CV boot replacement

[kit]

Hi I can't find anywhere on Wiki that shows CV boot replacement, does anyone know of any guide thanks?

[itchyfeet]

it's fairly easy, the only hard bit is getting the circlip on and off without the right tool
one top tip
DO NOT let the cv fall to the side it will fall appart and you need three hands to reassemble ( I did it)
place tie wraps through boot and cv for as much of the process as possible to keep them square.

Clean out bolt heads throughly before unscrewing
Best replace safety washers Brickwerkes do them, if not throughly clean then

recheck torque of bolts after a few weeks.

[kit]

Doesn't the shaft jut pull away from the CV?

[CovKid]

Nope - held in place with a circlip that will easily ping across three gardens

If you're replacing boots, do them in pairs and clean and regrease CV joints. Bit pointless otherwise. Halfords do a pot of the grease fairly cheap.

In my view, driveshafts are an overhaul job if you know nothing of the history of the CV joints otherwise you'll end up doing the job twice. Once you've had your first earhole full of CV grease, you'll understand.

Likewise if you have to replace a CV joint NEVER EVER use an unknown brand. GKN/Lobro and nothing else or they get destroyed in no time. Lot of torque and its a heavy vehicle. Bargain CV joints are like chocolate. GSF do em - ECP too I think but do check the make.

[itchyfeet]

circlip missing on this pic

[kit]

Thank for that, maybe a bit more of a work up than I was hoping for?

[keith]

I did mine last weekend with the help of my son. Purchased a 12 point spline drive bit and the g k n boots ....not a difficult job just awkward.
Our cv joints fell apart but it's fairly easy to work out how they go back together once you know the orientation of inner to outer. The key is narrow bit adjacent to broad bit...as shown in the picture above

[CovKid]

Kit, they're fairly straightforward to work on. The real drag (possibly) is getting a driveshaft off but if you're replacing the boot, the CV joint has to come off anyway and if its off. you might as well clean the joint and repack to get more life out of the joint. Theres nothing worse than having to take the driveshaft off again a few weeks/months later when an extra 30 mins spent cleaning and regreasing would have saved you the trouble.

[itchyfeet]

I removed a pic from above because it was taken when a gearbox was coming out and makes it look harder than it is.

Getting the circlip off is not so hard, getting it back on is
If you don't have a circlip tool you can make a piece of metal just wide enough to keep the clip open enough to slide on like this...





don't do this...



washer not needed if I remember

[CovKid]

One point I've never seen anyone mention (and I should probably put in WIKI) is why you need to keep CV joints together and intact or at least marked carefully during disassembly.

As well as the newbie hassle of having to put it back together like some unfair rubiks cube, in the process you easily end up changing bearing faces round from what they were (including ball bearings) nothing matches and you end up inducing faster wear, clonks, and early CV joint retirement.

Just thought I'd mention it as even Haynes doesn't point it out but any seasoned cyclist or engineer would be familiar with the pitfalls of having to reassemble a bearing from scratch. Wear always creates more wear in bearings and if scrambled, even tons of grease won't halt their rapid demise.

Luxury is a brand new set of Lobro/GKN joints as all the slop goes and you don't ever have to worry about those again. Oh I've done all the Sunday afternoon stuff, making up one good joint out of a pile because the owner is strapped but heck its disheartening and no one could be more frugal than me.

Keep the joint together, clean it thoroughly with a paintbrush and white spirit in a small container, dry it thoroughly and immediately repack it - as is. Job done. If the gaiter is damaged, grit gets in.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nasSr7n-Nzk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - should help

[kit]

A job for after Glastonbury I suspect.

[kit]

So the shaft has to come out completely both ends, you can't do it in situ?

[itchyfeet]

far easier to do it on the bench and not upside down under the van.
Yes take it off.

[kit]

Looking online I was wondering wether it might be as economical to replace the shafts bearing and boots in one go, might be a simpler job?

[itchyfeet]

Thats madness.
it's really not hard to change the boots.