aggravation

I don't see any gaskets in the kits but I thought I saw them in a write up of how to do the job.
I just looked for that write up but don't remember who's it was and now I'm only finding instructions that don't mention the gaskets.
Do some people replace the boots without disassembling the joint? (is that even possible?) and is that why I'm not seeing the mention of gaskets in some of the write ups.

My boots are torn but there is still a good bit of grease in the joints, should I completely disassemble them anyway or is it a waste of time?
1988 5 speed by the way.

byrdman454

The gaskets are only required for '77-85. These went between the differential and the CV.

This is a very messy job, but I would go ahead and clean that old grease out. It is probably 20 years old and if the boot has been ripped in may have gotten some water in there. It is also a good chance to check the heath of the joints.

UKKid35

If you remove both axles at the same time swap them over to extend CV life. Unfortunately I didn't so I missed that trick.

jpitman2

When replacing joint up to diff, tie the boot plate to the joint with wire or cable tie to stabilize it, else it can flop over and get jammed at an angle , so you have to start over again. There are two different boots around - early with small inside ridge, late with large ridge - where the boot goes over the plate lip.
jp 83 Euro S AT 50k, BTDT