Is there any way I can temporarily fix a CV joint boot?

[markjs]

I got one thats split but the joint barely clicks at all (almost inperceptable and only when it's under extreme stress). Trouble is I drive 50-100 miles a night for my job and some of it is on dirt and gravel roads. I have mentioned this in another thread but it seemed appropriate to make a new one for this specific question. Basically my problem is that my payday is around the 7th of next month and I can't afford anything fix wise til then. I have a backup car for work but it's a last resort only proposition. It seems I could get a new boot, but then doing that is nearly as much trouble as just replacing the axle isn't it?

[Gravityman]

Well a temporary fix for the boot would be to replace it and then later that new one would go bad. Its always a temporaty fix. HEHE just kidding. Well Im in the military and our quick fix is usually ducktape, never tried this on a boot, but as long as you can keep debris from getting into the boot and keep the tape sticking to the axle it might work. But it sounds like you are putting a lot of miles and hard driving on the bad boot and if you keep it up you are looking at $150 dollar repair instead of a $10 repair(thats if you do the repair yourself), if its not already bad. Boots are pretty easy to change as long as you have the tools to change it with. If not I would just wait to drive it until you have the means to repair it. This should save you and your wallet.

[subyrally]

get a split boot, you dont have to take the axel out to install it. i sell em at the advance auto parts store i work in. they are also rather cheap, at like $11 each.

[azsubaru]

Not a recommendation, just a similar situation, for what it's worth - I once drove my Loyale for over 6 months with a clicking axle, at Interstate speeds as well as over the back (dirt) roads of Arizona. It eventually failed completely, but only after lots of warning noises that got progressively louder and nastier sounding over the last couple weeks.

[wintersubaru]

Drove with bad boot on arizona dust roads for months with bad boot and the drove all the way to pennsylvania (2800 miles and the drove for another 6 months before i replced the axle!

[Humble Nuto 53]

waaaay back when stretchy wrap first came out, i had a roll maybe four inches wide... i was driving saab 99.... inner joint was clicking with ripped boot...

 

i used the stretchy wrap to cover the whole mess, turned the wheel backwards and pulled the wrap fairly tight... went over it several times.

 

lasted all winter that way.

those CV joints will usually make months of racket before they give up completely.

[TROGDOR!]

I had one that was busted open but not clicking, and I didn't know about it. Took it offroading in the sand in Jersey all day and got it packed totally full of sand and grit. It made all kinds of horrible noise and actually smelled when it got hot. But, it still made the 350 mile drive home, plus 100 mile round trip to the junkyard for a new axle and probably another 100 miles around town.

 

Another quick fix is to wrap a heavy duty garbage bag around the boot, and duct tape around the ends- at the axle cup and a bit on the axle shaft.

[mattyg41383]

you could probably get away with using some automotive silicone on it to seal up the split. Or at least keep some of the road grime out of it.

[MorganM]

temp fix for CV/DOJ boot = duct tape. clear away as mucn grease and grime on the outside of the boot as possible and wrap it on in excess. last time I did this I put dang near 1,000 miles on it that weekend. quite a few miles offroading in that span.

[subarubuddy]

when i got my 91 loyale the CV joints on both axles had been clicking for almost a year. the people i got it from were getting ready to junk it and didn't want to put money into it,then they stopped driving it and it sat for almost 2 years. then they offered it to me for free if i wanted to fix it. the axles clicked nearly all the time even if you were just going around a corner on a road at like 30 or 40 mph. i replaced them right away when i started driving the car. anyway my point is this: they probably won't fail soon.. so save your money for now but replace them as soon as you can.

[sirtokesalot]

ive had a piece of contractor bag wrapped around mine with zip ties holding it on since last year. my boot was missing completely when i bought the car and it was clicking intermittently then i wrapped the contractor bag around it zip tied the one end loaded it with grease wrapped it around the Axel squeezing the grease closer to the cv then more zip ties to hold it all in place. it still clicks sometimes but the bag is still holding and definitely does not click as bad as it did when i got the car.

 

 

 lol was googling how many people tried this witch is how i got here and did not notice this post was so old when i posted.

Edited November 26, 2015 by sirtokesalot

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

What is a Contractor Bag?  

 

Do you have photos of it and of your install to share with us?

 

Kind Regards.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Loyale 2.7 Turbo

[Crazyeights]

What is a Contractor Bag?  

 

Do you have photos of it and of your install to share with us?

 

Kind Regards.

It's a heavy duty commercial grade garbage bag commonly used for construction cleanup, hense the name.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Crazyeights

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

It's a heavy duty commercial grade garbage bag commonly used for construction cleanup, hense the name.

 

Thanks for the Answer... I didn't know about that, under such name.

 

---

 

I wrote some advice to keep longer the Life of C.V. Joints:

 

~► http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/114267-advice-for-longer-cv-joints-life/

 

However, it doesn't apply to not having a Boot installed...

 

Kind Regards.

[scoobiedubie]

Just replace the entire half axle.  Rebuilt cost about $50 and new cost about $75. It takes about 2 to 3 hours.

1.  While the wheel is still on the ground, you loosen the castle nut at the end of the axles, and then pound on the axle to free it up from the bearings.

2.  Chock the wheels, jack the car up, release the parking brake, and rotate the front wheel until you can remove the inside axle pin.  Be sure and mark the transmission end hole where the pin came out of with some whiteout, because the pin only goes back in that same end of the hole.  The interior half axle end holes are of different size so that the pin only goes through the larger hole.  The larger hole goes over the end of the axle hole that the pin just came out of.

3.  Remove the brake caliper assembly and pull it over the end of the half axle.

4.  Remove the half axle.

Reverse procedure to reinstall.

Make sure that you are not putting any dirt into the wheel bearings.

Add new grease to the wheel bearings where possible.

You will need a 36mm x 1/2" socket for the castle nut, a 2 foot x 1/2" breaker bar for the socket, a 5/32" diameter cold chisel, and hammer to pound out and reinstall the interior axle pin.  Piece of cake.

[rae houghton]

QUESTION...Just looked at my car with the intention to scavenge the axle from one car and put into another with 'shot' boots....on one side.

I notice that the exhaust assembly is make it a shade tricky.

 

so I will have to hammer out the roll pin from above as there is no access below.

When looking at the pin...I see they appear the same size . I rolled the car forward and the pin - hole looks the same .180 degrees further around.

But above I have read that it is important not to punch the pin from the bevelled side. They both look recessed to me....

not bevelled...but perhaps I need a bit of advice here. Any is welcomed.

Thanks

Rae

[rae houghton]

Someone suggested somewhere to use 'cling wrap or saran wrap" to keep the grease in a broken boot. I have tried that...first putting in some new molybideum grease and then wrapping with wrap. Worked pretty good so far...but I do worry that the wrap will melt as it is close to the exhaust assembly.

[BoostedBoxer421]

still be careful driving it in any case of clicking... ive had one click for 15k miles... and ive had one click for 2 days then just exploded metal and bearings in driveway

 

Rwd is fun thoughh HAHA

[DaveT]

The roll pins are straight pins, not tapered. Oem shafts have a chamfer around one of the holes, makes it a bit easier to start the pin in. I have seen some shafts that do not have the chamfer. The real difference is that due to the number of splines, one hole lines up with a tooth, the other with a valley, so the pin can only be inserted if the shaft is on in the single correct position. I've used a steel gutter nail with the point cut flat to remove the pins, for decades.

[rae houghton]

thanks Dave T....the nail idea is worth looking into.

 

 

 

I suppose that the older model GL series didn't have all the exhaust stuff in the way like my 1990 and 1994 cars?  That stuff really seems to be a pain.

 

I can see driving out the pin.....but when it come to putting it back.....HOW TO DRIVE THE PIN UP from the underside with the  wide exhaust metal in the way.???

 

PS Jus tlooked at the mighty Bumblebeast restoration thread....nice pictures.   

[DaveT]

Passenger side, drive down to remove, drive down to install.

 

Driver's side I set the pin at 45 degrees with the bottom toward the rear, top toward the front. Drive up from underneath from behind the wheel. Same direction on remove or install.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

... Jus tlooked at the mighty Bumblebeast restoration thread....nice pictures. 

 

Thank you!   

[rae houghton]

dave -T  Passenger side USA or passenger side Australia?

 

Driver's side  (here in Australia ) is where the exhaust problem lies. .... and the side I need to change. Huge contraption under there...wide and flat.....

Colchester...where is that?  Some cities are located in various countries....like Edmonton , Australia, and Moscow, USA

[rae houghton]

 a person can use the same pin again???? Or is a new one required...Aare they easy to buy. 

Now I just talked to someone and they said for the 1990 l - series that a 5mm punch is needed.  I was surprised....but maybe the 1990 model is different to the 80's models....

The concave section I could see with a small torch did seem big...but the pin inside didn't seem to fill the space I was looking at....

 

I would prefer your idea Dave and use a nail cut off as a punch...but if it is 5mm....that is not going to happen.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

... Driver's side  (here in Australia ) is where the exhaust problem lies ...

 

Your Driver's side is our Passenger's side here, and there, next to the DOJ for the axle, is the point where both Heads' exhausts join together in a Box, where only one pipe comes out as the Tail Pipe; inside that box on the USDM Specs EA82, is the primary Catalytic Converter; said junction with a Box is known here as the "Y" pipe.

 

I don't know if the AUDM specs' "Y" pipes has that Box with Catalytic Converter inside, but the LADM (Latin American Domestic Market) Specs, only has a plain "Y" junction, because Catalytics here are not legally required; but in any case, there should be a Heat Shield, made of two pieces of thin sheetmetal, bolted together, wrapping said Junction, or "Y" pipe, whose purpose is to prevent the DOJ boot from Melting, from that exhaust heat.

 

Now, here is where Photos are really Needed, we don't know what exactly do you have in the Junction point, but whatever it is... (a Box with Catalytic, an Empty Box or a plain "Y" junction) ...it Shall have said metallic Heat shield in there, otherwise the Boot for the DOJ will melt for sure.

 

I kindly suggest you to share at least, the web link to your Photo Album that you Created at image shack, so we can see better what is Happening there, and thus will assure a best help for you.

 

Kind Regards.