Tires and CV joint boots....

[bryanc806]

Greetings,

I have a 2000 986S with ~43000 miles that I found two simultaneous problems on this weekend. The first, is that both inner CV joint boots are cracked. I assume this is related to the heat from the exhaust, but it doesn't look like it will be fun to fix.

The second problem is that both of my tires (BFG g/Force T/A) appear to be delaminating on the inner shoulder. One tire has about a 3 inch spot on the shoulder where the tread is visible. It also has a pronounced 'sub shoulder' throughout the entire circumference of the tire. The other tire is not as bad, but will need to be replaced. The tires have about 5000 miles on them.

I assume both of these are un-related but I'll have the alignment checked anyway. Any other possible causes?

The replacement tires will probably be pilot sports, I've never had problems with Michelin tires.

[hpjay]

CV boot replacment is not too difficult if you can jack up the vehicle , use jack stands and have a reasonable set of tools.

I just re-boooted all (4) in 2-3 hours. AJ-usa sells boot kits for $15-16 each, you need (4). $63 for all.

Respectable independent garage quoted $225 for replacing (1) inside boot.

Watch out for price gouging for the boot kits. I was quoted $45 for the $15 part from a local parts house.

Look on the various internet sites for detail.

The hardest part is to remove the axle nut, however a quality 1/2 impact wrench will do the job. Need an Air compressor though. You can rent the 1/2 inch impact.

$450 will buy an air compressor and some other tools as well LOL.

Henry Jay

[sleepy]

I just replaced the inner boots also. The strange thing was that, when I had it at the shop, the service manager said he had only seen 1 torn boot in all the years around Porsches, and mine had 2. At least I'm not alone...

As mentioned above, the job isn't too bad. To get the axle nut off, I used a breaker bar and slid a 3 foot pipe over the end (and it was still fairly hard). I also had a heck of a time breaking the lower ball joint connection to get the hub out of the way, and had to buy a $150 tool for it. And if you go to the dealer to get parts, be prepared to leave some cash - the CV joint grease they sell goes for more than $30/tube alone. For the record, my dealer quoted $350 for the job, per side. No better justification for doing a job like this yourself....

As for the tire wear, that definitely doesn't sound right (my Conti's lasted more than 15K miles). Have the alignment checked after replacing the boots.

Edited January 19, 2005 by sleepy

[bryanc806]

I just finished repairing it this weekend. This was my first adventure under the car, so many things were new to me.

Instead of separating the ball joint, I removed the inner bolt on the lower A-arm (after noting it's location for alignment.

The axle nuts wouldn't budge with my compressor and impact wrench, but the breaker bar and pipe worked with some help on the brakes. The biggest thing I noticed was how close the exhaust was to the boots and how tiny some of those exhaust pipes are.....hmmm.....