mark786 Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 The CV boots on the front drive axles of my '98 Legacy OBW is split. From prices I've gathered locally and on the web there would be about $100 difference between replacing all the boots and replacing the drive axle. I guess the amount of work required would be about the same. Should I just replace the drive axle and get it over with or would it be better to keep the original part until it failed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 How long has it been split? How much grease is left in the joint? The CV are tough, but dirt and a lack of lube can trash them. If it still has grease, and the inside is clean, a replacment boot should be fine. You need to make sure the CV is CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN, before you put in the new grease and boot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerFahrer Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 My opinion as expressed many times before: - Let the axle tear itself to shreds. Get as much use out of it as you can. - Once you start hearing clunking as you accelerate in a straight line, it's done. - Replace the axle with a rebuilt unit from www.cvaxles.com for $55. - Rest assured you have one of the best built axles in the world, and a proven lifetime warranty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT95 Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 I'm with subyluvr2212 on that one. If you are gonna fool with the time to change out the boots, it would make sense to go ahead and swap in a new axel and have the security of newness and longevity. If you are paying someone to do it, I bet they'd charge less (or at least the same) to simply swap in a new axel than fool with trading multiple boots. I have a torn inner boot on my 95 Legacy. Over 150,000 miles. If it's getting torn down to get to a boot, that whole axel is getting replaced... Has anybody come up with a "fix-it" boot that can be put on over top of a torn CV boot to at least extend the life of the joint and delay the resulting damage of a torn/ripped boot? It seems stupid to have to go through all that disassembly to replace a simple rubber boot that every manufacturer knows will deteriorate with age and need replaced. I might experiment this weekend and get back w/ ya... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Unless a boot has suffered trauma, probably the other 3 boots are also about ready to go. So... you can tear it down to replace a boot, and next week/month tear it down to replace another boot, until you have done all 4: total cost approx 60?, and 3-4 teardown times, or replace the axles now (or when they are totally wasted) for $110-130 and 1 tear-down time. Although you WILL get faster at R&Ring axles the more you do it, it is still not one of my favorite activities. (As much as I LOVE wrenching, doing it in the rain while sitting on crushed rock and mud in the dark 'cuz it has to be done by morning is not much fun!!! ) CSK does (did?) sell split-boot repair kits, never tried one on a Subaru. The only time I used one I was preety stooopid and tried to glue the seam while sitting in place on the greasey joint (instead of on the relatively clean axle and sliding the boot over the joint!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidv Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 My opinion as expressed many times before: - Let the axle tear itself to shreds. Get as much use out of it as you can. - Once you start hearing clunking as you accelerate in a straight line, it's done. I noticed the two outer boots are torn on my cv's within the last 200 miles. There are no sounds at all to indicate a problem. How long do you think before I would start noticing signs of the axle deteriorating with normal road driving? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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