Replacing outer CV joint boots?

[alexGS]

Hello again,

I wondered if someone might like to comment on how they replaced the outer CV joint boots on a FWD Celica?

I found http://www.celicatech.com/imagearchi...h/AXLE_SHA.PDF

Useful info, but obviously I can't follow the instructions as I think they are for when you need to remove the shafts - way too difficult pulling all those suspension balljoints (my balljoint separator broke the other day) and 'drain the transaxle'? It's an auto. What will come out - ATF, or some differential oil that I won't have?

It seems to be saying that the outer boot can't be repaired and the joint must be replaced as an assembly. What garbage - there has to be a way ;)

I gather that the outer joint doesn't come off the shaft. So, I think the technique will be to take off the inner boot and jump the shaft out of the inner joint, leaving the inner joint in the transmission (the exploded diagram shows a snap ring on the inside). Then, I'm hoping that unbolting the suspension strut and possibly extracting the steering balljoint may be enough to swing the shaft out, remove the inner boot, then replace the outer boot (spraying brake cleaner into the joint first before packing in the new grease and fitting the new boot).

What say you?

-Alex

[Pineapple]

Cut the boot and replace it with a split boot. No shaft removale needed. As long as you haven't drive it too long with the broken boot.

[luca]

yea if you have accessl to the split boots that seal up i guess you could give those a try. Otherwise its an absolute pain to try and get the outer axel apart. I ended up just getting new axels all together because i just got fed up with trying to fix them. I was really happy once i finally got the new axels in...you would be surprised on the difference in overall smoothness of the ride. Honestly if you can come up with the money get new axels. not actualy dealer onees because they will rip you a new asshole but just new rebuilt ones from any parts store will be fine.

[AzNDrEaD]

I got rebuilt ones from the dealer with a one year warranty on them including labour and they work great just as good as original and they werent too expensive

[alexGS]

OK - well, job almost complete! I thought you might like to know what I did... :)

Started by having a friend stand on the brakes so that I could undo the 30mm nuts. Well all right - we swapped - my friend was a good 25kg heavier than me and it helped! Tapped the splines clear of the hub.

I undid the two nuts and one bolt under each lower balljoint. I don't think this step was strictly necessary, but it was relatively easy. Then I took out the 14mm bolts holding the brake caliper on - and hung the caliper on the suspension strut.

I slackened and removed the two massive nuts and bolts holding the strut to the steering knuckle. They were bigger than I have ever seen on a strut bracket! At this point, the knuckle could swing out far enough to remove the driveshaft from the hub - but I did have to be careful with the ABS sensor wire (would be better to unbolt its bracket - one 10mm bolt).

I put an ice-cream container (clean) under the transmission, and pried the left driveshaft out of the differential. Then I remembered that silly 'transaxle case protector' (two 12mm bolts). It took a few slaps with a hammer on the pry-bar, and then the driveshaft came out, along with about a litre of clean, red fluid (it's an auto).

I took the inner joint boot off, noticing some deep perishing. I decided to replace it. To my surprise, the inner joint was a CV-type (not the tripode-type). There is a large diameter, shiny ring in the joint 'bucket', preventing the joint from coming apart. The name for the outer part of the tripode-joint is a 'tulip', but for a CV joint the shape is more round than three-lobed, so I have decided to use the term 'bucket'.

The shiny ring can be taken out with finger-force only, and then the joint comes apart. Circlip pliers made getting the joint off the shaft easy (one circlip), and I didn't bother to remove the tight square-section snap ring on the shaft behind the joint.



Incidentally the embarrasing presence of an adjustable spanner (Crescent, as they call them in NZ) was simply for preventing the bolt-head turning during the final removal of the strut bracket nut, after initial slackening. It is a large size and I had only the one socket for it (21mm?)

Armed with this knowledge, I had a better method of removing the right-hand driveshaft. I couldn't be bothered disturbing the bearing on the back of the engine, so I pried apart the boot clips on the inside joint. More perishing made me decide to replace this boot as well. Copious numbers of paper towels helped me to mop the grease away from the shiny ring. Taking out the shiny ring lets the driveshaft come out of the inner joint, leaving the 'bucket' in place. I cleaned this out thoroughly.

Back to the left driveshaft, I removed the two halves of the outer boot (the reason for doing the job!) and washed the joint thoroughly with degreaser (at this point, I thought the joint was part of the shaft). As I was manipulating it, I noticed tight spots - the balls would jam. Looking inside, I could see wear ridges. I decided to be sensible and get a replacement joint.

This left me with a 'surplus' outside boot (I bought two new outside boots, NZ$13 each -about US$7.) As luck would have it, the inside joint boot is the same size - different shape, but same length and shaft diameter. Great!

So I went to Repco (parts store) to get 1x CV boot and 1x CV joint. RRP for the CV joint was $129, but I have a friend at Repco, and so I was able to buy two CV joints for just $80 (US$45). It would be foolish not to replace both! And of course, that left me with two new boots for the inner joints. I also decided to buy a set of Ferodo brake pads - $40 (US$23), since the inside pads were down to less than 2mm and worn in a wedge shape.

Obviously, the availability of the CV joint indicated that it could be removed from the driveshaft! With nothing to lose, I belted the hell out of it with a mallet - and it fell off (there is a snap ring on the shaft).



There were still a couple of tricky bits. The new CV joints were not available with ABS sensor rings, so these had to be driven off the old joints. I clamped the splines in a vice and worked my way around with a screwdriver and hammer. But surprisingly, the new CV joints did have some cadmium-plated (gold colour) steel rings pressed on, so these also had to be removed. I felt certain these were designed to contain the toothed ring, but no matter what combination I tried, nothing fitted. So, I fitted the original stainless steel rings (inner+toothed ring+outer). On one CV joint, the rings were a very tight fit - on the other, there was not quite enough depth (the rings fell off at a later stage, so I cleaned everything and refitted them with Loctite).

I fitted a new snap-ring to the shaft and attempted to fit it to the new joint. No success - a few solid taps with the hammer on the end of the shaft merely bent the snap ring out of the groove and caused the ABS sensor rings to fall off (see above). So, I refitted the original snap ring - and the shaft went straight in.



I put on the boot and tightened the steel band clips using the special tool I happen to have (still needs pliers and screwdrivers to fasten the end, though). The driveshaft required a couple of thumps to get it back into the differential, accompanied by a satisfying 'click' (and the stoppage of the fluid trickle).

The other driveshaft was similar, except that the other new CV joint was not pre-packed with grease, but at least the sensor rings pushed onto the joint further.

I notice that the new CV joints are really stiff to swivel - the cage binds on the 'bucket' - I presume this will sort itself out, as both sides were the same.

For the inner joints, I put about three teaspoons of the lovely dark grey grease into the 'bucket' (I notice that as standard, they have a different grease from the outer joints, but I decided that outer joint grease was probably superior). I put the joint centre on the shaft, remembering to put the boot and the cage on the shaft first (the cage goes with the wider part facing the end of the shaft). I filled the holes in the cage with grease, so the balls would stick in place. Then I pushed the shaft with joint fitted back into the 'bucket', remembering to refit the shiny ring to keep the joint together. I fitted the new boot with the outside of the job as clean as possible, and two more of those fiddly band clips. I resisted the temptation to use cable ties!

This method of assembling the joint on the car is easy for the right-side shaft, as you have good access. I think it is probably still best to remove the left-side joint from the differential.

I got the driveshafts into the hubs without difficulty (visually checking the alignment of the ABS sensor rings) and got the suspension nuts and bolts back in place. That's it for tonight - tomorrow I will remove the brake discs and wire-brush them, give them a coat of paint on the edges and centres, and refit the brakes with the new pads.

In the meantime I can sleep easy knowing that, for a total cost of $106 (US$58 ) I have two new CV joints and four new CV boots, with all joints regreased (and the transmission topped up to the correct level). Although, I'm still picking the grease and dirt from under my fingernails...

Cheers!
-Alex

[3sgte@daspeedof]

Good job, keep it up!

[hl2k3]

OLD THREAD REVIVAL!!!!!

I have a Outer CV joint to replace, where can I find a split boot? Napa sold me a solid boot, and I'm not sure I wanna go through the motions after reading this.

Also if I get a split boot do I need to take everything off?

[Pineapple]

You don't need to remove the axle. You'll need to remove the inner boot and pull the bearings out. The clip is a pain and you need to hammer around the bearing slowly to get it out.
You can get universal split boot from Crappy Tire. Universal boots work in inner also but you'll need to cut and reuse the part with the 3 lube. You can't buy aftermarket inner boot.


Done it a few weeks ago. Changing both inner and outer boots.