Amber Gramps

Can I replace just the outer CV boot, or do I have to replace the entire axel. one book says yes and the other says no. even the performance products catalog isn't clear. my passenger side looks to have been done some time back. 60,000 miles on odometer if it makes a difference. I discovered it while looking at something else...

please include all jokes, and funny comments, I can take it....

theiceman

You can change whatever you want. I would clean and repack both sides personally. It depends on your year of car though , some have a non rebuildable inner and it is sealed. Mine isn't.

Amber Gramps

ice, that took 12 minutes.....man you are getting slow....I figured i could do it out of the 101 projects book, but bentley said inners or the whole thing only. any chance your gonna be around here anytime soon?

slapshot1997

If it appears to have been leaking for a long period of time, or the CV joint appears to be dry (little or no grease left on the joint itself) I would suggest replacing it. I've never been a big fan of just replacing the joint, but since entire axle / joint assemblies are not cheap it may be worth considering. If it looks like it just started to leak grease, re packing it and replacing the boot may be the way to go.

slapshot1997

If it appears to have been leaking for a long period of time, or the CV joint appears to be dry (little or no grease left on the joint itself) I would suggest replacing it. I've never been a big fan of just replacing the joint, but since entire axle / joint assemblies are not cheap it may be worth considering. If it looks like it just started to leak grease, re packing it and replacing the boot may be the way to go.

theiceman

come on that's an easy one.

Take off the whole axle if you can. then size it up . Someone just did this. see if you have 6 bolts on the inner and 6 on the outer, or iff oyu just undo 6 on the inner and have nothing on the outer. This means you will have to take off the entire stub axle and the big *** nut holding it on to the hub. ( this is the one where I put the wrench on it and backed up the car. ) If you have PET it should tell you.

if it is the one with the sealed outer i believe you are pretty well screwed and must replace the axle .

I wish the guy who just finshed this could chime in. I think he had the same car as you .

mo_gearhead

Just did mine recently, but my car is early (1969). Did they change them and at what year?
Did use a hyd. "press" to remove them from the axle, but a very easy fix on my car.

ruckmjr

When I did mine (88) one side could be replaced and the other not. It was going to work out to about the same price anyway, so replaced the whole axle.

KC911

You (or the books) are confusing the CV "boot" with the CV "joint". On all years, the boots are replacable, but on the G50 half axles, to replace a boot on the outer CV, you must remove the inner CV joint (and boot), and slide the boot down the half axle. On the G50s, the inner CV "joint" is replacable, but the outer CV joint is fixed on the half axle, thus causing the above confusion. It's a messy job, but I wouldn't replace the half-axle, or CV joints due to a torn boot, unless the joints actually needed it. When I purchased my car (at 46K miles), one of the outer boots had a slight tear, so this was one of my first projects. I cleaned and repacked all 4 CV joints (replacing all 4 boots), and all 4 of my CV joints still looked brand new...it would have been fooli$h to replace them imo. Now if I had a car with say 120K miles on her, I'd probably think twice about it. Hope this helps...

Keith
'88 CE coupe

Amber Gramps

thanks guys, looks like another excuse to go out to performance products.

theiceman

Well I think Keith nailed it .

I did mine at 173,000 and replaced all 4 joints and boots ( i have the eary one also ) an easy process but very messy .. as in throw away the clothes when your done messy and use gloves.

PS one hint for those first timers. When you wipe off all the grease it will be pretty clean. Then use soap and water ( dawn or another dish soap ) to do the final cleaning. DO NOT use solvents. Solvent traces can react with your new grease and break it down quickly. Also mak sure you use only one type of grease , do NOT mix greases as again the reaction can cause a breakdown of grease. Lastly retorque bolts after 5,000 miles or so , and itf you find any loose, retorque again after another 5,000 to be sure .

Amber Gramps

well I did it. what a job. took six hours. I had a heck of a time putting the CV joint back together and then realized the inner part was wrong after i tried to put the clip back on....started over and got it together and then no tork wrench. so for a $17.00 boot I'm in for two boots at 2x$17, they got me for the crimper for about $20.00, $5.00 for a new 8mm socket, a roll of paper towels, and the part that hurts, the $75.00 tork wrench.

after the kind words I read in peter's book about my '88 carrera, it wasn't such a bad time.

and my constant heat problem should be solved when I crawl back under her and install the $2.50 springs I picked up at orchard supply.

theiceman

Great work Doug. Your torque wrench will find many uses so it was a good investment...

Amber Gramps

am I after the 60 foot pounds of torque for the g50? I am always confused.

Amber Gramps

101 projects said 30 ft pounds so i went to 35 'cause wasn't good for me. did the 110 mile per hour onramp test and lived so it must be ok. I'll check it again after its next drive.