StratfordShark

Had a frustrating time today reassembling drive shaft, having removed it when I spotted torn outer boot during another project.

I'd cleaned out the old grease thoroughly in the joint, so started to pack in the new grease that came in the GKN kit. I plugged the outer hole in axle and the vacuum/sucking trick for getting the new grease into the joint worked like a charm.

Popped the new outer boot over the inner end of the shaft. It was tough at first getting the small end to move down the splines, but I tried Dwayne's plastic bag trick to ease it down and again this worked beautifully.

So when I get the wide end down to the flange I notice couple of things. The wide end of the new boot looks really hard to move over the flange - seems to be about the same diameter. But what horrifies me is I see loads of dirty flakes in the nice new grease in the joint!

I hadn't realised that pulling the boot down the shaft would dislodge a load of rusty flakes from old paint on te shaft right down into the joint. I immediately pull the boot back off the shaft and start cleaning out all the new grease so there's no chance of leaving dirt in the joint. Very frustrating to be moving backwards!

So immediate next move is I'm going to brush all the rusty flakes off the shaft and repaint it, before repacking the grease and installing the boot.

But what's the trick to getting the boot over the flange at the outer joint? I was too upset to see dirt in the new grease to experiment, but I would like to be armed with tip for getting boot onto flange when I repeat all the work!

Thanks in advance

mkriete

Stretching the boot over the flange is not an easy job. I started one side and used a plastic trim panel removal tool wedged under the boot, working around the circumference of the flange until the boot was set. I found it also helped to compress the boot and pull with my thumb on the inside. I'm sure others will have better advice.

FredR

Adrian,

I do not recall any particular issues getting the new boots back on, just push the boot well down the shaft and then ensure the large end is seated correctly before crimping the new retaining band.

Rgds

Fred

StratfordShark

Thanks Fred. I was so mortified to contaminate the joint that I hardly tried with the boot, as I knew I had to clean out the grease and repaint shaft before giving it another go. I'll have a "dry run" when it's painted and before packing in grease to see how it goes. I can imagine that just pushing down and compressing the boot could see it seated correctly. I'll take up cudgels again next weekend!

StratfordShark

I returned to this job this weekend, and I'm having a dry run at it before putting grease in the joint.

You should see in the photos that the boot diameter is the same as the flange at the outer end, so I'm still stuck for how you get the boot to go over the flange and seat correctly. There must be some trick to this that I'm missing!

The boot is in the GKN Lobro kit. Is it possible that the Porsche boot is slightly wider? But others seem to be using the GKN Lobro part without problems. It's very frustrating as seems such a simple task!

Grateful for any advice,

Adrian

FredR

Adrian,

As I advised earlier I did not have any issues getting the boot over the holder it sits on. The kit I used came from Roger but no idea where he gets his from or what make they are.

As I remember the small end sits in a locating recess on the shaft and the boot should have some compression when it seats correctly. If you are struggling to get the boot to seat perhaps you can lubricate the rubber [or the steel surface] and use something blunt like a lollypop stick to help get the boot to roll over the lip and thus correctly seated in place. I take it you are holding the shaft in a vice or something so that the joint is fully compressed as it were.

Apologies that I cannot offer anything more specific.

Regards

Fred

StratfordShark

Thanks Fred yes the shaft is clamped so joint is fully compressed and smaller end sitting in locating well. I'm trying to go round with trim tool to roll the other end onto the flange, but it just keeps coming away on the side I'm not stretching! I'll keep trying...

StratfordShark

Done it now thanks Fred! I was just being too timid with how much I stretched the thing and pushed over the flange, and my big error was not making sure the boot lip was sitting on its well before stretching the other side. Now I've taken it off and will repack with grease for the real thing.

Adk46

I don't recall anything beyond the usual challenge of fitting tight rubber things on metal parts, like tires on wheels, grommets into holes, gaskets around windshields, etc. You'll need to strategically employ strong fingers and other body parts, grease and whatever implements you can find to act like tire irons.

At least, I didn't mention it in a thread I had on my own difficulties: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...tough-nut.html .

The best clamps require crimping, best done with the right tool that simultaneously crimps and flattens the "loop" part. I was lucky to find someone who owned one. There are stories of clamps that have gone awry, so I thought it was worth doing right.

You'll get there.

StratfordShark

Curt I have the correct clamp pliers from when I did the tensioner boot. I haven't checked that the jaws are wide enough for the cv clamp, but if not I will get/borrow the correct tool for the job, thanks.