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My 2010 C4S passenger side outer CV joint boot appears to have been leaking grease due to a loose oetiker clamp. I can easily spin the clamp around with my fingers, and the grease seems to have escaped just out that side of the CV axle (and sprayed around a bit). I thought I could pickup a Oetiker clamp tool and cinch it back up, but it looks fully crimped and it's just too big.
Anyone know if I can open up a new oetiker clamp and wrap it around then crimp so I don't have to pull the whole CV joint apart just to slide a clamp on?
Any tips welcome. Thx
Last edited by TheTorch; 01-20-2020 at 09:03 PM.
Reason: updated notes about existing clamp
(it looks like that may have been going on for a while)
Instead of simply fixing the clamp and calling it a day, it may be prudent to open it up and confirm there are no other issues, contaminants or gremlins lurking and then once everything checks out, lube her & seal her up.
(it looks like that may have been going on for a while)
Instead of simply fixing the clamp and calling it a day, it may be prudent to open it up and confirm there are no other issues, contaminants or gremlins lurking and then once everything checks out, lube her & seal her up.
good luck!
Is there an "easy" way to slide the boot to do that, or are we talking about pulling the whole joint apart? the outer clamp looks awfully hard to remove and replace in place, i mean without pulling the whole axle out.
Last edited by TheTorch; 01-20-2020 at 09:39 PM.
Reason: outer clamp detail
Is there an "easy" way to slide the boot to do that, or are we talking about pulling the whole joint apart? the outer clamp looks awfully hard to remove and replace in place, i mean without pulling the whole axle out.
sorry, I have never done this on a 997 so I don’t have first hand experience but, I would expect that disassembly would be required in order to perform the proper diagnosis & repair.
I can confirm that there is no way to do this properly without removing the entire axle. Very tricky job but, with some research, can be a DIY. If you decide to do it, let me know if you have any questions.
Feel the boot to see if there's much if any grease left. If there is and you just want to stop the slinging and see how long the joint will last before it needs replacement, put a regular stainless hose clamp around it and tighten it down. Then take a stainless steel wire tie and put that through the last slot of the hose clamp and back around the axle and cinch it tight, then cut off the leftover. This will keep that loose tail of the hose clamp tight against the axles so it doesn't contact anything. Put the hose clamp on so that when you consider the rotational direction of the axle, should the clamp contact anything it will fold down in the direction it's already curved, not fold backwards on itself. This would only happen if the stainless wire tie breaks, which it shouldn't since all its doing is holding down the tail of the hose clamp. If there not much grease left, either pull it apart and regress it, or before sealing it up you could get the grease gun nozzle inside the boot collar (if it will fit), add grease, then use the boot to work it back into the joint mechanism.
I did this exact repair on my 928 cv boot before as much grease was lost as you show in your photo - that was 2 years ago. My philosophy was that it's the same amount of work to remove it and fix it now vs removing it and fixing it after failure, with the only difference being the cost of the part, so why not see how long it lasts.
Petza914: That's what I am thinking. The boot was changed during a PPI last summer when I bought it so it was fully greased in August, and it's hardly seen a drop of rain in 5 months I've had it (doesn't rain much here in NorCal) and I doubt grit could get into the boot the way it was sealed with grease.
I am going to use a small syringe to get some CV grease back in there and hopefully close it up.
I have a couple OEM clamps on order and I suspect I can get one on properly if I open, wrap and crimp it. If that doesn't work i think a v-profile Oetiker with loctite might be better than a strap hose clamp.
Petza914: That's what I am thinking. The boot was changed during a PPI last summer when I bought it so it was fully greased in August, and it's hardly seen a drop of rain in 5 months I've had it (doesn't rain much here in NorCal) and I doubt grit could get into the boot the way it was sealed with grease.
I am going to use a small syringe to get some CV grease back in there and hopefully close it up.
I have a couple OEM clamps on order and I suspect I can get one on properly if I open, wrap and crimp it. If that doesn't work i think a v-profile Oetiker with loctite might be better than a strap hose clamp.
Yea, get some grease back in there, clamp it with whatever you think works best, and I think you'll be fine.
The doctor is in... Hopefully clamp it up tomorrow once the oetiker clamp arrives.
I see you have opted for the path of least resistance and you are handling it in a responsible manner not just a hack job. This will likely last for a long time. Just be vigilant for tell-tale signs of CV joint failure (that clicking noise at low speed during sharp turns). All the best!
Nice job... I was just mentioning in another thread that both my cv boots gave up the ghost within a few months of each other around 75k. Since you had new boots put on about a year ago then it looks like you are doing it right, saving them with new clamps and grease because they should last awhile.. Was only one side boot changed in your ppi ? You obviously keep an eye on it and caught it early, so good job. Both times my boots busted I noticed grease on the inside of the wheel rims immediately after it happened.
One boot was done, the other looks original (and tight), but I am keeping an eye on it. No noise whatsoever. Seeing grease inside the rim is a dead giveaway for sure.
The replacement clamp is not an oetiker / ear clamp, but a different kind of hose clamp. Just a PIA to try to set it in the tight space inside the wheel well. Might be easier to do if you have the axle on the bench, but man it's hard to set under the car.
Original has been superseded:
Orig: 996-349-257-03 (discontinued from Porsche, still available at Pelican, plus found some at Amazon 25.6mm Oetiker)
New: part number: 9P1-407-293 (this one is slightly mangled after 15 minutes of trying to lock in on)
Will try again tomorrow, plus ordered backup set of Oetikers from Amazon in case I can't get the second 9P1-407-293 to work in the limited space to secure it. An oetiker would be a lot easier to set. Unless there is some tool I don't know about for setting the new one?
Car is surprisingly rust-free despite having spent time in Canada with the PO, but while I was in there... the condition of the drop links and the support braces just bothered me, so I put in new drop links, new sway bar bushings / grease, and now awaiting new braces and bolts.
01-20-2020, 08:05 PM
Outer CV joint boot leaking
