CV Joint Boot Replacement

[lvtobike]

Hi All!

Please help me. I have a 2001 Boxster S-- 51,000 miles. I was changing the oil, and I found all 4 CV joint boots were split!! (this has to be rare)

Can any one help me through changing them. I have been told that the easiest way is to do it at the trans-axle end. But how? Step by step or pictures.

Thanks,

Denny

[Sputter]

This is a good place to start. I can likely answer some of your questions as i've done mine.

Set aside a few hours for this job and I hope you enjoy playing in grease lol

http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site%203/DIY%2...CV%20Boots.html

[1schoir]

Hi All!

Please help me. I have a 2001 Boxster S-- 51,000 miles. I was changing the oil, and I found all 4 CV joint boots were split!! (this has to be rare)

Can any one help me through changing them. I have been told that the easiest way is to do it at the trans-axle end. But how? Step by step or pictures.

Thanks,

Denny

Denny:

Here is a step by step that was posted by "JackG" over on 986forum.com.

Here are the steps:

1. Remove center cap on rear wheels, and break the 32mm rear axle nuts loose before jacking the car up. Use something to chock the wheels, don’t use the transmission to hold the car… make sure it is in neutral.

2. Jack the car up and place on jack stands. Make sure it is evenly supported at all four jack points. The front and rear suspension must be fully unloaded. The Bentley manual shows an alternate jacking location that leaves the factory hard points available for the jack stands.

3. Remove the rear lug nuts and wheels.

4. Remove the diagonal braces and the sheet metal brace (skid plate).

5. Loosen and remove the nuts from the bottom of the links on each side of the anti-sway bar. Move the links and rotate the sway bar out of the way. This may not be necessary, but it is easy and adds some working room.

6. On the driver’s side only, unplug the forward O2 sensor, and check the rear O2 sensor wire to make sure there is enough slack in the wire to allow the exhaust to fall downward about 2 inches. Then loosen the exhaust clamps between the catalytic converter and the muffler, remove the 6 bolts from the exhaust header at the engine, and let the exhaust drop down to rest on the suspension. It’s a good idea to use penetrating oil on the header bolts, as you certainly don’t want to wring one of these off in the engine!

7. Loosen and remove the 6 cap head bolts holding the inner CV joints to the differential. Do the passengers side first, as it is the easiest. Allow the CV joint to drop down to the gap between the differential and the exhaust. Having a helper to pull the e-brake each time you rotate to another pair of bolts is a huge help.

8. Attach the axle puller to the wheel hub, then get the floor jack placed under the lower ball joint/control arm. I used a block of wood as a cushion.

9. Jack up on the control arm until the car starts to want to lift up off of the jack stand. This gives you just enough of an angle to have room for the CV joint and axle to pass between the differential and the exhaust.

10. Operate the axle puller to force the axle out through the hub. Be ready to guide the axle out through the opening. I was able to do this using one hand on the puller, and the other on the axle. A helper would be better.

11. Move to the drivers side and repeat steps 7-10. The removal will be slightly tighter.

12. Remove the metal bands from the inner CV boot, then slide it back and cut it off the axle. Remove as much grease as possible.

13. Pry the metal cap off of the inner CV joint to expose the end of the axle.

14. Remove the C clip from the end of the axle, then carefully drive the axle out of the CV joint. I used a large brass rod as a drift punch on the end of the axle, and held the CV joint in my hands to eliminate any chance of damage.

15. Remove the outer CV joint boot, then clean everything.

16. Re-pack outer joint with grease, install outer boot, install inner boot on axle, then inner CV joint, the re-pack inner CV joint, then slide boot down and install metal end cap. I used a large socket to carefully drive the CV joint down over the axle. Everything is clean and lightly lubed, so it's easy.

17. Repeat on other axle.

18. Reverse the disassembly procedure to reassemble, using the axle nut to draw the axle into the wheel hub, then bolting the inner CV joint to the differential. Only tighten the axle nut to about 100 lbs of torque, waiting until the car is back on the ground to torque it down to spec. Of course, the suspension has to be jacked up again when re-installing the axle, just like the removal.

19. Make sure to torque all fasteners to factory indicated settings. Check the axle nuts again after 50 – 100 miles.

BTW, apparently this is a much more common problem with the 6-speed Boxsters so you might want to keep an eye on the CV boots on a more regular basis, now that you own the car.

Regards, Maurice.

Edited September 27, 2008 by 1schoir

[Sputter]

Messing with those frozen exhaust bolts could lead to more problems if you snap one or more (which is a common occurance).

Do you feel lucky punk?, well, do yah? lol

What I did was to separate the ball joints and move the wheel carriers aside.

[lvtobike]

Hi All!

Please help me. I have a 2001 Boxster S-- 51,000 miles. I was changing the oil, and I found all 4 CV joint boots were split!! (this has to be rare)

Can any one help me through changing them. I have been told that the easiest way is to do it at the trans-axle end. But how? Step by step or pictures.

Thanks,

Denny

Denny:

Here is a step by step that was posted by "JackG" over on 986forum.com.

Here are the steps:

1. Remove center cap on rear wheels, and break the 32mm rear axle nuts loose before jacking the car up. Use something to chock the wheels, don’t use the transmission to hold the car… make sure it is in neutral.

2. Jack the car up and place on jack stands. Make sure it is evenly supported at all four jack points. The front and rear suspension must be fully unloaded. The Bentley manual shows an alternate jacking location that leaves the factory hard points available for the jack stands.

3. Remove the rear lug nuts and wheels.

4. Remove the diagonal braces and the sheet metal brace (skid plate).

5. Loosen and remove the nuts from the bottom of the links on each side of the anti-sway bar. Move the links and rotate the sway bar out of the way. This may not be necessary, but it is easy and adds some working room.

6. On the driver’s side only, unplug the forward O2 sensor, and check the rear O2 sensor wire to make sure there is enough slack in the wire to allow the exhaust to fall downward about 2 inches. Then loosen the exhaust clamps between the catalytic converter and the muffler, remove the 6 bolts from the exhaust header at the engine, and let the exhaust drop down to rest on the suspension. It’s a good idea to use penetrating oil on the header bolts, as you certainly don’t want to wring one of these off in the engine!

7. Loosen and remove the 6 cap head bolts holding the inner CV joints to the differential. Do the passengers side first, as it is the easiest. Allow the CV joint to drop down to the gap between the differential and the exhaust. Having a helper to pull the e-brake each time you rotate to another pair of bolts is a huge help.

8. Attach the axle puller to the wheel hub, then get the floor jack placed under the lower ball joint/control arm. I used a block of wood as a cushion.

9. Jack up on the control arm until the car starts to want to lift up off of the jack stand. This gives you just enough of an angle to have room for the CV joint and axle to pass between the differential and the exhaust.

10. Operate the axle puller to force the axle out through the hub. Be ready to guide the axle out through the opening. I was able to do this using one hand on the puller, and the other on the axle. A helper would be better.

11. Move to the drivers side and repeat steps 7-10. The removal will be slightly tighter.

12. Remove the metal bands from the inner CV boot, then slide it back and cut it off the axle. Remove as much grease as possible.

13. Pry the metal cap off of the inner CV joint to expose the end of the axle.

14. Remove the C clip from the end of the axle, then carefully drive the axle out of the CV joint. I used a large brass rod as a drift punch on the end of the axle, and held the CV joint in my hands to eliminate any chance of damage.

15. Remove the outer CV joint boot, then clean everything.

16. Re-pack outer joint with grease, install outer boot, install inner boot on axle, then inner CV joint, the re-pack inner CV joint, then slide boot down and install metal end cap. I used a large socket to carefully drive the CV joint down over the axle. Everything is clean and lightly lubed, so it's easy.

17. Repeat on other axle.

18. Reverse the disassembly procedure to reassemble, using the axle nut to draw the axle into the wheel hub, then bolting the inner CV joint to the differential. Only tighten the axle nut to about 100 lbs of torque, waiting until the car is back on the ground to torque it down to spec. Of course, the suspension has to be jacked up again when re-installing the axle, just like the removal.

19. Make sure to torque all fasteners to factory indicated settings. Check the axle nuts again after 50 – 100 miles.

BTW, apparently this is a much more common problem with the 6-speed Boxsters so you might want to keep an eye on the CV boots on a more regular basis, now that you own the car.

Regards, Maurice.

[lvtobike]

Hi Again!

I'm not sure just how to go about thanking Maurice and Sputter, for their quick and VERY helpful replies, so I'll leave my message here. THANK-YOU VERY MUCH!!!

Denny