CV boot/ gaiter - easy way of changing???

[retrogeezer]

Just noticed one of the outer boots has split on the 323 - I don't really want to go down the route of dismantling the driveshaft/hub assembly etc so wondered if these were any good?

Or just use the glue yourself type?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UNIVERSAL-CV-JOIN ... 7C294%3A50

[Richard]

Unless the glue type have improved in the past few years they are shit.The cone type is good for cars where the driveshaft doesn't split but I'm not sure they save you much work on a conventional shaft.

[autohausdolby]

They're only really designed to last the journey to the test station, but that may be all you require

[AXrescuer]

Just noticed one of the outer boots has split on the 323 - I don't really want to go down the route of dismantling the driveshaft/hub assembly etc so wondered if these were any good?Or just use the glue yourself type?http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UNIVERSAL-CV-JOIN ... 7C294%3A50

How do these work then? Surely you still need to pull one end of the driveshaft out?

[retrogeezer]

yeh, I couldn't work that out either - the cone doesn't look very big does it!*edit* Just realised theres a video and you still need to take the hub apart.Has anyone had any success with the glued split type boots?

[Richard]

The glued ones tend to be too short and come off at the first corner. It's also quite fiddly to do. Keeping the grease away from the glue and the glue away from your fingers isn't easy, especially when you are working under the car.TBH the job isn't that hard to do properly once you've resigned yourself to it. It should take a garage under an hour, so that might be the way to go if you can find one with reasonable rates.

[retrogeezer]

I don't really want to spend anymore money on the Mazda...it's MOT'd until next Jan but the windscreen has a crack in it so that's £50 excess, an MOT test will be another £50 plus whatever else may need doing and it's just not worth spending £50 on a CV boot change as the car is worth fook all anyway.I've got time to try a glued one - surely if you put the boot around the driveshaft further up and glue it all before touching any grease you can then let it dry properly and then just slide it down the driveshaft to where it should be?How long is the CV joint likely to last if I just leave it?

[gtd2000]

I used the glue type on my mums old Mazda 121 "bubble" the glue worked perfectly to be fair - the problem that I had was that the supplied clips were shite and came off!The mechanic at the MOT place spotted this during the restest and put new clips on both sides for a fiver which wasn't shabby.As far as I'm aware the glued ones are still complete but I gave the car away in the end to a mate last year.

[VWPowered]

When the cv boot used to go on my Golf years ago (always just before the MOT) I developed a very easy way to replace it.Step 1, Get new bootStep 2 Take Golf to local back-lane cash-in-hand mechanic.Step 3 Walk up to cash machine.Step 4 Walk back (if timing was right via chip-shop for a Clark's Pie)Step 5 Give mechanic the £10Job done til next MOT.

+1

[retrogeezer]

yeh, I'd be happy to pay someone a tenner to fit one - if I knew anyone that would!I asked in a small local garage the other day about welding a small plate on the Escort sill if it needs it and the bloke said: 'it's gonna £40 just to get it on the ramp and have look'

[gtd2000]

I've got time to try a glued one - surely if you put the boot around the driveshaft further up and glue it all before touching any grease you can then let it dry properly and then just slide it down the driveshaft to where it should be?

Thats pretty much how I did it - make sure the material does not get contaminated.I sourced mine from the local Halfrauds (£12.99 or so).I was working over in the US when I replaced the CV boot and it turned out that had I known the problem before I came back home, I could have actually bought a new complete driveshaft assembly (with exchange) for twice the price ($45) of the frigging boot kit in the UK

[Station]

It's never taken more than 1/2 an hour to get the boot on?I found out a tip for getting the cv joint off the driveshaft. Tie the other end of the driveshaft to a washing line, and as soon as the little clip in the joint is squeezed, the cv joint will fall off. I discovered this after trying for a whole hour with the clip. It came off in seconds!

[retrogeezer]

It's never taken more than 1/2 an hour to get the boot on?I found out a tip for getting the cv joint off the driveshaft. Tie the other end of the driveshaft to a washing line, and as soon as the little clip in the joint is squeezed, the cv joint will fall off. I discovered this after trying for a whole hour with the clip. It came off in seconds!

Yeh, but you need ball joint splitters and stuff don't you??Just bought a split one for £9.00 from the local factors...will have ago at it tomorrow. I've got loads of panel wipe and stuff so will make sure all is clean before glueing.Cheers for the replies.

[gtd2000]

I once did a driveshaft replacement on an '86 Hyundai Pony...Total time including washing hands....20 mins!No special tools at all - socket set, spanners, hammer and pliers and a standard scissor jack It would probably take me that long to get the wheel off and just loosen the strut nuts these days mind

[r.welfare]

I put a glue-on job on my 323 (same shape), quite straightforward due to the angle of the driveshaft. I then sold it and the guy who bought it from me put it through an MOT a couple of months later and there were no problems.

[AXrescuer]

It's never taken more than 1/2 an hour to get the boot on?I found out a tip for getting the cv joint off the driveshaft. Tie the other end of the driveshaft to a washing line, and as soon as the little clip in the joint is squeezed, the cv joint will fall off. I discovered this after trying for a whole hour with the clip. It came off in seconds!

Yeh, but you need ball joint splitters and stuff don't you??Just bought a split one for £9.00 from the local factors...will have ago at it tomorrow. I've got loads of panel wipe and stuff so will make sure all is clean before glueing.Cheers for the replies.

A tip before you start. Give the gaiter a wash in some soapy water to get rid of any existing grease/release agent. Let it dry overnight.

[retrogeezer]

I'll go and wash it now ready for the morning! Cheers.

[retrogeezer]

All seemed to go o.k with the glue-on boot apart from the supplied steel clips were junk so used plastic zip-ties. Time will tell on how long it holds up I guess.