Marty916

I apologize if this has been asked before but looking at the exploded view of the axle assembly in my service manual, it appears that the boot closest to the gearbox (inner) can be replaced without removing the entire axle assembly. Is this assumption correct or will I need to remove the axle completely? Car is an 87'Carrera. Thanks in advance!

theiceman

it is a bit akward but it probably can be done . Why not just remove the whole thing and work in comfort ?

old man neri

That's the way Ian (aka imacarther) did it. I think he has a write up. That is the way I am planning on replacing both. I just don't want to mess around with the axle nut, I heard it is torqued to a very high number and even though I have a massive air compressor and air tools I just don't want to mess with it.

rnln

I remove all the bolts, replaced the inner boot (at the tranny side). Than pull the outer boot (on the wheel side) back to the tranny end and put new boot in the same way. This way, I didn't have to mess with the big axle nut.
Remember to get some cornical washer for those bolts on the tranny end. This is what recommended by many people.

imcarthur

Since Matt mentioned my name in vain . . .

Yes. You can replace them without complete removal. Not hard but grease & access are your enemies. See CV Boot Replacement.

I re-used all hdwe & did not get the schnor washers. They are not stock on the G50 & I couldn't find any locally anyway. Check your tightness at regular intervals - this is one thing that should be added to the regular maintenance schedule.

I have an outer one to do on the other side when I retreive my car from storage.

Ian

MDL

Sooner or later you will have to replace the outer, but you do not need massive air tools or massive compresser. You do however need a massive torque wrench with a multiplier. I borrowed this one from a friend who owns a lot of heavy equipment. It really is not hard to do IF you can get your hands on the right tools.

LUCKe27

I admire you guys and gals that can do this stuff. I don't have the time or the tools right now; so, I am going to have to get a quote from some local Porsche mechanics. What do you think is a fair price to pay for parts & labor on this job? I doubt I'll replace the axle ... just new boots and repack with grease. Thx.

Marty916

Thanks much folks. My local shop quoted around $200 to replace the boots. Not all that much in the overall scheme of things but I thought I'd give it go myself. As some of you have mentioned, the axle nut was my main cause for concern due to lack of the appropriate tools. Replacment from the opposite side seemed like a possible solution but having a dissassembled vehicle and then finding out your method won't work is not much fun.

theiceman

When I had to get the axle nut off my audi i just put the bigass wrench on the nut , rested it against the ground and got in and backed up the car ..

MDL

Wow! I wish I would have thought of that.

theiceman

the funny thing was the car raised slgthly, there was a big bang and i took it off with my fingers ,, it was rather warm however :-)

Ian Ledger

The nut is easy to remove with a 3/4 inch wrench and a scaffold pole as extension.
Ian

theiceman

now THAt is leverage .... a 14 ft breaker bar :-)

rnln

If you only need to replace one or 2 boots (even 4), for $200 bucks, I would suggest you to try the method I used above. You have to get under the car but it worth it. Actually, I did brought my car to the shop and used this method, and it worked.

Marty916

Thanks much! I'll give it a shot and see what happens. It's guys like me that cause god to create tow trucks.