Changing cv boots.

[amanda1]

I have posted this on behalf of jamesthecat as he cannot do piccies


Ok here is how i changed my cv boot,i also did my lower arms because the ball joint rubber was split,here is what you get from audi for £38 all in.I only got it from there as the last boot i put on lasted 11months




 This bolt needs a 17 mm allen socket,you will need a long arm bar to get it to move as its on tight. 




after you have removed the allen bolt undo this one, you may need a ball joint splitter, i put a bit of plus gas on it and went for a cuppa,it came out with a tap.I have changed the whole arm as the rubber on the ball joint was split.some people have said that  the shaft is hard to get out but this one came out with a tug,turn the wheel as if your turning right (passenger side)and man handle the shaft out(you dont need to undo the top arms to change the boot)
 


This is the cv taken apart and cleaned,there was grit in the grease that i removed,I cleaned it in a bucket of diesel then sprayed it with brake cleaner.Next picture is it put back together.

[mavada]

thats exactly how i did it, except for the cv, i didnt take it apart, just took the old grease out and put new in...

[jamesthecat]

Sorry guys there is a bit of info missing.To get the cv off remove the old boot, clean as much grease off as you can and lock the drive shaft with a pair of mole grips or get a buddy to hold it.Now you will have to use mans best tool the hammer, with the wrong end of a chisel against the cv give it a couple of whacks and it will pop off.to get it back on use a hammer and piece of wood,you should hear it click in.Just for info i got my arm kit from a firm in germany and consisted of upper arms,lower arms,and track rod ends,the only bit that was different was the lower arm bolt washer,it was smaller than the one i took off,60p sorted that out.the whole kit was £210.I have installed these bits over the last 5 months (not in no hurry) and none of them have been hard.

[R8GXR]

Cheers for sharing as that does not look very hard to do and its good to know pattern parts fit OK. I don't actually need to do mine as the poor sod who had the car before me paid Audi some extortionate amount to have both front outer boots replaced along with the arms. £1200 comes to mind but not got the receipt with me.

[Shoppinit]

Nice tutorial. I'll put it in the FAQ.

I personally would remove the drive shaft and put it in a vice to knock the CV joint off. It worries me hitting things with a hammer when they are still connected to the gearbox, no matter how hard you clamp it - which is difficult enough to do, depending on the car.

[Shoppinit]

Also, how did you nip up the jubilee clips? Pincers?

[jamesthecat]

I used a pair of nail pliers. £2 and used a bench grinder to dull the jaws, worked a treat

[Shoppinit]

That's what I use too, but I didn't use a grinder to dull it, just plenty of ongoing abuse did the trick.

[jamesthecat]

Haha, i was not going to risk cutting through the clip

[grizz]

I would get the correct nut , the one on a rs6 has a large washer built in to it .

[jamesthecat]

All the nuts were correct they even came with some kind of lock-tight on,i got the washers for 60p from my local engineers and just swapped them.

[grizz]

Thats ok then ..

[Rovi]

Just to add a little to this one:
I see in the Bentley Publications Service Manual for this that they say you can thread the big CV retaining bolt back into the joint itself and it's long enough to reach the end of the driveshaft and pop it out of the joint. No hammers involved.
I haven't done this yet. but I'll be trying it whenever I have to do a joint..

[dhali]

Just to add a little to this one:
I see in the Bentley Publications Service Manual for this that they say you can thread the big CV retaining bolt back into the joint itself and it's long enough to reach the end of the driveshaft and pop it out of the joint. No hammers involved.
I haven't done this yet. but I'll be trying it whenever I have to do a joint..

Worked for me on B5 Rs4 Just make sure when you are screwing in the old bolt the the cv joint is perfectly straight in relation to the drive shaft .
I screwed it in by hand just to be sure and then used an impact gun .
It just pops off .