CV Boot Repair Kit

If your in this game then you must know how frustrating this gets at times!. I found this Universal Stretch CV boot repair kit

came in very handy after re-fitting the sub frame and damaging the cv boot. The axle shaft cv joint some how was caught and damaged, it was only a tiny split but If left would only deteriorate further, also being an M.O.T failure it was best to get this fixed.

It doesn't matter how hard you try sometimes you will end up doing some damage !

how to fit a universal cv boot repair kit

The whole Stub Axle (front hub) was removed to make this an easy refit. The axle drive shaft does go straight through the Sub- frame you cannot remove this without taking the the Inner Pots apart, which must be refitted back in the same positions to avoid further complications. Or by taking the outer end cv joint apart.

This was very frustrating as the axle cv joints were all working Fine.

If you do find your cv- joints need replacing, there is no way around this you will need to fix this, the only way to remove this from the Sub- frame is the messy way, by splitting the Inner joints apart or using a special tool puller tool 18G 1243. (not easily available these days) but remember the drive shaft cv- joint will not pull through the sub frame it must be taken apart. This can be a tough job as you will find it difficult to pull the joint apart, it is retained by a cir-clip, you need to hold this shaft in a straight position, using a copper hide hammer give the edges a good whack hopefully they will come apart. Also don't forget to drain the oil out when pulling the Inner shaft away from the gear box.
There is some risk of damaging the joints here! as you are hammering at the joint you may end up needing a complete new axle drive shaft (if seized or damaged) kind of defeats the object. But that's mechanics for you.

How Can you tell if your CV Joints Need Replacing

To be honest here the joints do and will last a very long time even if they are clicking they will not just fall apart but this will indicate ware so first off if you notice clicking noise when cornering then you can bet its coming from the Joints, how ever I wouldn't panic these joints can still outlast you and me even in this situation providing the cv- boot is not split allowing Ingress of debris. (I would still replace them).
If on the other hand you find a clicking noise when driving in a straight line, I would definitely be looking to change the joints here.

Alternatively if your cv- joints are fine and you find just your boot is split! you have a choice to make! Complete removal of suspension and drive shaft or try one of these universal boot kits. I'm not keen on the split type or the glue patches therefore I can only recommend what has worked for me, as mentioned above depending on your vehicle, part of your front suspension ie, bottom ball joint/ track rod end or strut will need to be removed in order of pulling away the drive shaft it self for repair.

How to fit the CV Boot Kit

Any how moving forward, if your rubber cv- boot is damaged or split, you should definitely be looking to replacing this a.s.a.p to avoid ingress of debris which will cause further more serious damage to the joint itself.

This kit I found on eBay will fit a variety of vehicles in fact over 90% of vehicles. In my demo video below you can see how easy this job became, this is an example I was working on my Mrs Car here. It worked out well as it passed its annual m..o.t. inspection test.

The trick is to avoid too much grease on the fitting cone, don't put a ton of grease on the CV boot cone thinking it will make it slide over easier the opposite will happen, (I've done that, it doesn't work!). You only need a small amount of grease which is supplied with the kit.
I was so impressed with just how stretchy but tough this product is, I have began to use this as a Universal CV boot repair kit.