Torn CV joint boot questions.....

This exact thing happened to me. DO NOT put it off. one week after i noticed it, it started to make noise, soon after, there was a ton of vibration. I would definatly replace the entire axle. Especialy if its the original or close to it. I got my new one at pep-boys, they had a 50$ core trade in. It wasnt all that much, about 100$ in the end. Its good insurance. I wouldnt go refurb because its not all that much less and it is always nice to konw somethings brand new, expecially as important as an axle. thats my cent-and-a-half.

Replacing the whole axle is also a lot easier than replacing a boot...and once a boot is torn, you really have no way of knowing if the CV joint is compromised or not.

Here's what I did (and few care) recently on my winter car (91 automatic trans dx CRX, bla, bla, bla):

We eat lots of broccoli and I save the rubber bands from each time I buy it. Then, I went to the scuba diving store and got tubes of wet-suit repair glue (neoprene cement). Then I "went to town" with the CV boot repair. As you might imagine, I cut the bands, gooped-up and wrapped the damaged boots with it. Messy but effective. No leaks yet. Clean the boot as much as possible (gently!) before the repair. (This won't work if you let it go too far and the boot is actually split with the grease leaking out.)

Try it. :idea:

Interesting repair job, Longrex. You're like my boss, he makes custom repairs a lot, rather than just swapping parts.

My .02

If you've just noticed that the boot is torn and it looks like the tear is fresh.You may be lucky and can get away with a boot replacement.
Honestly replacing a cv boot isnt that bad if your handy with some tools.
I guess I'd have to weigh the cost of a replacement axle against the cost of a boot kit and the aggrevation.
If you dont mind spending a saturday afternoon doing the job why not?
I think it would be cheaper to do the boot kit,but If you can find a deal on a whole axle for cheap thats the "easier way out".
Last I checked a boot kit was $18-$20 as the replacement axle being somewhere round $125.So weigh your options and do what fits for your budget.

I did just a boot replacement on my old 96 cavalier. A friend of mine that worked at a parts store showed me a universal type boot. It came in different sizes, but the cool thing was the boot had a split down the side so you could install while the axle was still in the car.

You get under the car, put it on. Then pack it with grease. Last step is just put on the supplied bands and your good to go. worked great for me, until the car was in its 3rd major accident ( insurance kept fixing it :roll: ) when it was finally totalled.

I'm going to just replace the whole axle. Disassembling the entire entire axle to replace the boot doesn't sound worth it (when most likely it will fail prematurely anyway from contaminated grease). Couple more questions - Autozone axles (my car has the stock NA D16)? Or Raxles (what are their prices like?)

Autozone axles should be just fine.
Whats "Raxles"? :?

ollie said:

Whats "Raxles"? :?

Click to expand...

http://www.raxles.com/

They make high quality replacement axles. People swear by them but they are pricey though.........

Good call on replacing the whole axle. For the price of a reman, it's well worth not getting all greasy. Not only that, you have to know exactly where and how to hit the cv joint to separate it. Not only that, you will need a special clamping tool just so you can break the bands and have to run out and buy new ones from the parts store. Not only that there's a C-clip that has to seat fully, and sometimes it's hard to tell, or your axle will separate while the car is moving.

I'd rather replace the whole axle. But sometimes money is an issue, eh? But really, $65.00 for the whole part isn't too bad (been there done that and will do it again). Still cheaper to fix it with the rubberbandy method, though...

What evar it takes!