I found some good information on cv boot replacment by searching,
but found no really good step by step instructions.
Here is my attempt on a how to.
Tools/Materials:
-CV boot kit (Contains new boot, grease,
metal bands for the boot)
-Socket wrench
-32 mm deep socket (It must be deep, the regular one will not fit)
-Half inch breaker bar with cheater bar, or an airgun
-13/16' for lug nuts
-17 mm socket and box wrench.
-Flathead screwdriver
-hammer
-Vice or something similar, with soft grips (a rag will work).
-Lots of paper towels
-Latex gloves
-C clip pliers (maybe)
-Pliers for cv boot metal bands.
-Torque wrench
Note, There are apparently two types of axles.
There is one here:
http://www.g20.net/forum/showthread....threadid=13765
Thats not the one on my car.
My torn boot
1. Jack up the front of the car, or the side you'll be working on.
Use jackstands for safety. Remove the wheel.
2. Remove the 32 mm axle nut. It will be on there good. It's
torqued down to 145-203 foot pounds of torque. An air gun is best,
but if you don't have one, a breaker bar with a pipe on the end will
work.
3. Remove the two 17 mm bolts on the torque member and move the
caliper to the side. Do not hang it by the brake line, and dont
disconnect it unless you want to bleed it. The torque member bolts
are behind the rotor. Pull the rotor off and place it to the side. I
don't think you have to remove the brakes, but its easy and gives you
room to work.
4. Remove the two 17 mm bolts that attatch the bottom of the strut to
the knuckle. At this point, you want to be sure that the axles does
not pull out of the tranny. I used a jackstand to support it.
One bolt removed:
5. With the hub free from the strut, you will be able to move it
around, and be able to push the axle out of it. You may need a
hammer. As always, when using the hammer, be careful not to damagae
anything. Again, be careful the axle doesnt pull out of the tranny.
Axle removed from hub:
6. Remove the metal bands holding the boot to the CV joint. There
are two, one on the big end, one on the small. use a screw driver to
put it under the end of the band, and hit it with a hammer. That
should free it. Pull the boot back from the large end. If it makes
it easier, you can go ahead and cut the boot off, or just leave it
there. This part is where it really starts to get messy. There will
be alot of grease.
7. Now you need to remove the CV joint from the axle.
Hit the large lip of the CV joint casing out towards the wheel,
while being careful not to pull the axle from the tranny.
Also, be careful not to damage the CV joint.
With a few hits it will slide off.
If you havnt already, remove the old cv boot.
(Note: I'm not sure if the joint is supposed to come out
without the removal of a c clip. There was no c clip on mine,
so I didnt worry about it. No problems so far)
CV joint removed:
8. At this point, you can either put the new boot on, or dissasemble the cv joint and clean it. Its up to you. If you dont want to dissasemble it, skip these steps.
9. Put the joint in a vice using something to pad it and prevent damage. You need to remove the six ball bearings. Do this by hitting the cage (what the ball bearings are held in by) with a soft driver opposite the ball bearing you want to remove. I used the handle end of an old screwdriver for this. The ball will be high enough now to remove. You may need to gently pry it out. Remove all six one at a time.
Removing ball bearings:
10. After all six are removed, you can remove the inner race by rotating it and aligning it with the cage window that is slightly larger than the others. Then you can removed the cage by rotating it as well. Its hard to describe, but once you figure this out it will be easy. Clean all of hte parts, and reinstall. Grease up the ball bearings liberally when you reinstall them.
Nice and clean:
Note: I had alot of problems at this point. Everything didnt want to go back together smoothly. First, make sure you put the inner race in the same direction it came out. I had everything installed the way it was, and it was very hard to move when I got it back together. I thought maybe the bearings should have gone back in the same slot they came out of. Of coures I didnt mark what came from where. Well, it eventually worked out. I just stuck a pipe in the cv joint and moved it around for about 20 seconds. I guess everything seated up right after that and it moved just fine after that.
Here you can see damage to the casing. This isnt the first time the boot has ripped. It has ripped at least 2 or 3 times in the time I've had the car (second owner). We will see how long this joint lasts.
11. Fill the CV joint with suppplied grease. I used the majority of the grease doing that.
Reassembled:
12. Slide the new cv boot onto the axle. Slide or hammer the cv joint onto the axle. Make sure it doesnt go to far in or it wont be able to move. If you have c clips, make sure they get installed. Squirt the rest of the supplied grease into the cv boot.
13. Slide the boot onto the joint, and install the metal bands on each end. Use the special pliers to crimp them on tight.
Note: My cv boot came with the wrong medal band. It's size was a 92 instead of a 98. Check this before you start working.
14. Reinstall everything now. Reconnect the bottom of the strut to the knuckle, put your brakes back on, and put the axle nut on. Torque it down to 145-203 foot pounds of torque.
Thats pretty much it as I remember it. This was my first time doing this. If any of that info is wrong, please correct it. Also, if anyone can shed some light onto the different types of axles and use of c clips that would be great!!! If the pictures don't work, thats because photodump sucks.
-Mike
