Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

Hello,

With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.

Now, with my relatively new car, I wish to be able to avoid or prevent
that from happening again, so I did some research on CV joint
maintenance, and everything I've read talked about what to do when the
boots crack. Nothing about how to prolong their life or prevent those
boots from cracking.

The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.

What's rather preplexing to me is that I read often how some people
who've put on >150K mi. on their previous cars, some having owned
about 5 or 6 different cars in the past and even living in northeast,
and never had a CV joint problem due to the boots cracking or failing,
let alone the CV joints itself going bad.

So, my question is, does anyone have a time proven or a definitive way
to prevent the boots from failing? I read how some would liberally
apply silicone spray on the CV boots and other boots everytime they
changed the oil. Would that be a good way to prolong the life of or
prevent the boots from cracking prematurely?

Any other suggestions or insight into this would be greatly
aprpciated. Thanks for your time and courtesy.

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

"Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
>
> The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
>

Just about cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a rebuilt... when you
figure the time it takes to actually put a new boot on.

Rob

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

"Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
>
> The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
>

Just about cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a rebuilt... when you
figure the time it takes to actually put a new boot on.

Rob

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

"Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
>
> The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
>

Just about cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a rebuilt... when you
figure the time it takes to actually put a new boot on.

Rob

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

"Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
>
> The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
>

Just about cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a rebuilt... when you
figure the time it takes to actually put a new boot on.

Rob

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

--
Hunt hard...Kill quick...Offer No Apologies!
"becida" <becida@juno.com> wrote in message
news:vsli9b8o8aj59@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
> news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> > Hello,
> >
> > With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> > drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> > them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> > dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
> >
> > The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> > know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
> >
>
> Just about cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a rebuilt... when you
> figure the time it takes to actually put a new boot on.
>
> Rob

If the cv joint itself is damaged it is cheaper and easier to replace the cv
shaft. Parts for the joint rebuild usually cost more than the entire
(remanufactured axle) and the labor involved is significantly less also.
While I worked at an automotive shop, it was always our suggestion to do the
whole axle when we found that the joint was bad. Of course, this does not
apply where only the boot is being replaced.

Dave D

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

--
Hunt hard...Kill quick...Offer No Apologies!
"becida" <becida@juno.com> wrote in message
news:vsli9b8o8aj59@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
> news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> > Hello,
> >
> > With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> > drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> > them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> > dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
> >
> > The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> > know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
> >
>
> Just about cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a rebuilt... when you
> figure the time it takes to actually put a new boot on.
>
> Rob

If the cv joint itself is damaged it is cheaper and easier to replace the cv
shaft. Parts for the joint rebuild usually cost more than the entire
(remanufactured axle) and the labor involved is significantly less also.
While I worked at an automotive shop, it was always our suggestion to do the
whole axle when we found that the joint was bad. Of course, this does not
apply where only the boot is being replaced.

Dave D

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

--
Hunt hard...Kill quick...Offer No Apologies!
"becida" <becida@juno.com> wrote in message
news:vsli9b8o8aj59@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
> news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> > Hello,
> >
> > With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> > drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> > them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> > dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
> >
> > The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> > know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
> >
>
> Just about cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a rebuilt... when you
> figure the time it takes to actually put a new boot on.
>
> Rob

If the cv joint itself is damaged it is cheaper and easier to replace the cv
shaft. Parts for the joint rebuild usually cost more than the entire
(remanufactured axle) and the labor involved is significantly less also.
While I worked at an automotive shop, it was always our suggestion to do the
whole axle when we found that the joint was bad. Of course, this does not
apply where only the boot is being replaced.

Dave D

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

--
Hunt hard...Kill quick...Offer No Apologies!
"becida" <becida@juno.com> wrote in message
news:vsli9b8o8aj59@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
> news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> > Hello,
> >
> > With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> > drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> > them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> > dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
> >
> > The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> > know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
> >
>
> Just about cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a rebuilt... when you
> figure the time it takes to actually put a new boot on.
>
> Rob

If the cv joint itself is damaged it is cheaper and easier to replace the cv
shaft. Parts for the joint rebuild usually cost more than the entire
(remanufactured axle) and the labor involved is significantly less also.
While I worked at an automotive shop, it was always our suggestion to do the
whole axle when we found that the joint was bad. Of course, this does not
apply where only the boot is being replaced.

Dave D

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

.......> So, my question is, does anyone have a time proven or a definitive
way
> to prevent the boots from failing? I read how some would liberally
> apply silicone spray on the CV boots and other boots everytime they
> changed the oil. Would that be a good way to prolong the life of or
> prevent the boots from cracking prematurely?


Any substance that will prolong the life of rubber, or anything that
will help it retain it's flexibility and elasticity should help somewhat.
Not sure about silicone -maybe. Armorall might be a good one to try. CV
joint boots are heavy thick rubber, and you're only applying the protectant
to the outside surface, so in the long run it may extend the life of the
boots a little, but they are still likely to age and crack.

The problem with CV joint and boot maintenence is that most boots are
made tubular and thus become very labor intensive to replace. A boot that
could be taken off simply by removing the clamps on either end would then
become a regular maintenance item you replace very so many miles based on
the estimated life of the rubber, driving conditions, etc. This would also
allow regreasing of the joint itself if necessary, and probably make CV
joints last the life of the vehicle.

--
Bob
"Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
>
> Now, with my relatively new car, I wish to be able to avoid or prevent
> that from happening again, so I did some research on CV joint
> maintenance, and everything I've read talked about what to do when the
> boots crack. Nothing about how to prolong their life or prevent those
> boots from cracking.
>
> The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
>
> What's rather preplexing to me is that I read often how some people
> who've put on >150K mi. on their previous cars, some having owned
> about 5 or 6 different cars in the past and even living in northeast,
> and never had a CV joint problem due to the boots cracking or failing,
> let alone the CV joints itself going bad.
>
> So, my question is, does anyone have a time proven or a definitive way
> to prevent the boots from failing? I read how some would liberally
> apply silicone spray on the CV boots and other boots everytime they
> changed the oil. Would that be a good way to prolong the life of or
> prevent the boots from cracking prematurely?
>
> Any other suggestions or insight into this would be greatly
> aprpciated. Thanks for your time and courtesy.

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

.......> So, my question is, does anyone have a time proven or a definitive
way
> to prevent the boots from failing? I read how some would liberally
> apply silicone spray on the CV boots and other boots everytime they
> changed the oil. Would that be a good way to prolong the life of or
> prevent the boots from cracking prematurely?


Any substance that will prolong the life of rubber, or anything that
will help it retain it's flexibility and elasticity should help somewhat.
Not sure about silicone -maybe. Armorall might be a good one to try. CV
joint boots are heavy thick rubber, and you're only applying the protectant
to the outside surface, so in the long run it may extend the life of the
boots a little, but they are still likely to age and crack.

The problem with CV joint and boot maintenence is that most boots are
made tubular and thus become very labor intensive to replace. A boot that
could be taken off simply by removing the clamps on either end would then
become a regular maintenance item you replace very so many miles based on
the estimated life of the rubber, driving conditions, etc. This would also
allow regreasing of the joint itself if necessary, and probably make CV
joints last the life of the vehicle.

--
Bob
"Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
>
> Now, with my relatively new car, I wish to be able to avoid or prevent
> that from happening again, so I did some research on CV joint
> maintenance, and everything I've read talked about what to do when the
> boots crack. Nothing about how to prolong their life or prevent those
> boots from cracking.
>
> The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
>
> What's rather preplexing to me is that I read often how some people
> who've put on >150K mi. on their previous cars, some having owned
> about 5 or 6 different cars in the past and even living in northeast,
> and never had a CV joint problem due to the boots cracking or failing,
> let alone the CV joints itself going bad.
>
> So, my question is, does anyone have a time proven or a definitive way
> to prevent the boots from failing? I read how some would liberally
> apply silicone spray on the CV boots and other boots everytime they
> changed the oil. Would that be a good way to prolong the life of or
> prevent the boots from cracking prematurely?
>
> Any other suggestions or insight into this would be greatly
> aprpciated. Thanks for your time and courtesy.

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

.......> So, my question is, does anyone have a time proven or a definitive
way
> to prevent the boots from failing? I read how some would liberally
> apply silicone spray on the CV boots and other boots everytime they
> changed the oil. Would that be a good way to prolong the life of or
> prevent the boots from cracking prematurely?


Any substance that will prolong the life of rubber, or anything that
will help it retain it's flexibility and elasticity should help somewhat.
Not sure about silicone -maybe. Armorall might be a good one to try. CV
joint boots are heavy thick rubber, and you're only applying the protectant
to the outside surface, so in the long run it may extend the life of the
boots a little, but they are still likely to age and crack.

The problem with CV joint and boot maintenence is that most boots are
made tubular and thus become very labor intensive to replace. A boot that
could be taken off simply by removing the clamps on either end would then
become a regular maintenance item you replace very so many miles based on
the estimated life of the rubber, driving conditions, etc. This would also
allow regreasing of the joint itself if necessary, and probably make CV
joints last the life of the vehicle.

--
Bob
"Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
>
> Now, with my relatively new car, I wish to be able to avoid or prevent
> that from happening again, so I did some research on CV joint
> maintenance, and everything I've read talked about what to do when the
> boots crack. Nothing about how to prolong their life or prevent those
> boots from cracking.
>
> The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
>
> What's rather preplexing to me is that I read often how some people
> who've put on >150K mi. on their previous cars, some having owned
> about 5 or 6 different cars in the past and even living in northeast,
> and never had a CV joint problem due to the boots cracking or failing,
> let alone the CV joints itself going bad.
>
> So, my question is, does anyone have a time proven or a definitive way
> to prevent the boots from failing? I read how some would liberally
> apply silicone spray on the CV boots and other boots everytime they
> changed the oil. Would that be a good way to prolong the life of or
> prevent the boots from cracking prematurely?
>
> Any other suggestions or insight into this would be greatly
> aprpciated. Thanks for your time and courtesy.

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

.......> So, my question is, does anyone have a time proven or a definitive
way
> to prevent the boots from failing? I read how some would liberally
> apply silicone spray on the CV boots and other boots everytime they
> changed the oil. Would that be a good way to prolong the life of or
> prevent the boots from cracking prematurely?


Any substance that will prolong the life of rubber, or anything that
will help it retain it's flexibility and elasticity should help somewhat.
Not sure about silicone -maybe. Armorall might be a good one to try. CV
joint boots are heavy thick rubber, and you're only applying the protectant
to the outside surface, so in the long run it may extend the life of the
boots a little, but they are still likely to age and crack.

The problem with CV joint and boot maintenence is that most boots are
made tubular and thus become very labor intensive to replace. A boot that
could be taken off simply by removing the clamps on either end would then
become a regular maintenance item you replace very so many miles based on
the estimated life of the rubber, driving conditions, etc. This would also
allow regreasing of the joint itself if necessary, and probably make CV
joints last the life of the vehicle.

--
Bob
"Crikey Schmikey" <no@spam.com> wrote in message
news:p1lisvkl99v0qpe7n2l4cp7hj5b34fujrv@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> With the previous three new cars I've owned, all front-wheel drive, I
> drove them well past 100K mi. with each of them. But with all of
> them, I've had to replace the CV joints for the same reason: the boots
> dry out and crack, the grease comes out, and the dirt gets in.
>
> Now, with my relatively new car, I wish to be able to avoid or prevent
> that from happening again, so I did some research on CV joint
> maintenance, and everything I've read talked about what to do when the
> boots crack. Nothing about how to prolong their life or prevent those
> boots from cracking.
>
> The cost of the parts really isn't a problem, but you guys probably
> know, it's a very labour intensive and time consuming repaire.
>
> What's rather preplexing to me is that I read often how some people
> who've put on >150K mi. on their previous cars, some having owned
> about 5 or 6 different cars in the past and even living in northeast,
> and never had a CV joint problem due to the boots cracking or failing,
> let alone the CV joints itself going bad.
>
> So, my question is, does anyone have a time proven or a definitive way
> to prevent the boots from failing? I read how some would liberally
> apply silicone spray on the CV boots and other boots everytime they
> changed the oil. Would that be a good way to prolong the life of or
> prevent the boots from cracking prematurely?
>
> Any other suggestions or insight into this would be greatly
> aprpciated. Thanks for your time and courtesy.

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

"Dave Dodson" <ddodson@gci.net> wrote in message
news:vslv2tofn69f45@corp.supernews.com...
> > >
> > Just about cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a rebuilt... when you
> > figure the time it takes to actually put a new boot on.
> >
> > Rob
>
> If the cv joint itself is damaged it is cheaper and easier to replace the
cv
> shaft. Parts for the joint rebuild usually cost more than the entire
> (remanufactured axle) and the labor involved is significantly less also.
> While I worked at an automotive shop, it was always our suggestion to do
the
> whole axle when we found that the joint was bad. Of course, this does not
> apply where only the boot is being replaced.
>
> Dave D
>

As I recall it's about $130 for a reman whole shaft & that comes with a
guarantee. I guess it depends on the cost of the labor to take the joint
off, clean, inspect, lube and put it back on the shaft with a new boot.
The labor for taking the drive shaft out and putting it back is the same
either way.

Rob

Re: Questions on CV Joint Boots
 

"Dave Dodson" <ddodson@gci.net> wrote in message
news:vslv2tofn69f45@corp.supernews.com...
> > >
> > Just about cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a rebuilt... when you
> > figure the time it takes to actually put a new boot on.
> >
> > Rob
>
> If the cv joint itself is damaged it is cheaper and easier to replace the
cv
> shaft. Parts for the joint rebuild usually cost more than the entire
> (remanufactured axle) and the labor involved is significantly less also.
> While I worked at an automotive shop, it was always our suggestion to do
the
> whole axle when we found that the joint was bad. Of course, this does not
> apply where only the boot is being replaced.
>
> Dave D
>

As I recall it's about $130 for a reman whole shaft & that comes with a
guarantee. I guess it depends on the cost of the labor to take the joint
off, clean, inspect, lube and put it back on the shaft with a new boot.
The labor for taking the drive shaft out and putting it back is the same
either way.

Rob