Torn Axle Shaft Boot - Repair or Replace

phantom1260

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Location
Brampton, Ontario
TDI
1997 Jetta GL IDI, 2010 Jetta TDI (Sold)
I have a torn inner boot on the left front side. I just replaced this shaft last year. At the time I made the mistake of going with an A-1 Cardone shaft.

If I can find the receipt I may be able to exchange for a new one under warranty but I don't want to be pulling it out again next year.

I still have the orginal shaft that I replaced last year. I could just replace the torn boot on that one and swap it in.

My question is are these shafts still okay if they have been running without grease for an extended period of time. I don't remember hearing any clicking or anything on turns etc.

Do you think these shafts are still okay or should I get a new shaft from a proper supplier this time.

 

aj164

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Location
CS, TX
TDI
'06 Jetta DSG pkg2
The old one is much better than your new one. I would clean it all up and look for rust in the joint. The boot kit will come with grease and clamps. The VW boot kit I bought from WorldImpex has outlasted whatever boots Raxles used on my driver side shaft.
 
Last edited:

kbaisley

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2002
Location
Midwest
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 5spd
Depends!

The old OEM axle is better than a cheapie replacement axle. You need to dismantle your old oem shaft and look for wear on the joints. Running w/o grease - boot, expose to dirt, the joint will wear. If the old axle joints are good, I would fix and use that one. Replace both boots whilst the axle is out.

I try to use Lobro boots, they are an OEM supplier and they seem to hold up well.
 

phantom1260

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Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Location
Brampton, Ontario
TDI
1997 Jetta GL IDI, 2010 Jetta TDI (Sold)
Finally got the around to doing this. I ordered a boot kit and replaced the boot on the original shaft and swapped it out. Hopefully I won't have to take this apart again next year.
 

Ol'Rattler

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Location
PNA
TDI
2006 BRM Jetta
Did you dissemble the joint, solvent clean it and do a close visual inspection on the balls and raceways? If it was run with a torn boot, dirt and water got inside and you could have just put a new boot on a trashed CV joint.

OEM CV? If it has been trashed by contamination, it could be an OEM CV that's ready for the trash. Throwing grease is really the least of your problems.

A new CV joint and a new boot is the way to go if there are signs of wear on the internals of the CV joint.

If the other boot is still intact, A clean, inspect, regrease and a new boot would be fine since it most likely has never been contaminated internally.
 

phantom1260

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Location
Brampton, Ontario
TDI
1997 Jetta GL IDI, 2010 Jetta TDI (Sold)
The OEM CV didn't have a major tear like in the pic I posted of the reman one. The OEM had the outer boot torn from the smaller clamp side. So the grease and boot were intact for the most part.

The inner boot however on the OEM was not torn but was missing the inner clamp. Someone previously thought it was a good idea to replace it with a zip tie. So I added grease and the proper clamp on the inner side as well.

I cleaned and inspected both sides before I put it back together. I also replaced the axle nut with a new one.

Whole process took me about 1.5 -2 hours and I think about $80 CDN

It might just be in my head but I can feel it driving better than the reman one.
 

Ol'Rattler

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Location
PNA
TDI
2006 BRM Jetta
And that's the rub, really. If nothing actually got inside to contaminate the joint, should be just fine. :cool: When you said torn I assumed you meant were they usually tear which is in the accordion part.
 

phantom1260

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Location
Brampton, Ontario
TDI
1997 Jetta GL IDI, 2010 Jetta TDI (Sold)
During my research for this repair I also learned that it’s different grease for the inner and outer boots.
 

phantom1260

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Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Location
Brampton, Ontario
TDI
1997 Jetta GL IDI, 2010 Jetta TDI (Sold)
Before I replaced the axle with the torn boot the car was making a lot of noise on idle. This was diagnosed as a worn DMF by my mechanic. Since I replaced the axle I have not heard the noise.

Is this just a coincidence or was the axle the sole culprit the whole time?
 

kbaisley

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2002
Location
Midwest
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 5spd
Before I replaced the axle with the torn boot the car was making a lot of noise on idle. This was diagnosed as a worn DMF by my mechanic. Since I replaced the axle I have not heard the noise.

Is this just a coincidence or was the axle the sole culprit the whole time?
Typically at idle, the cv joint it not moving unless the car is moving, so I would leans towards a coincidence. If your joint was making enough racket / noise, a replaced boot would not eliminate the noise. IMHO
 

phantom1260

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Location
Brampton, Ontario
TDI
1997 Jetta GL IDI, 2010 Jetta TDI (Sold)
Yea that's what I thought as well. I also finally put the bottom splash shield back on after patching it up. So that could just be dampening the noise.
 
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