to remove the axle to"do it right" BUT you should take apart the CV joint and totaly clean the bearings and races with solent.(If you leave foreign matter in the CV it will sooner or later destroy the joint) then re-pack the assembly with a high quality grease finally pull the new boot over .Get a manual to give you pic by pic step by step instructions

[ELM'sLX+CHL'sDX]

Don't bother with the CV boot. You have to remove the inboard CV joint to remove install the outter CV boot.

Buy an aftermarket axle that has brand new boots, already installed. A new axle would cost around $50-$70 from a parts store.

Claude

[cruznz]

i'd get the boot,...you can remove the c.v still on the car if you have a decent pair of vice-grips.......i've done it plenty of times

[AccordEpicenter]

if you know what youre doing and have the time and tools, id get the boot and fix it. You dont have to remove the inboard joint and take it all apart, you can take the outboard joint apart, but neither are immune to being a pain in the ass. If the joint is still good then just do a boot kit.. its 10x cheaper, $8 vs $80

[Trowa]

I did same as easyryder did when my boot broke
take the axel out, take the joint apart, clean it all and replace the grease and the boot.

[ACCORD EX]

out CV joint ? you mean at the wheels !? if so it can't be removed , you have to remove the whole axles , remove teh inner joint , then the slide the boot of the whole axle ! :( i did it on my car and it was a bitch ! :(

MIKE

[Trowa]

that's what the book says, but the freaking boot wouldn't slide of the axel, it was too damn fat, so we just knocked the joint out cleaned it and put it back in, and it runs fine =)))
that's actually the second time i did this, so i know it works

[ACCORD EX]

knocked the outer joint out !? you gotta be kidding ! or these are non OEM axles ! :rolleyes:

MIKE

[Trowa]

nope, OEM axels

[ACCORD EX]

are you sure it's the outer joint @ the wheels ??

MIKE

[Trowa]

yes i'm sure, did it 2 times........ it's the outer one at the wheels...

[ACCORD EX]

so how do you do it ! i'll be changing mine soon ! please tell me ! ? any clips to remove ?

MIKE

[Trowa]

well we did it removing the whole axel cause we tried doing it ur way, but the boot just wouldn't fit through the axel, so just get a piece of wood, get a hammer, put it where the axel inserts into the join and hammer away, gently though LOL it should just pop off, then clean it REAL well, but some grease, put the boot, and pop it back in.

[2twisty]

Those bolt on boots are worthless. they're impossible to get them to seal properly, and eventually all the grease will come out.

Your best bet is to replace the whole joint with a new one, since it's quite likely that the boot has been torn for some time and god knows what kinda crap has gotten in there.

If you can't replace the joint, you can replace the whole axle, too.

I've found that you can buy a whole axle at a discount parts place like AutoZone for about the cost of one high-quality CV from an inport car parts house.

IMHO, the "better" option is to get the good joint from the import parts house and just replace it on the axle, especially if you plan to keep the car for a while.

If you're gonna sell it in the next 30-40kmiles, just do the axle since it will be an easier job, and a whole lot less messy.

Chad

[ACCORD EX]

a tool is avaialable for clamping the clamps of the boots !

Trowa : i don't thing this the right way of doin it ! :rolleyes: i don't think the joint will be strong enough after you do that !

MIKE

[jigga89SEi]

i just changed the axle....it was a little more expensive...but 10 times easier......and alot faster we were only in the garage for like an hour.....

[Trowa]

well the other way the boot just didn't have an openning large enough to fit through the axel.... so that was the only way, we were there trying to slide it through for like 30-45 mins, got pretty mad at that point. But we did it twice now and the car runs fine.
I don't know, it was the driver side axel, and the boot just would fir through so it's not like i had a choise, i tried the other way and it didn't work.

[ACCORD EX]

thanx a lot trowa !
i will be doing my driver side soon , and see what happens !

thanx again ! :)

MIKE

[Trowa]

yeah, np
if u do do it "my way" don't hammer too hard LOL
but then after sitting there for 30 mins and trying to slide the freakin boot on the axel, u get pretty worked up....... if u know what i mean LOL

[ACCORD EX]

:lol :lol ! yeah i know what you mean :)


MIKE

[ACCORD EX]

now i got your point !

i went down today to see the drive shaft ( driver's side ) and it's fat as hell in the middle fot the boots to pass ! damn ! :(

guys anyother ways without taking the outer joint out ?

MIKE

[Trowa]

i don't think it does anything when u take out the joint, it just snaps back in after u take it out, and i doubt that there is another way, unless u find a way to strech that boot to fit on the axel.

[3rdGenFanatic]

Oi vey... I'll have to do this soon.

[Brettmans5]

do realize that if the boot splits and the joint is exposed to normal road conditions you have approx. 24 hrs to get a boot back on it before it is ruined....at least thats what the books say, and i tend to agree, a minute amount of road dirt or sand or what ever and it will work that joint over something fierce. You can pop it off and clean it (use a brass drift to knock it off, using a steel drift and you risk damaging the cup or cage) but inspect it closely any scoring or unusual wear just replace the shaft, and mark the cup and the cage, sometimes if you put it back together in a different position you can get a clunking or odd noises. I usually just replace the shaft, quicker, easier, less likely to fail and less messy.

[ACCORD EX]

a new axle here will cost me say 300 $ and a new boot 15 $ ( after converting currency ) !

MIKE

[Brettmans5]

$300 bucks....eep.... that'll hurt the wallet. It is 120 bucks here thankfully....ok well i guess in your case a new boot is the way to go if the joint is good, i am just leary about repacking them, when i worked at Speedy Auto Service i found the ones i repack more often than not came back within a month for noise problems....

[snoopyloopy]

so, sorry for the revival. but how long of a job is it to get to the boots and change them? and anyone have any detailed pix of the process?

[carotman]

Lol. OOOOOOLLLLLLLDDDDD thread haha.

You what? I just did that job YESTERDAY on my second Accord. That's right! I replaced both boots. If only you came here yesterday, I would have taken pictures. :(

I don't remember percisely how much time it took to rebuild the axle but I guess the whole process might have taken like 3 hours.

I used a 5 gallons tub half filles with varsol to clean the joint. Everything came super clean. I reinstalled the boots and packed them with grease.

When you remove the boots, inspect the joints and the metal balls, if you see any kinf of wear, you should consider just replacing the whole axle.

[AC439]

I have replaced boots in another car before and it took me about 4-5 hours because I was working in my driveway. It was a messy job but I managed to get it done. This was my first and last CV boot replacement job.

Lately, I have used those axels from Advanced auto and have somebody put them in for me. I have mixed experience. The axels we replaced on an older maxima went perfectly fine and have no problems. Then we had the passenger side axel (reman axel from advanced) changed on an older caravan, it shaked like crazy (left/right vibration) at 35mph. We had to get another one from advanced so the quality of those reman is a problem. We filed a claim to Advance auto for labor since this was due to a bad part and were told this is a matter of luck if we will get the money back.

So, I think if you have time and the joint is still good, go for the boot replacement. For the whole axel replacement, I may go for NAPA next time since they provide quality parts.

My CVs in the 3rd gen accord are still hold up well so hopefully I don't need to get into this hassle again soon.

[snoopyloopy]

Lol. OOOOOOLLLLLLLDDDDD thread haha.
You what? I just did that job YESTERDAY on my second Accord. That's right! I replaced both boots. If only you came here yesterday, I would have taken pictures. :(
I don't remember percisely how much time it took to rebuild the axle but I guess the whole process might have taken like 3 hours.
I used a 5 gallons tub half filles with varsol to clean the joint. Everything came super clean. I reinstalled the boots and packed them with grease.
When you remove the boots, inspect the joints and the metal balls, if you see any kinf of wear, you should consider just replacing the whole axle.
oh, quick, change 'em again. i wanna see.

[Poodlehead]

From Carotman:
...I just did that job YESTERDAY on my second Accord. That's right! I replaced both boots.

Reviving an ollllld thread again...
I need to replace the passenger side outer boot on my 87 DX. Is the outer CV joint held on by a c-clip or just press fit? I guess if it's just a press fit, then you need to remove the axle so you can 'gently' tap the CV joint off with a brass drift? Any details will be appreciated. Thanks!

[AccordEpicenter]

yeah it has a clip in the splines inside of the joint itself, so if you hammer the metal on the joint closest to the shaft/splines then itll pop off. IF you have a driveshaft that is the same size in the middle (thickness) on both ends i would reccomend popping off the inner joint boot and taking apart the inner joint, removing the snap ring that holds the tripod on the end of the axle shaft, pull off the inner boot and cut the outer boot off and slide the new outer boot on from the inner boot side and then reassemble the inner joint when you get the axle in the car. Somtimes you can do this with the outer joint still in the car, just you can take off the wheel with the car jacked up and remove the lower bj and pull the inside joint apart without removing the axle from the car entirely. Depends what you want to do

[Poodlehead]

Thanks for the details. Why would you recommend replacing the outer boot from the inner end (assuming the DS is the same thickness)? Maybe to get around having to remove the spindle nut? Otherwise it seems basically the same procedure. If I'm right about get around removing the spindle nut, I guess I'll first try to remove it and if that doesn't work, then go from the inside. Thanks again for the details!

[LX-incredible]

Drivers side is thicker, it won't be as easy going that route. I welded an axle nut to a slide hammer and that pulls the outers right off. A block of wood and hammer also works, but it's a bitch and sometimes requires removal of the axle and/or lower fork bolt. Keep in mind that if the axle came unsnapped inward during installation and wasn't put back into position, the end will be rounded from riding against the CV housing. If this has happened, you won't be able to get it with anything you have at home.

[Poodlehead]

I need to do the outer passenger side. I don't have a clear picture of how the axles/joints go together so how does the axle nut welded to the slide hammer pull the outer joint off? Not having to remove the inner joint would also mean not having to screw with the dampner on the axle too. Sounds like the best way to do it, but I just want to understand why. :) Thanks!

[LX-incredible]

Screw the nut and slide hammer onto the outer joint. With one hand, hold the axle in so the inner joint doesn't come out or tear the inner boot. Use the other to operate the slide hammer. The outer joint and tripod are held in place with a snap ring, just like the end that installs into the transmission. Once you unseat the snap ring from the outer groove it will come off easily. I could take some pictures of the axle pieces and slide hammer if necessary.

[Poodlehead]

I got ya now! Dumbshit me didn't have my head screwed on right before, but I totally understand now. I will give it a shot (next week at the earliest) and report back. Thanks a bunch!

[Poodlehead]

In a bit of a bind now...

I got the outer CV joint off using the slide hammer. On the 3rd whack it came off. Now the problem is getting the CV joint back on. I put the new ring on the axle and trying to get the CV joint on, but it ain't going. Should the clip be inside the CV joint or the axle? Any other tricks to get the (%$$&($ back on there? Thanks!

[Poodlehead]

I got the outer joint back together, but I had to remove the axle and put it in a vice to smash in the clip with screwdrivers.

Seems like the easiest way is to leave the old spindle nut on the outer joint and clamp it in the vice. Now you have the weight of the axle pressing against the clip and you can see the clip easier so you can use screwdrivers to press the clip in while keeping downward pressure against the clip. It helps a bunch to have an extra set of hands...

[AccordEpicenter]

i just use black electrical tape stretched tight around the clip on the splines, then just tap it in and itll peel off when it goes into the joint but itll keep the clip together enough to install it

[84AccordLX4dr]

Damn, that electrical tape trick is genius.

I wish I had known it at 3am when I was on my third attempt at "quietly" tapping the outer joint with a hammer...

Third time was the charm though.

[Poodlehead]

Yeah I'll damn sure remember the electrical tape if I ever have to deal with something like this again. Thanks!

[2oodoor]

Ok so when you are putting the outer joint back on an axle, the snap clip keeps sliding up so the joint does not lock in.
So you can put black tape (how many layers? ) around the clip on the spines and the outer joint will snap in correctly and you fish out the tape with needlenose??


.... hmmm so what happens if you use no clip and just put the boot on to hold it together long enough to get it in..

[import racer]

the outer joint does come off and it's not that hard.just pull back the boot and lay on a block of wood.lay the joint towards the floor and wack it on the shoulder of the joint.a couple of wacks should do it,there is a clip on yhe end of the axle you should replace.slide old boot off and new boot on.pack with grease after you tap the joint back on.did mine last fall and it wasn't that hard.honda service told me how to do it.

[2oodoor]

I don't think it goes as well at that all the time, I wish though:kekeke: