1993 Accord LX CV Boot Replacement?

[rollindice]

alright so i have just purchased a used 1993 Accord LX 4dr Sedan. Mind you this is my first car, and i have not done much mechanical work throughout my life.

The car from what i can tell and feel and see is in pretty damn good condition and believe it or not only has 83,000 miles on it.

There is no problems with the vehicle the previous owner had said accept the fact that the CV boot is torn. Now i have been looking this up for about and hour and have not found much. i read a CV boot costs about 15 bucks. But i am not sure how to install this or if i could even do it myself. I read somewhere someone said that if you have a torn CV boot that you should just replace the whole CV joint itself along with the boot...this seemed extremely expensive.

People said after they had torn there CV boot that they started hearing a clicking noise on turns, of course because of all the junk that cant get into the joint. Fortunately mine is not doing this yet. I have test driven it and everything, and it seems great, and drives smooth. But this is my first car, and i need to do anything i can to repair and protect the vulnerable parts of the vehicle.

So i need want your opinions...should i just replace the boot? and how would i replace just the boot itself?
or
am i going to have to replace the whole CV joint? and how would i go about doing this, could i repair it my self? are there any tutorials?

i appreciate anyones help....thanks alot!!!

[H.M.]

You want to replace the whole axle (not just the CV joint). About $70 and not too hard to do.
Hardest part will be breaking the axle nut and ball joints free.

Lots of posts on it - do a search.

[spillagecars]

REALLY!!! replace a good cv because the boot is torn! Get the boot kit and a boot retainer clamp tool and replace the boot.

Also, you dont want to do it yourself. Bring it to a trusted mechanic. Not worth the headache

[HardInThePaint]

REALLY!!! replace a good cv because the boot is torn!

Yeah really. Thats how we do it. If u ask around the majority will probably tell u to replace the entire axle.

[LadyG]

I'll just leave this here...

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=155916

[C91BLX7]

Waste of money if the joint is still good..

[HardInThePaint]

Waste of money if the joint is still good..

Yeah maybe but thats how I've always done it. And thats how everybody I've ever run into has done it, atleast with CB's. IDK I guess it is what it is.

[deevergote]

If the boot is torn, dirt has gotten in there. SO, you replace the boot, and you're trapping that dirt in there. Unless you pull it all out, clean it, and re-grease it... and HOPE you got all the dirt out.

In light of the price of a decent remanufactured axle, that's an awful lot of work for something that could very well fail on you in a few weeks! A replacement is cheap, easy, and in most cases, under warranty.


The ONLY time I would condone replacing the boot of any joint (CV, ball joint, etc...) is if you tear the boot while working on the car, and the insides are never exposed to dirt.

Once dirt gets in that grease, putting a new boot on is as bad as corndogging your girlfriend. It never works out very well, and the chances are very good that you'll end up getting something broken in half!

[FAK_LAF]

If you have to take the cv axle out anyway to replace the boot, I would just replace the entire axle. With 83000 miles, it is probably the original axle and has experienced 83000 miles of fatigue. Just because it has not failed yet doesn't mean it isn't far off, especially if the boot has been torn for some time. Why not replace it if you already have the knuckle off the car. A new cv axle is 60 bucks, which in my opinion is not extremely expensive. However you will probably have to purchase an impact wrench and 36mm socket or borrow/rent one to get that hub nut off. I had to hit mine with a 200 ft-lb impact gun for a couple minutes to break it loose. good luck man.

[Skidd]

I had a similar problem when I was replacing the engine, and the boot tore when I had set the axles on the ground. I didn't realize that this would cause any major problems, but eventually I was getting a click when I was turning. I talked to several mechanics from where I worked (department store with an auto section... (no, not wal-mart)) and another local mechanic and they all told me it would be best to replace the whole knuckle or joint... or axle, I'm still not entirely sure what they replaced, actually... Not that it matters. But I had it worked on for around $100 I think. For safety reasons, its best if you get this fixed before it becomes a bigger problem or a catastrophic failure.

[FAK_LAF]

well hopefully they replaced your cv axle and not the knuckle cause that would be pointless... and why wouldn't you just replace the cv axle yourself if you were capable of putting a new motor in it instead of "having it worked on for $100"...

Anyway, yeah, even if the joint isn't close to being worn out yet after 83000 miles, like deevergote said, there is most likely dirt and debris in the joint that will cause accelerated wear. Just spend the 60 bucks and replace it.

[deevergote]

From my personal experience, NAPA remanufactured axles are quite good. A little more expensive than Autozone or Advanced Auto, but I've known those cheaper ones to give problems (though I ran an Autozone remanufactured axle for years with no problem, and currently have 2 on my car now.)

[Losiracer2]

I went with EMPI axles, they're brand new, no remanufactured parts to toss into the mix. Had my Pass side CV on there for a good 75k miles before the boot tore and I upgraded to Driveshaft shop axles