CV Boots

[Derek Pulvino]

Well, I'll have to think about that rebuilt shaft idea, not that mine are 
bad, but I'm figuring it might make sense to do inside and outside boots at 
the same time...and the price for two-boots per side is probably about the 
same as that rebuilt cost.

Lifetime warranty, if only they'd  cover the labor as well.

Thanks for the info everyone, for some reason I just was under the 
impression there wasn't enough mobility on the inside of the drive line to 
allow one to take it out that way.

Derek P


>>Can somebody tell, and hopefully in btdt fashion, what the easiest way to 
>>pull the front driveshafts is?  I just noticed that both of my outside CV 
>>boots are torn on the front of the car, the passenger side pretty recently 
>>as the grease is still getting thicker on the inside of the wheel.  And is 
>>the tranny side CV attached with an 8-point drive screw/bolt similar to on 
>>the VW's?
>>
>>From my recollection, by just taking the bottom of the strut off the 
>>ball-joint you won't get enough movement to get the shafts out.  Although, 
>>now that I'm thinking of it, I guess the main nememsis (aka sway bar) is 
>>attached to the control arm, not the strut.
>
>I just replaced the passenger side shaft on my 200. I don't know if it's 
>correct, but the pass side was held in the hub with a 17mm allen head bolt, 
>while the drivers side has a regular bolt head on it. And yes, the inner 
>joint is held on with the 8 (or 12) pt drives similar to the VW. However, 
>they are a different size than the aircooled VW's I've taken apart. DON'T 
>be tempted to use a 8mm allen wrench. It fits pretty tight, but won't 
>actually work. I used about 24" of socket extension and got the bolts off 
>through the wheelwell. Mine were on pretty tight!
>
>I was able to pull the shaft w/o taking the upright or lower arm, or sway 
>bar off at all. With the wheel straight ahead, move the inner joint up and 
>to the rear, and push it out of the hub as far as you can. Then turn the 
>wheel to the outside (to the right on passenger side) and there should be 
>enough room to push the shaft the rest of the way out.
>
>"Assembly is reverse of removal" :o) Be careful on reassembly to make sure 
>the gasket on the inner joint stays aligned.
>
>Also, I was able to get a rebuilt CV shaft (Cardone 607160) from my local 
>Schucks for ~$56. And they didn't charge me a core either, so I kept my old 
>shaft and will clean the outer joint and re-boot it. Some friends have had 
>problems with Schucks rebuilt CV's, but with a lifetime warranty, and only 
>a few hours to replace, I gave it a shot.
>
>--
>Dan Cordon
>Mechanical Engineer
>University of Idaho - Engine Research Facility
>
>
>

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