CV joint boot failure

[jseabolt]

I was coming home one night and smelled this rancid gear oil smell when I pulled into my driveway to stop and get the mail.









I was towing a lawnmower on a 4X8 trailer at the time. I did not over exceed the weight limit nor was the rear end sagging. I'm not sure if it's just time for stuff to start breaking down like my Jeep Wrangler did now the car has 60,000 miles on it and is almost eight years old.

Anyone else have a CV joint boot failure at 60K miles? The outer joint boot looked fine. I figured those were more likely to fail than the inner boots. I will say it was much easier to pull the axles than on my 87 Yugo. One of the hardest parts was driving the pin out that holds the joint to the splined end coming out of the transmission.

It was a $15 fix but required about 6 hours to fix. The Chilton's manual was a great help. I'd invest in one if you plan on doing any work on your car.

[Buck Rogers]

Mine went last summer, 67K on the clock. I was on the interstate when it let go, all that grease hit the cat and threw up quite a cloud of smoke I did the same as you , cleaned it good and put a replacement boot on, almost 87K miles and no problems.

Buck

[corgimas]

56k and mine was just done........no worries since then

[jaxed]

40k and I had boot failures! Sucks.

[corgimas]

and a month later i had to have my replacement replaced....argh..but all good now....

[twheats1]

1 year later and the left front boot just split. This could get old quickly!

[mikey]

40k miles and mine just failed.
I'm in the middle of fixing it. All the bolts are off, but I can't get the bottom suspension link to drop off the hub.
Has anyone else had that problem or know the trick to getting that thing loose?

-thanks

[Ahzlon]

What i used to do on the WRX's is I have a California toothpick that i would put up near the ball joint and the other end up under part of the crossmember. and give a good bounce down. always worked for me.. or if you have an airhammer you can use that to smack the a-arm down. Wear ear muffs when u do this. It's not a quiet process

[Buck Rogers]

Well, it might be the hard way, but I take the caliper off, wire it to the strut spring with stiff wire, remove the disk, and the two lower strut bolts. Mark the lower strut bolt position, as the lower one adjusts the camber. This is assuming that the axle nut is already removed. You should be able to lower the a-frame enough to get the axle out. Don't forget the roll pin on the tranny end (non turbo only) Someone suggested separating the ball joint instead of removing the lower strut bolts, I tried it once and ruined the ball joint , they are a PITA, I'd rather remove the strut bolts and take the chance that I might need a lineup.

PS, If you've done this and it still won't budge, get a bigger hammer

[WillGT]

i just noticed today that mine is completely split as well on the passenger side. boot slides around easily.
is it easier to replace the boot itself or replacing the whole axle. I know the boots cost around $15 while a reman axle cost about $60, and if I were to take it to a shop to do the work I can only imagine the labor costs

[Buck Rogers]

You have to take the whole shaft out either way, its just extra time to replace the boot after you've removed the shaft. The inner boot is easier to replace the the outer boot FTR.