CV boot inner

[swisstony]

Quick question. Whilst fettling about with my front coilovers I noticed another potential MOT failure. Inner CV boot ( gearbox side) on drivers side had lost the retaining clip and I could see grease residue around the shaft ( thats a phrase taht you dont want to say too often )
It dosent look split so assume the clip has come off.
Do you think I could get away with packing in some grease and a jubilee clip over it or should I get a brand new boot, grease and clips and do the job properly ?
The only reason I ask as doing a quick search I can see other people have had issues where the part ordered was incorrect and it seems quite a big job

 

[Charlie Farley]

Ideally you want to remove the shaft and boot , give it a good clean and repack with grease, then use the correct clip to secure it tightly.

 

[Charlie Farley]

The boot is probably well past it now so use a new one.

 

[Charlie Farley]

There a few sizes available so just be sure to double check before ordering.
Ecp are the worse culprits for supplying the wrong ones.

 

[swisstony]

The boot is probably well past it now so use a new one.

I thought as much. I saw a thread back in 2017 where you had to do this job ( think yours was wheel end ) and you had issues with getting the correct part. I didnt want to have the same problem and second question, is it something I could do on my driveway or its a garage job ?

 

[Charlie Farley]

I’ve done it twice and replaced both ends inc the joint.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Very doable at home and there are a few ways to do it , the bad news is that the drivers side is more awkward due to the heat shield above it.
Allow an afternoon to do it without problems.

 

[swisstony]

I am sure you made it look easy as well
I assume the two parts I need are somewhere on this diagram as this seems to be the quattro version

 

[Charlie Farley]

Is yours 2wd or Quattro ?

 

[Charlie Farley]

Loosening the hub end bolt can be a right pain , make sure you have a long and strong breaker bar and the correct size hex bit.

 

[Charlie Farley]

The boots vary depending on what shaft is fitted.
As your only doing one side you don’t need to mark them as left and right drive shafts are different lengths.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Failing all that the just use a new jubilee clip to secure from any more loss of grease and ingress of dirt and water , not the ideal solution but will do as a stop gap for a while.

 

[swisstony]

Is yours 2wd or Quattro ?

quattro

 

[Charlie Farley]

Your call really , how you proceed will depend on how long it has been loose and how much grease has been lost .
It gets a lot of wear so needs as much dirt free lubricant as possible.

 

[swisstony]

Your call really , how you proceed will depend on how long it has been loose and how much grease has been lost .
It gets a lot of wear so needs as much dirt free lubricant as possible.

I might whack in some grease and fit a jubilee clip over it and then get the garage to do the job when it is in for its next service which is next year. I think I know my limits on this car when it comes to DIY

 

[Charlie Farley]

If in doubt then let someone else sort it out is the best plan.

 

[swisstony]

If in doubt then let someone else sort it out is the best plan.

My son is an apprentice at a local garage and has access to a ton of 2 post lifts so I think it is time to call in a favour from him and get him to the job I would like to order the correct part so will search for the correct one

 

[Charlie Farley]

It’s a much easier job with a lift as access from beneath is at a premium

 

[boffin486]

If you ever intend to do work under your car seriously (suspension/brakes/exhaust etc.) I highly recommend getting your own hydraulic lift. They can be had for around the £13 - 1500 mark & I reckon (personally) it's the best investment I have ever made! Working with axle stands/wheel ramps etc is banished to effortlessly getting the car to a comfortable working height. It's paid for itself many many times over in the few years I've had it.

 

[swisstony]

If you ever intend to do work under your car (suspension/brakes/exhaust etc.) I highly recommend getting your own hydraulic lift. They can be had for around the £13 - 1500 mark & I reckon (personally) it's the best investment I have ever made!

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I would love to do that but my driveway is on a slope so I doubt it would work unless it was uber flat ??? nice lift though, envious

 

[boffin486]

I would love to do that but my driveway is on a slope so I doubt it would work unless it was uber flat ??? nice lift though, envious

Yes, unfortunately it does have to be on a flat solid surface for safety reasons.

 

[swisstony]

Yes I thought so.Could just imagine it tipping over and the lift and car heading down over the road into the field

 

[Charlie Farley]

I was tempted to buy something similar a couple of years ago but i wasn't won over by the low lift height, I'm 6'3, and id be hunched up all the time working under it.
And I could not get on with the framework stuck in the middle, id be cursing it all the time.
Just me, I think if I was going to invest in a lift it would need to be one that lifts from the sides and not in the middle.
But i can see that it would be really usefull.