CV Boot and Cable Ties (Plastic or Stainless)

[rdweninger]

Hello All,

  So I have pulled the front axle and bearing housing in order to rebuilt the front steering/suspension.

I cleaned and re-booted the DOJ and CVJ.  However, the clamps that came in the boot kit are different with each kit.  One has 'ears' and you buy a tool to squeeze the ears together.  Well... that did not work !

The other boot has a slip in groove and the steel cable appears to have enough length to go thru the groove twice.   Now what ?   Try to pull it tight and then bend it 180 degrees back over itself?  What ever!

  I'm going with the heavy duty plastic zip tie.... like Loyale 2.7 did.   How do I pull that zip tie tight enough to ensure I have a good clamp?   I did it by hand... trying to hold the square end (the locker end) with a pliers.  I got it as tight as I could... but is there a better way or a tool to tighten it?

  Or is hand tightening 'good enough' ?

[987687]

I grab the "tail" of the zip tie with a pair of pliers and just yank it sideways good and hard. That's always been good enough for me. As long as you get it tight enough so the boot doesn't slide around or whatever, you're good.

By hand would probably work, but my hands are always too covered in grease to get a grip on anything by the time I'm installing boots.

[idosubaru]

indeed, the grease kills this job.  slipping doesn't make good tighenting.

 

the smooth metal style isn't too hard to do without the tool - use a flatbladed screwdriver turned on edge up against the two ears that stick up to prevent rotation while you pull.  again - less grease the better (none ideally).  then pull the band tight with pliers and pull it back on itself and clamp the ears over top when it's tight enough. 

 

if you have two people it's a cinch- one to hold the screw driver and the other to pull. 

 

can't be dainty with it, that's for sure, but it's easily done.

[987687]

^ Yea, in a pinch, I've reused both kinds of band clamps. With a good pair of vice grips and a pair of pliers you can do it without too much trouble. Ideally I just use zip ties, though.

[crazyhorse001]

To get a zip tie REALLY tight, grab the small end with some needle nose pliers. Roll it around them, until you think its gonna break. It takes some practice to find the breaking point, but without buying a zip tie tool (yes, they make those lol) its about as tight as youre gonna get it with one person.

[mikaleda]

I tried reusing the metal band on a c.v. The other day and I finally got frustrated and used bailing wire doubled up, it took two tries, but so far it's holding good

[crazyhorse001]

I tried reusing the metal band on a c.v. The other day and I finally got frustrated and used bailing wire doubled up, it took two tries, but so far it's holding good

Now THAT'S a true Subie lover! LOL

[El Presidente]

I tried reusing the metal band on a c.v. The other day and I finally got frustrated and used bailing wire doubled up, it took two tries, but so far it's holding good

 

I've done this and it works well, but I recommend using stainless wire instead of bailing wire which will rust quickly. Stainless wire can be salvaged from old crab pots or even some stainless .045 mig wire works well. Just a double wrap, twist it together and clip it.

 

Josh

[idosubaru]

I've done this and it works well, but I recommend using stainless wire instead of bailing wire which will rust quickly. Stainless wire can be salvaged from old crab pots or even some stainless .045 mig wire works well. Just a double wrap, twist it together and clip it.

 

Josh

no way!  that's awesome.

 

mig - like welding wire?  i've got spools of that...for a CV axle...wow!

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

... I'm going with the heavy duty plastic zip tie.... like Loyale 2.7 did.   ...

 

Yes, as you can see : ~► Here.

 

 

 

...   How do I pull that zip tie tight enough to ensure I have a good clamp? ...

 

 

Well, I pull the Zip Ties with Clamps, while hold the Square with a flat Screwdriver tip.

 

Kind Regards.

[rdweninger]

  Thank you all for sharing your experiences and expertise.  I feel alot better now... knowing that I'm not alone on the zip-tie team.   I have the zips as tight as I can get them (with the screwdriver/pliers).... Ahhhh... greasy... slip off.... STAB myself.

   I'll grab a needlenose and see if I can get them a little tighter.    I wish there was a source for 1/4" x 4" worm drive clamps.   Alliance-Express.com has 5/16"  but their web site blew me off and they don't answer their phone at 2 pm.

[987687]

Yea, stainless bailing wire works awesome for CV axles, and anything else. I keep a roll in my car. I've used it for all kinds of redneck repairs.

[mikaleda]

I've done this and it works well, but I recommend using stainless wire instead of bailing wire which will rust quickly. Stainless wire can be salvaged from old crab pots or even some stainless .045 mig wire works well. Just a double wrap, twist it together and clip it.

 

Josh

Yea, stainless bailing wire works awesome for CV axles, and anything else. I keep a roll in my car. I've used it for all kinds of redneck repairs.

I like this idea, bailing wire is always in both of my cars, there always a use for it. It looks like I'm going to be getting a couple rolls of this

[crazyhorse001]

  Thank you all for sharing your experiences and expertise.  I feel alot better now... knowing that I'm not alone on the zip-tie team.   I have the zips as tight as I can get them (with the screwdriver/pliers).... Ahhhh... greasy... slip off.... STAB myself.

   I'll grab a needlenose and see if I can get them a little tighter.    I wish there was a source for 1/4" x 4" worm drive clamps.   Alliance-Express.com has 5/16"  but their web site blew me off and they don't answer their phone at 2 pm.

I'd be wary of a worm clamp on an axle. I'd think you'd end up with balance issues that would drastically shorten the live of the CV's

[idosubaru]

I'd be wary of a worm clamp on an axle. I'd think you'd end up with balance issues that would drastically shorten the live of the CV's

no worries, it's been done before. it is interesting that it doesn't matter...they have to balance driveshafts sometimes...whey not CV's?

 

in any event it doesn't matter on Subaru CV axles...CV clamps are "unbalanced" too and the snap rings inside are not evenly distributed in weight either. if weight were an issue then there would be cases where the snap rings and cv band clamps lining up or not lining up caused issues, but the differences are miniscule. if it mattered you'd have to clean all the grease/grime off the axles and boots to make sure it wasn't imbalanced due to uneven weight distribution ruining the axles.  nearly all my axles have many inches of thick grease over the cups, axles, etc and it's not even.  technically you could get "more" accurate balancing with a worm clamp than a CV clamp if you used two and space the head sides out evenly LOL...but again, it doesn't matter.

Edited May 8, 2013 by grossgary

[987687]

You also have to realize that a driveshaft is spinning about 4x faster than an axle, so balance is much more important.

[mikaleda]

Drive lines that need balancing have usually been cut, re welded. The screw and hosing on a worm clamp weigh almost nothing and wouldn't throw the balance off that much compared to an unbalanced driveline.