Inner CV boot replacement help.

[AsILayDying]

Ok so I have searched the threads and only found very little help on the replacement of the inner CV Boot. Most people just replace the entire axle boot and all. I would much rather save a little money and replace just the boot. I am looking for any help with where to look for a manual or DIY guide to replacing this part. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

PS. by the way the vehicle is an 04' WRX

[EvoEatr]

hmmm do you know how to the get the axle out....because I have and you can do it with the axle still installed in the hub just not on the stub shaft of the trans...the inner a DOJ ( double offset joint)...basically what I do for the dozens and dozens of ones Ive done is pull the axle out of the car and put it in a vise....I usually reuse the smaller clamp so take a screwdriver and pop the little push downs up and pop the small clamp off....do the same with the large clamp and I usually discard and pick up a new one...
Parts you will need...( these prices are I believe at least close to what we charge)
Grease: 18.96
Large Clamp: 8.04
Boot: 13.14
Anways after you have the clamps off pop the large end off the outer joint housing and move the outer housing forward as if the axle where to go further in it..there is a "snap ring" in there ...take a screwdriver and carefully pop it out...the outer housing will come off as well as the 3 little "tulip" cups....you will than notice another snap ring on the end of the axle actually holding the join on...use a pair of snap ring pliers and pop that and the joint off...now your free do slide the old boot off and the new on....I usually take a can or two of brakleen and clean everything very well...after the new boot is on reinstall the joint, snap ring..on each tip of the joint squirt a little grease and install the "tulip" cups..than pop a little grease on each one of those..squeeze the remainig grease into the outer joint housing...fit the housing over the joint and install the large "snap ring"..fit the boot over the outer housing and install clamps...the only two types of half specialty tools you will need are snap ring pliers and a pair of clamp pliers to install the new outer joint clamp.....This is the best way I can descirbe it....we could also get into how to remove the axle out of the car but there is a various number of ways to do that...lol...check this out..might be of some help also... Impreza Manuals | ken-gilbert.com

[amccrazgrl]

Did you ever get yours replaced?
I was just at Subaru today and they said my cv boot needs replaced and it will cost $325+tax.
Damn!!!!

[EvoEatr]

Originally Posted by amccrazgrl

Did you ever get yours replaced?
I was just at Subaru today and they said my cv boot needs replaced and it will cost $325+tax.
Damn!!!!

If you have the tools and space give it a whirl its not to hard ( granted I use air tools and I know I take them for granted...lol)..However I can say sometimes the axle can get pretty seized in the hub and they can be hell to get out....They do pay well where I work we get paid 2.5 hours for the replacement of either an inner DOJ or outer CV boot and they can easily be done in around 40 min. (with air tools of course)...

[SDGoods]

Originally Posted by EvoEatr

hmmm do you know how to the get the axle out....because I have and you can do it with the axle still installed in the hub just not on the stub shaft of the trans...the inner a DOJ ( double offset joint)...basically what I do for the dozens and dozens of ones Ive done is pull the axle out of the car and put it in a vise....I usually reuse the smaller clamp so take a screwdriver and pop the little push downs up and pop the small clamp off....do the same with the large clamp and I usually discard and pick up a new one...
Parts you will need...( these prices are I believe at least close to what we charge)
Grease: 18.96
Large Clamp: 8.04
Boot: 13.14
Anways after you have the clamps off pop the large end off the outer joint housing and move the outer housing forward as if the axle where to go further in it..there is a "snap ring" in there ...take a screwdriver and carefully pop it out...the outer housing will come off as well as the 3 little "tulip" cups....you will than notice another snap ring on the end of the axle actually holding the join on...use a pair of snap ring pliers and pop that and the joint off...now your free do slide the old boot off and the new on....I usually take a can or two of brakleen and clean everything very well...after the new boot is on reinstall the joint, snap ring..on each tip of the joint squirt a little grease and install the "tulip" cups..than pop a little grease on each one of those..squeeze the remainig grease into the outer joint housing...fit the housing over the joint and install the large "snap ring"..fit the boot over the outer housing and install clamps...the only two types of half specialty tools you will need are snap ring pliers and a pair of clamp pliers to install the new outer joint clamp.....This is the best way I can descirbe it....we could also get into how to remove the axle out of the car but there is a various number of ways to do that...lol...check this out..might be of some help also... Impreza Manuals | ken-gilbert.com

I might be doing this job today. At first you said you do the inner boot with the axle still in the car wihch didnt make sense, then you said you take the axle out. To get the whole axle out do you have to unbolt any suspension components? Ive done CV boots on VWs and sometimes you have to unbolt the lower control arm and swing it out of the way to get the axle out. Also, Does the end of the axle on the trans hub just pull out?

[EvoEatr]

Yes you can do the inner doj boot replacement with the axle still in the vehicle, that is the outer stub shaft still in the hub...either way there are numerous ways to get the whole axle out which is what I recommend...personally what I do is unbolt the castle nut from the ball joint after removing the cotter pin of course...also unbolt the sway bar link and remove the 32mm axle nut...sometimes the axle gets seized in the hub where an air hammer or heat aka torch will be needed...in 04 it was somewhat of a crossover year so you may have a spring pin in the inner axle which just needs to be punched out..or you can leave the spring pin in and just pull the whole stub shaft out of the trans...your choice..

[SDGoods]

Originally Posted by EvoEatr

Yes you can do the inner doj boot replacement with the axle still in the vehicle, that is the outer stub shaft still in the hub...either way there are numerous ways to get the whole axle out which is what I recommend...personally what I do is unbolt the castle nut from the ball joint after removing the cotter pin of course...also unbolt the sway bar link and remove the 32mm axle nut...sometimes the axle gets seized in the hub where an air hammer or heat aka torch will be needed...in 04 it was somewhat of a crossover year so you may have a spring pin in the inner axle which just needs to be punched out..or you can leave the spring pin in and just pull the whole stub shaft out of the trans...your choice..

Thanks for the help. i didnt end up doing it today. Didnt have the clamp pliers at the moment. My CV boot itself is not ripped, its just spitting grease out at the smaller clamp of both inner cv boots, and i was trying to figure out if just replacing that small clamp would stop the leak. What do you think about that? I already bought both boots, all clamps and grease, but now im thinkin of just replacing the whole axle. Stumped on what to do.

[EvoEatr]

Yes you can just replace the small clamp I have done that many times...actually just did it the other day on my outer passanger side cv boot on my legacy...I would grab a clamp so that you can just slip it on the boot so you have to remove anything except the clamp of course...

[SDGoods]

Originally Posted by EvoEatr

Yes you can just replace the small clamp I have done that many times...actually just did it the other day on my outer passanger side cv boot on my legacy...I would grab a clamp so that you can just slip it on the boot so you have to remove anything except the clamp of course...

Nice! and that stopped the leaking? i think im going to shoot some grease in there while im at it. Wish i didnt just spend the 60 bucks on boots/clamps/grease though I was messing with the clamp and bent it back far enough to where it would be able to still bend back and still clamp on the boot.

[EvoEatr]

Originally Posted by SDGoods

Nice! and that stopped the leaking? i think im going to shoot some grease in there while im at it. Wish i didnt just spend the 60 bucks on boots/clamps/grease though I was messing with the clamp and bent it back far enough to where it would be able to still bend back and still clamp on the boot.

Yup did indeed stop the leaking... for some odd reason half of the leaking boots in general i see on Subarus are due to the little clamp on either the inner DOJ or outer CV boots..and the other half obviously are torn boots...

[SDGoods]

Originally Posted by EvoEatr

Yup did indeed stop the leaking... for some odd reason half of the leaking boots in general i see on Subarus are due to the little clamp on either the inner DOJ or outer CV boots..and the other half obviously are torn boots...

UGHH well i attempted to replace the clamps. I got them off fine but ended up not being able to get the clamp to the 3rd tab. Ended up using a hose clamp temporarily. A school bus-tech suggested I use the kind of clamps that come on the boot, so i might try that. I rigged up a little squirt bottle and hose to squirt more grease in to make up for wat came out, however i dont know how well it worked and how much is actually inside the boot. How do you normally get more grease in there?

[EvoEatr]

Originally Posted by SDGoods

UGHH well i attempted to replace the clamps. I got them off fine but ended up not being able to get the clamp to the 3rd tab. Ended up using a hose clamp temporarily. A school bus-tech suggested I use the kind of clamps that come on the boot, so i might try that. I rigged up a little squirt bottle and hose to squirt more grease in to make up for wat came out, however i dont know how well it worked and how much is actually inside the boot. How do you normally get more grease in there?

Personally I have never added grease when I replace just the clamp, fore usually if you notice the boot leaking just around the clamp you catch it in time so not to much grease has spewed out lol

[amccrazgrl]

Too bad your probably like 4-6 hours away.
My Subaru invoice says "front right cv boot open".

I'm hoping my mechanic cousin will do it and charge way less. No way in hell am I paying $325+tax.

[AsILayDying]

Man that sucks my local shop, put in a NEW front right axle for 160 including parts and labor. Sorry to hear they are trying to get you like that.... 325+tax ouch!

[EvoEatr]

Originally Posted by amccrazgrl

Too bad your probably like 4-6 hours away.
My Subaru invoice says "front right cv boot open".

I'm hoping my mechanic cousin will do it and charge way less. No way in hell am I paying $325+tax.

Yeah really...dang lol...I do know that for an axle boot replacement the labor is more expensive than an axle replacement...we get paid 2.5 hours for a boot replacement compared to 2.0 hours for an axle replacement...both which can easily be done in this time even by a novice...So hypothtically the labor is $120/hr just labor alone is 300 plus parts of around 30 bucks...However dont let the ripped boot just go fore after a few months of driving the joint will start to make noise and you will need an axle ( and I dont know if you know the rep. of aftermarket axles when it comes to Subarus but lets just say you will NEED to buy a Subaru reman. axle not one from like NAPA or Autozone or something...)