CV BOOT REPLACEMENT
COMMENTS
Replacing the CV boots when they split is an important but time
consuming and messy job. Depending on how long the boot has been split and
what kind of traveling has been done since it split, may determine whether
you are replacing the boot or replacing the entire axle shaft. Cost varies
considerably - about $12 for the boot vs $150-200 for the axle shaft. The
process isn't technically difficult but there are lots of small parts to
keep track of and keeping them free from dirt and dust can be a chore. I
assembled/disassembled the whole thing 4 times in the process of writing
this tech article - it also took me about 10 hours over 3 days. If you follow
it carefully, you can cut that to about 3 hours if you have all the parts/tools
on hand (you could further cut that to 1.5 hours if you had to do it again).
The CV boot kit should come with the boot, cv grease, and two boot bands.
I would suggest buying it after you find out if your joint is good or not.
If the joint is bad, you are probably better off replacing the whole axle
shaft. For this tech article, I was actually replacing the inner CV boot
(spider joint) but most of it applies to the outer joint (CV joint). The
inner joint for the V6 is slightly different but the procedure is the same.
Difficulty = 6/10
TOOLS AND PARTS NEEDED
- jack, jackstands and wheelchocks
- lug wrench or 21mm socket
- socket driver + small extention
- 6mm hex wrench
- 2 flathead screwdrivers (one small and one medium sized)
- Phillips screwdriver
- sockets (10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm, 19mm)
- wrenches (17mm and 14mm)
- rubber mallet (regular hammer will do if neccessary)
- snap ring pliers
- cv boot band tool (may be able to use pliers - depends on boot clamp)
- container of parts cleaner
- about a dozen rags
- wheel bearing grease
PROCEDURE
- First step is VERY important. With the vehicle still on the
ground, loosen almost completely the 5 or 6 (depending on year) 12mm bolts
that hold the axle shaft to the front differential - located where red circles
are in picture #5 . To do this, lock the front hubs. Loosen any bolts you
can reach then unlock front hubs. Rotate the axle shaft by hand so that
other bolts are accessible. Lock front hubs and repeat process until all
bolts are able to be turned by hand. Do not remove these bolts yet. When
done, leave hub in the free position.
- Loosen lug nuts also but, don't remove them. Chock rear wheels.
- Using
the jack at the jack point, raise vehicle off ground until tire is off pavement.
Put jackstand under the frame, lower vehicle until it is supported by the
jackstand and remove wheel. Remove jack and set aside.
- Remove
brake caliper by removing the two 14mm bolts that hold it to the caliper
bracket. Tie or support the caliper out of the way.
- Remove the caliper bracket by removing the two 19mm bolts. Set aside for later.
- Using
6mm hex wrench, loosen and then remove all 6 bolts holding the locking hub
to the rest of the hub - shown with blue dots in picture #1. Remove locking
hub and set aside.
 PICTURE #1
- Using
the snap ring pliers, remove the snap ring at end of axle shaft - red dot
in picture #2 (may have to wipe grease away to see it). Set aside.
 PICTURE #2
- Use small flat head screwdriver to pry inner drive clutch away from hub - green dot in picture #2. Remove it and set aside.
- Locate
the two small Phillips screws holding the lock washer in place - green dots
in picture #3 (round with many holes in it). Remove screws with Phillips
screwdriver and set screws aside. Pry lock washer off with small flathead
screwdriver and set aside.
 PICTURE #3
- Put
the tip of mediumsized flathead screwdriver on the edge of one of the larger
holes in the wheel bearing lock nut (looks like a washer). Gently tap screwdriver
with the hammer so that you are turning the lock nut counter-clockwise.
Once it loosens, stick tip of screwdriver in larger hole and rotate it off.
Set aside.
- Now you should be able to remove the rotor and hub
(along with both the inner and outer wheel bearings). Pull gently and evenly
and the entire assembly should come loose. If not, try tapping on the backside
with a rubber mallet or use a large 3 arm gear puller. Once loose, remove
the outer wheel bearing and set aside. The inner wheel bearing will be attached
to the hub so don't worry about it falling out. Be careful as the rotor/hub
assembly is somewhat heavy. Set aside. It should now look like picture #4.
 PICTURE #4
- Using
a 10mm socket, remove the dust shield and grease seal behind it by removing
the 4 bolts holding it in place - green dots in picture #4. Set both aside.
- To help get the shaft out easier, it is a good idea to remove
the shock absorber. Use a 14mm wrench on the top nut and a 17mm socket on
the bottom bolt. Compress the shock once this is done and remove.
- Now
comes the fun part. You will be almost completely removing the steering
knuckle so that you can slide the axle shaft out of it.
- Find
the jack you set aside earlier and use it to support the weight of the lower
control arm. Do this by putting it under the lower control arm but make
sure you don't put it underneath the lower ball joint or the 4 bolts that
hold it in place (you will need to access these in a few minutes). Raise
the jack so that you just slightly raise the lower control arm but don't
lift it so far that you take the weight off the jackstand. Remember you
just need to support the weight of the lower control arm.
- Loosen
the 4 12mm bolts that hold on the upper balljoint assembly - red dots in
picture #4. You can remove them now or in a few minutes (I removed them
at this time but you can leave them in for a short while - it might help
with the next step).
- Loosen the 4 14mm bolts holding the lower
ball joint in place - located at green circles in picture #5. You will need
to use a 17mm wrench on the top of the bolts to keep them from turning.
Leave them in place for the moment but take off the nuts from below.
- If you didn't remove the bolts from the upper ball joint, do so now.
- Support
the steering knuckle with one hand while you remove the 4 bolts holding the
lower ball joint assembly with you other hand.
- Once that is done,
you should have the steering knuckle in your hands and it should be connected
by only the tie rod end. You don't have to remove this if you don't want
to (I didn't).
- Now the trickly part. Push the steering knuckle
toward the front of the truck with one hand while pulling back on the axle
shaft with the other. You are trying to pull the axle shaft out of the steering
knuckle. You might have to move the steering knuckle around some to accomplish
this as it will just BARELY make it out. Keep working with it until it slides
completely out of the knuckle.. Then support the steering knuckle with a
box, cinderblock or anything else you have handy. Just don't let it hang
by the tie rod though. Also, after removing the shaft, look for a small
brass-colored spacer either on the CV end of the shaft itself or still in
the backside of the knuckle. I forgot to install it and had to redo everything
- just remember where it goes (I'll remind you later).
- Now, finish
removing the 6 bolts that you loosened in step 1 and withdraw the entire
axle shaft. Move it to a location where you can work on it easily (workbench
or another area of the garage). It should now look like picture #5. The
removed axle shaft should look like picture #6.
 PICTURE #5
 PICTURE #6
- You
now need to remove the grease seal on the end of the spider joint housing
if you are working on the inner boot. If you are working on the outer boot,
you just need to put matchmarks on the shaft and the joint assembly and skip
the next step.
- To remove the grease seal - shown in picture #7,
put the axle in a vise holding the middle of the shaft (if no vise is available,
just hold the center of the axle shaft with your hand). Hit down on the
edge of the spider joint housing until the grease seal becomes loose (do
this evenly all around the outside of the housing). Pry the seal off when
it is loose.
- Remove both boot bands and slide the boot down the shaft.
- Remove
the snap ring holding the joint to the shaft. For the spider joint, this
is right on top of the spider joint at the end of the shaft. Put matchmarks
on the housing that corespond to the paint marks on the spider joint and
the shaft (if they aren't there, you will have to mark the spider joint and
shaft as well). For the CV joint, just skip to the next step.
- Tap or pull on the joint and it should come loose from the shaft.
- Now
you are ready to clean all the parts in the parts cleaner. This will take
awhile, but it is important to get them totally clean of grease and debris.
Once that is done, inspect all parts for wear and replace any that are worn
(if the spider joint/CV joint is worn, it is easier to just buy a complete
axle shaft. All parts can be seen in picture #7.
 PICTURE #7
- Now comes the reassembly. Follow the directions that came with your specific boot but I will outline them briefly anyway.
- First
slide small boot clamp followed by the boot onto the shaft with the narrow
end going on first. Take a some of the grease and partially fill the boot
with grease. Coat the inside of the housing with some more of the grease.
Then slide the housing onto the boot with the boot band loosely attached.
Line up the matchmarks you make earlier and re-install the spiderjoint.
Secure with a new snap ring. While holding the housing, fill/ pack the
remaining grease onto the spider joint. Hammer on the grease seal to the
end of the housing. Make sure it is on tight. Finally, tighten the boot
clamps so that the boot is snug against the shaft and housing. You may need
a boot band tool for this but I was able to use a set of pliers and a screwdriver
for mine (it will depend on the boot band you bought).
- The rest
is simply a reversal of the order you just followed. Start with step 22
and work backwards through this article. When re-installing, remember to
grease everything properly with wheel bearing grease and pack both wheel
bearings (put a glob of grease in your palm and push the bearing into your
palm while letting the bearings slide in you palm. You are trying to push
grease in between all of those roller bearings).
- Remember that
spacer I mentioned earlier? Make sure that you have that in place BEFORE
you slide the axleshaft into the steering knuckle. It just goes into the
gap provided at the back of the steering knuckle. Make sure that it is oriented
so that the curved section (kind of beveled on one side) will be facing the
CV joint when it is installed (very important because I had it backwards
and had to disassemble it yet another time). This spacer can be seen in
picture #8 - I have it labeled as driveshaft to hub spacer (really should
be knuckle spacer).
- I also chose to disassemble the manual locking hubs and clean everything. You can find the procedure by clicking here - Locking Hub Disassembly
. Picture #8 shows all the parts of the locking hub assembly.
 PICTURE #8
- Here are two reference pictures with the axleshaft re-installed and the knuckle attached to the a-arms.
 PICTURE #9
 PICTURE #10
- Torque values for the upper ball joint bolts = 12-17 ft-lbs
Torque values for the lower ball joint bolts = 35-45 ft-lbs
Torque values for the caliper bracket bolts = 53-72 ft-lbs
Torque values for the caliper bolts = 16-23 ft-lbs
Torque values for the axle shaft to differential bolts = 25-33 ft-lbs
Torque values for the locking hub housing hex bolts = 18-25 ft-lbs
Torque values for the shock absorber top = 12-16 ft-lbs
Torque values for the shock absorber bottom = 43-58 ft-lbs
Torque values for the lug nuts = 80 ft-lbs
UPDATE Tom (pushstart) gave me a tip. The following
is an excerpt from what I received from him: "I removed the upper ball joint
bolts and let the whole rotor and hub assembly swing down. I also left all
the steering intact. By turning the wheel and pushing the cv shaft together
it just made it out."
Article by Sean "rockjaw" McClelland
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