On Fri, 1 Nov 2002, Robert K. Kuhn wrote: > I replaced the axle back in 1998 myself (which I found to be one of the > easiest R&R of all the cars I've owned). And it wasn't until today that I > realized that none of my CV boots had ripped since taking ownership of my > car. On some of my past cars where they've been lowered (even just an > inch), I found myself replacing the outer boots at least once every 6 > months or so (mainly because of the prolonged angle). > > Maybe I'm just lucky? (* knocking on wood *)
That's just odd.... Having the axles at more of an angle shouldn't really contribute THAT badly to having boots split/tear. The axle boots have to turn all the time as you turn the steering wheel. Adding one more angle to it won't affect it that badly. I've had the same boots on my red CRX since around '98, and they are fine (car is lowered 2.5"). > I think my boot just ripped since I just did the front brake pads and I > haven't put much miles on the new pads so I should be OK. Although when I > asked the parts dude at the dealer what the cost was for a new outer CV, he > said it was about $200 (USD) !?! If this is the case and my outer CV is > bad, I'll just replace the entire axle like I did back in '98 (which was > about $100). Yup... It's always easier and cheaper to replace the whole axle than it is to ever mess with replacing boots. Granted, it's cheaper, but after doing a couple of boot changes, you will hate life and will vow to never mess with it again. I killed an axle back in '99 when I was in Monterey, California. That was when my car had around 140k miles on it. It now has 176k miles on it, and two cross-country road trips since then, and still no problems. The clicking has gotten slightly louder (it's still not very loud), but I'm not going to worry about it until it gets worse. The boot isn't torn, so I know there's still grease in the joint. I killed it by doing lots of U-turns on a busy road, trying to find a place I was looking for... Ricky
