Inner CV Joint boot repair

jokila

Vendor
Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Location
Houston, Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, Manual
Does anyone know if the whole half shaft has to be removed to replace the inner boot? I bought the kit from VW to replace the passenger side boot. Anyone have a how to written on this before I cut the old one off.

I have it disconnected from the tranny due to the clutch swap and dont know how to. THanks.
 

wolf1477

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Location
Tony,WI
TDI
2000 Golf
LoL just got done changing the CV axle on mine (Or more acurately Jobob did<g>) so I'll give ya a bump too.

Wolf, worst part is: that %@#$ing noise is *still* there...arrgghhh!

(edited because apparently I can't type tonight)
 

armyschus

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2005
Location
Bel Air, MD
TDI
2015 Golf S TDI, Blue Silk Metalic, 6M
The real question is how long has the current CV boot beeen damaged and how much debris has gotten into the CV joint? I strongly recommend replacing the whole half-shaft. You can get rebuilt ones with a lifetime warrenty from PepNoys or Cardone.

If you are going to repair your current half-shaft here are the general procedures. With most repair kits, you cut off the locking bands on the inboard and outbord sides of the CV joint. Removie the boot and clean the joint. Your kit should have come with new lube. Apply the lube to the needle bearing in the joint. Pit on the new CV boot and pask the remaining lube into the boot. attach the new locking bands and install the repaired half-shaft.
 

Franko6

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2005
Location
Sw Missouri
TDI
Jetta, 99, Silver`
NEEDLE BEARINGS??? THERE AREN'T NEEDLE BEARINGS IN A CV JOINT!! Depending on the year, there aren't any locking bands on the inner joints...

I just got done doing this job on an ALH... first thing, be prepared to replace the shaft... which isn't much more than the price of the kit to rebuild the shaft.

To remove the shaft, start by busting the axle nut while car is still on the ground. 3/4" breaker bar, with a 4 ft cheater is good....

If your car is tracking well, mark the position of the MacPherson strut and the connecting arm ball joint bolts. I usually spray a contrasting paint onto the parts or you can scribe around the bolts to mark location. I finish with an alignment anyway...

Raise the car, jack stands... (PULEEZ, use STANDS!) remove wheel, remove bolts for struts and connecting arm ball joint. Remove brake calipers and support the caliper with baling wire so you don't damage the brake line. Turn the steering wheel all the way to the left. Slide steering knuckle off the CV shaft. Remove the heat shield that protects the CV boot (if you don't have a heat shield, that is why you are replacing the boot). Remove the six bolts from the differential carrier that hold the CV joint in place. It's usually a triple square male socket... I think it's an 8mm... remove shaft from vehicle.

Now, I'll warn you.. the grease inside the CV is really nasty stuff. Wear some nitrile gloves.. you'll be glad you did... that stuff doesn't wash off, it wears off.

In a bench vise, remove the circlip from the end of the shaft...a pair of screwdrivers used judiciously will work, or if you are really 'uptown', there are some special external circlip pliers you can get... Don't worry about tearing up the circlip. There is one in the replacement boot package. Use a cold chisel or punch to knock the boot off the CV joint. The CV joint will come off with a bit of persuasion... Note the direction that the CV joint came off and mark accordingly. Remove the cupped washer from behind the CV joint. Remove the boot.

In order to determine if you should reuse your shaft, you should completely disassemble the CV joint. First thing... clean as much of the grease off the CV joint as you can and using a permanent marker, mark the relationship for the center hub to the outer hub.

It's a bit tricky and difficult to explain, but the center drive hub sits inside a bearing race with 6 large ball bearings. In order to remove the race, turn the center drive hub about 90 degrees and remove a ball from either side of the shaft. Rotate the center hub around until all the ball bearings are out. Turn the center hub and race. The unit will come out. Remove the center hub from the race.

If you have severe galling in the center of the inner and outer hub, it's cheaper to discard the entire unit and get a complete new shaft then to try and rebuild what you have with a new CV + boot kit. Make sure of one thing. Do not buy a solid shafted passenger-side drive shaft. Those are the Chinese crap that will give you a harmonic resonance that you will not like. The shaft should have a tube that is about 2" in diameter. The best ones will have a rubber counterbalance attached to the shaft. That countershaft dampens any chance of shaft vibrations.

Also, if the CV joint is in reasonably good condition, but has slight galling in the center of the drive area, I am in the habit of changing both sets of CV boots at the same time and switching left-side and right side inner and outer CV joints. That reverses the wear and extends the life of the joints.

Pack the CV joint with the appropriate grease provided in your boot kit. Use a new circlip to reinstall the CV joint. Reassembly is reverse of disassembly. Be sure to pay attention to torque specs, as most people overtorque the driveshaft carrier bolts and the ball joint bolts, even the axle shaft nut... Get a Bentley Book and read up on section 40.

Finish with a front-wheel alignment.
 
Last edited:

Franko6

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2005
Location
Sw Missouri
TDI
Jetta, 99, Silver`
btw: since you have the axle shafts out, it's a great time to replace the differential carrier output shaft seals. It's about $5 more per side and well worth the time and effort, especially if you've got more than 100k on the vehicle.
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
Franko6 said:
btw: since you have the axle shafts out, it's a great time to replace the differential carrier output shaft seals. It's about $5 more per side and well worth the time and effort, especially if you've got more than 100k on the vehicle.
100k ??? The ones on my 1992 TD Jetta lasted well over 350,000 miles before starting to leak... (heck, I've got almost 260,000 miles on my 2003 and there's no sign of seepage...) As well, don't you lose all the transmission fluid when you go here? That definitely costs more than $10...

Yuri.
 

jokila

Vendor
Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Location
Houston, Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, Manual
Franko6 said:
NEEDLE BEARINGS??? THERE AREN'T NEEDLE BEARINGS IN A CV JOINT!! Depending on the year, there aren't any locking bands on the inner joints...

I just got done doing this job on an ALH... first thing, be prepared to replace the shaft... which isn't much more than the price of the kit to rebuild the shaft.

To remove the shaft, start by busting the axle nut while car is still on the ground. 3/4" breaker bar, with a 4 ft cheater is good....

If your car is tracking well, mark the position of the MacPherson strut and the connecting arm ball joint bolts. I usually spray a contrasting paint onto the parts or you can scribe around the bolts to mark location. I finish with an alignment anyway...

Raise the car, jack stands... (PULEEZ, use STANDS!) remove wheel, remove bolts for struts and connecting arm ball joint. Remove brake calipers and support the caliper with baling wire so you don't damage the brake line. Turn the steering wheel all the way to the left. Slide steering knuckle off the CV shaft. Remove the heat shield that protects the CV boot (if you don't have a heat shield, that is why you are replacing the boot). Remove the six bolts from the differential carrier that hold the CV joint in place. It's usually a triple square male socket... I think it's an 8mm... remove shaft from vehicle.

Now, I'll warn you.. the grease inside the CV is really nasty stuff. Wear some nitrile gloves.. you'll be glad you did... that stuff doesn't wash off, it wears off.

In a bench vise, remove the circlip from the end of the shaft...a pair of screwdrivers used judiciously will work, or if you are really 'uptown', there are some special external circlip pliers you can get... Don't worry about tearing up the circlip. There is one in the replacement boot package. Use a cold chisel or punch to knock the boot off the CV joint. The CV joint will come off with a bit of persuasion... Note the direction that the CV joint came off and mark accordingly. Remove the cupped washer from behind the CV joint. Remove the boot.

In order to determine if you should reuse your shaft, you should completely disassemble the CV joint. First thing... clean as much of the grease off the CV joint as you can and using a permanent marker, mark the relationship for the center hub to the outer hub.

It's a bit tricky and difficult to explain, but the center drive hub sits inside a bearing race with 6 large ball bearings. In order to remove the race, turn the center drive hub about 90 degrees and remove a ball from either side of the shaft. Rotate the center hub around until all the ball bearings are out. Turn the center hub and race. The unit will come out. Remove the center hub from the race.

If you have severe galling in the center of the inner and outer hub, it's cheaper to discard the entire unit and get a complete new shaft then to try and rebuild what you have with a new CV + boot kit. Make sure of one thing. Do not buy a solid shafted passenger-side drive shaft. Those are the Chinese crap that will give you a harmonic resonance that you will not like. The shaft should have a tube that is about 2" in diameter. The best ones will have a rubber counterbalance attached to the shaft. That countershaft dampens any chance of shaft vibrations.

Also, if the CV joint is in reasonably good condition, but has slight galling in the center of the drive area, I am in the habit of changing both sets of CV boots at the same time and switching left-side and right side inner and outer CV joints. That reverses the wear and extends the life of the joints.

Pack the CV joint with the appropriate grease provided in your boot kit. Use a new circlip to reinstall the CV joint. Reassembly is reverse of disassembly. Be sure to pay attention to torque specs, as most people overtorque the driveshaft carrier bolts and the ball joint bolts, even the axle shaft nut... Get a Bentley Book and read up on section 40.

Finish with a front-wheel alignment.
Wow.I didnt think it would require a front end alignment to change the inner boot. I figured I could leave the shaft connected at the other end and remove split the CV joint with a gear puller of some sort. THen, just clean, repack, and assemble the joint. Is this not possible?

As far as the amount of grease that has seeped out, it is a very small amount as I see it sprayed in a very narrow line on that shield that mounts above and around it. THe tear is about a little less than an inch. I dont think i have contamination but I will inspect for wear when i disassemble.

If i have to remove the half shaft, what do people use to remove the it from the wheel bearing? In my Bentley's it says to use some VW tool. Is this something I can obtain from Autozone? Also, it says I should replace the nut when reassembling...is this what most people do?

FYI - I am in the process of completing a clutch change so everything is ready for me to work on it. I was ready to connect the half shaft and I remembered I needed to fix the boot. I paid about $15 for the boot kit from the dealer. The boot on my car does not have a band that is clamped on it. It appears to be version II according to Bentley's manual.
 
Last edited:

Dimitri16V

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Location
DE
TDI
01 Golf, 04 Golf
you don't need an alignement for a CV joint repair. definitely replace the axle nut. I think you can knock out the shaft from the hub using a soft mallet.
 

Franko6

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2005
Location
Sw Missouri
TDI
Jetta, 99, Silver`
Well, if you are doing the clutch, it becomes even more obvious. There is no way you are going to remove the clutch without first removing both axle shafts. That requires removing the nuts from the outboard CV joints, etc. The axle for the outboard CV is splined and can usually be pushed out with a little 'persuasion'. Honestly, I could be wrong, but I don't think there is clearance to get the shaft out without making more room by dropping the bolts from the strut and ball joint. It's no big deal getting it to line back up where it was. As my feelings go, I do my own alignments (that's a whole 'nother story) and I figure that is is regular maintenance to do that.


As I explained the inboard shaft is not something to be 'gear pulled' but has a circlip to hold it in place. My explanation is quite complete. And beleive me, if there is an easier way, I will find it. This case, that is what is needed.

As for the output shaft seals, I find them quite inexpensive and with the life of the transmission in the balance, to install a rather inexpensive seal is not an inappropriate move. If you prefer, and you feel the seal is 'good enough', then make your own decision. No skin offa my nose...
 
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jokila

Vendor
Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Location
Houston, Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, Manual
Thanks for the info.

I did the entire clutch replacement without removing the half shafts. Just disconnected them from the tranny and hung them up out of the way with straps. I had plenty of room doing it this way.

Today, I ran into a really good mechanic, who I trust, at the dealership i buy parts from and he will change out the boot tomorrow. I just reassembled everything and will take it in then.. Looking at $20. I think that is reasonable.
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
jokila said:
I did the entire clutch replacement without removing the half shafts. Just disconnected them from the tranny and hung them up out of the way with straps.
Yes, when Nigel and I replaced his clutch we didn't need to remove the driveshafts (or flanges) either... I wouldn't say it was a particularly easy job, but...
jokila said:
Looking at $20. I think that is reasonable
For that price, I'd say it's worth driving down there from here...:)

Yuri.
 
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