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Cant find a thread.. Need a few tips for cv boot replacement


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i still have to crawl under the car but i know i have at least 2 boots to replace. hoping to find a few tips and tricks to doing it. the car is an 88 GL-10 4wd turbo sedan. Ive replaced axels before but never broken them down to replace boots. also anything wrong with ordering cv boots @3.99ea on ebay or going to another online store where there about 12 bucks each?

thanks

 

rllywgn

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Don't bother with new boots. If the boots are torn then the joint is already damaged and needs to be replaced. You should definitely replace the whole joint and halfshaft.

 

 

Sorry to call Bull on this one.

I split a pair every year at least and the last time I re-booted there was ZERO WEAR on the race, cup or balls.

 

http://ausubaru.com/main/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1134

 

Learn to strip them, it will save you a Heap of cash.

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I bought my car with 2 torn boots. Replaced them and everything is good. I did have to replace an axle not so long ago, but it wasn't the one with torn boots :)

If you go and replace the whole axle everytime it wouldn't be very cheap to run a subie now would it?

 

Its very easy to put the new boots on. Take the shaft out, pull the inner CV boot back away from the cup. Find a clip in the cup (its a ring that runs arounf the inside of the cup) pull it off and the race should slide out of the cup. then theres a clip ring around the shaft holding the race on the shaft. Remove it with the right tool, then slide the race off the shaft. Make sure you remember which way the race went on the shaft (it does matter, trust me.) Then slide the boot off, you can also slide the outter CV boot off the shaft at this point. clean out the grease with your fingure.. Pack in the new grease (should come with the boots, if not its molydisulfide grease that you need. Never use anything else) slide the new boots on and put the race back on the shaft. Put the race back into the cup and put that clip ring in again. All should be good, we hope.

 

I should add that this is the method I used for my EA81 Brat, it maybe different on a turbo'd EA82. But I would imagin it to be the same. You never do know with these car manufactures.

 

Hmm, I might of missed something, so check that other link as well..

 

Good luck.

 

________

89 Brat

http://www.offroadingsubarus.com

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i bought the car a couple days ago knowing that i would be replacing the boots at the very least. On the drive home i didnt here and unusual noises or clicking. Is it an absolute possitive that i should just replace the axle? that does seem i little overboard. the last time i had this problem i did a 5 lug conversion.. problem solved.. :D but, I cant find a xt6 currently to make this an easy fix. Also what about junkyard axle's provided that the boots are good and well greased inside?

 

 

thanks

rllywgn

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If you go and replace the whole axle everytime it wouldn't be very cheap to run a subie now would it?

 

Actually I just bought mine from one of the chain stores that sells them with a lifetime warranty. Every time they crap out I just bring them in and swap them out for a new one. I've done it several times.

 

Go with your gut on the axles. I've had to limp home on trashed DOJ joints twice and wouldn't care to repeat the experience, so I am perhaps overly aggressive on half shaft replacement. For the hassle of pulling them I have always figured it best to replace the whole shaft. I do keep a spare set of junkyard shafts with intact boots in the shed for the day when the stores stop selling them.

 

:lol:

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Actually I just bought mine from one of the chain stores that sells them with a lifetime warranty. Every time they crap out I just bring them in and swap them out for a new one. I've done it several times.

 

Sneaky.. But a good idea. I still wouldn't bother.. If you have 4wd just throw it in 4wd and make sure the axle doesn't fall apart on the way home. I had to drive home on a broken axle (part of the race broke off) and it was very noisy. But got me home fine. Its hard to stop a little subie.

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ill tell you one thingbuy OEM boots!!!! the crap you buy from napa and other place are awful!!!!! if you drive a subaru at 80 MPH for any extended period of time the aftermarket ones will go and fast. we drove acroos country and went through 3 before we figured it out. the OEM ones are twice as thick

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mines a fulltime 4wd car... just shy of an rx.. difflock and such.. i have a bad outer in the front and the same in the back. So i guess the smartest maybe, atleast the quickest will be to just buy some lifetime axle's at the chainstore and plan on replacing them once in a while..

 

and in other news. I've had the car for 22hrs now and I yanked the perfectly good front end off the car tonight and started cutting things up. it's really super I swear.. pics coming soon..

 

Anybody recommend a good pic hosting service (free?)

 

rllywgn

88 GL-10 turbo sedan

ft4wd~5spd~lsd

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that writeup that subarunuts linked is great. A note about using hose clamps: they WILL hit the steering shaft if used on the driver's side front axle! I know this from personal experience! :lol: Make sure they won't hit anything such as the exhaust on the passenger's side front axle as well.

 

Also: the cage which holds the ball bearings is tapered slightly, I *THINK* wide end toward the outside, narrow end toward the middle of the axle.. just make sure you put it back on the way it came off!

 

also, in case it was not mentioned in any of the writeups, get one of those silver antisieze crayons and color in your axle stubs with it, especially in the rear (as they get changed so less often).

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Found inGoogle's html version of this page HERE (sorry about the formatting, it pastes in):

 

http://www.carquest.com/techbulletins/cvshafts/TC2004.pdf.

Heat Cracking of Inboard Axle Boot

CONDITION

If the catalytic converter has been replaced with an Aftermarket version, chances are it

does not have the OEM heat shield attached to it. The high heat given off by the

converter will damage the inboard boot of the Drive axle, causing it to check and crack

or tear. This will cause premature failure.

SOLUTION

A substitute boot kit, ARI part number 42-62298, has been created with a boot made of

special high temperature silicone. ARI offers this axle boot upgrade for part numbers

9103 and 9110. This boot will help withstand the higher operating temperatures of the

Aftermarket converters that do not have an OEM heat shield attached to them. Proper

inspection of the heat shield and replacement will help extend the life of the drive axle

boots. Replacement of the heat shield will also help off set the higher operating

temperature of the catalytic converter when the engine is running leaner than it should.

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And here's another relevant item, if the boots are cooking and cracking, from

http://www.sidc.co.uk/faq.htm Impreza FAQ:

 

3.3 Exhaust manifold heat shield

 

Heat shields were a common fault on pre-'97 cars, as these cars do not have the tray under the engine bay. It is possible for road water to splash the very hot shields caused them to fracture. They then resonate, as the two sides of the crack vibrate together. This is a warranty fix, but if it's the one where the left and right side pipes join, (by far the most common one to fail - this is a very hot area) then the dealer should pack the lower shield out by 3mm. This lowers the temperature of the shield and it will then last much longer, if not forever. The owner who came up with the 3mm spacer trick had got through 3 shields in 15,000 miles and was used to driving a car that buzzed. It has never failed since.

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Here's how I went about replacing my CV joints and boots. Took about 1 hour per wheel.

 

For this procedure you'll need new inner CV boots and grease (good idea to replace them anyway. Inner CV joints are fvrickin expensive), outer CV joints, boots and grease. They aren't expensive at all - about US$40 each.

 

1. Jack up the car, and remove the wheel. make sure the car is safely propped up, as you'll probably be climbing in under it.

2. Take off the crown nut and then loosen the wheel hub assembly. On my car there was a ball joint down the bottom holding it to the wishbone and two nuts and bolts up top holding it to the strut. Don't worry about the steering linkages or brake lines.

 

3. Cut off the inner and outer boots. Grasp the wheel hub assembly on the opposite side of the steering arm and pull. This will pull the inner CV trident from the joint itself, saving you from losing any gearbox oil or a diff falling apart. Make sure not to drop the trident though, and make sure the three sleeve-type bearings don't fall off!!

 

4. Put the trident down on a thick soft cloth so you can concentrate on the outer CV. Then, take a hammer and beat the stud that the crown nut came off out of the wheel hub (towards the inside of the car). The whole driveshaft should then clunk to the ground, CV joint attached.

 

You should then have in front of you a driveshaft, inner CV trident on one end and the other CV on the other end.

 

5. Take a BFH, or any suitable heavy hammer. Hold the driveshaft so that the CV joint is hanging down. Beat it hard on the inner race so that it pops off the driveshaft. This may or may not screw up the joint, though generally if the boot was torn it's a good idea to replace the CV anyway.

 

6. Clean the inner CV joint thoroughly using petrol and a brush. Clean the inner CV trident that's still on the driveshaft thoroughly too, making sure none of the old grease is still in there. CV joint grease starts to go bad after about 10,000kms of driving so it's a good idea to replace it.

 

7. Slide on a new inner CV boot from the outer CV's side of the driveshaft and secure it with the strap that came with it. There should be a notch in the shaft. Slide on the new outer CV boot and secure it as well in its notch.

 

8. On the toothed end of the driveshaft where the outer CV joint goes, there may be a groove cut into the teeth running around the shaft like a ring. If this is the case, there will be a metal ring that came with the joint. Put this ring in that groove.

 

9. Take about a third of the grease that came with the joint. Put it into the back of the joint, through the hole the shaft goes in, and pack it into the bearings from the back. Take another third and pack it in from the front, and take the remainder of the grease and put it inside the outer CV boot. The grease isn't very runny, so don't worry.

 

10. Put the driveshaft into the CV joint and secure it. If you've got the ring-in-groove fixing method, simply tap it in with a hammer, making sure the ring stays in the groove. If you have a different method, you'll have to figure it out.

 

11. Pull the outer boot over the joint and secure it.

 

Congratulations, you have now replaced an outer CV joint.

 

12. Next up, take about 1/4 of the inner CV joint grease and pack the trident with grease, making sure the small roller bearings under the main sleeve-type bearings are well lubricated. Then, put half of what remains into the inner CV joint housing and the other half into the inner CV boot.

 

13. Slide the trident into the inner joint. Don't go too fast or you might spray grease everywhere.

 

14. Pull the inner boot over the CV joint housing and secure with the strap provided.

 

15. Grasp the wheel hub assembly on the side opposite the steering linkage and pull. Insert the new CV joint's shaft through the hole in the hub. Put on the crown nut and tighten it mildly, but don't torque it yet.

 

16. Fasten the wheel hub assembly again. In my case, this will involve bolting the bottom ball joint and the top strut joint back on.

 

17. Check, Double check and Triple check that you have bolted them all on and torqued them real good. Any of these joints become loose and you might be killed.

 

18. Torque the crown nut. On my car it had to be torqued to 120 ft. lbs. but I'm not sure what yours would have to be.

 

19. Secure the crown nut - sometimes this'll be with a split pin, other times by hammering a brass ring on the crown nut into a groove on the CV axle.

 

20. Put the wheel back on and lower the car carefully.

 

Now you can do the next wheel.

 

After you're done, take the car for a wheel alignment.

 

 

Correct me if I'm wrong in any of this :D

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