cv boot replacement
 

Has anyone replaced the cv boots on their axles? Specifically the 986s 6 speed ones. I've got a torn boot on the passenger inboard side and need to replace it. Do you need to take the axle out to replace the boot? Also I'm planning on taking the joint out and cleaning it before repacking it and putting it back in. How hard is that to do with the axle in the car?

This is the largest DIY I will have attempted up until now, so any help is welcome.

part interchangeability
 

Also question about the boots themselves. I know the axles aren't interchangeable, but are the boots, clips, etc?

The forum sponsor, Pelican Parts has a good collection of tech articles. Here's the one for the CV boots:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/41-TRANS-CV_Joint_-_Boots/41-TRANS-CV_Joint_-_Boots.htm

One of the hazards from this job is the bolts coming out. Be sure to use Loctite (Blue) and the proper torque: Boxster S 81 NM/60 Ftlb

I'm 99.7% certain that the boots are the same...
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1676171014.jpg

that's actually a big reason for why i'm confused. it seems like you don't have to take off the axle from that article, but i'm not sure

I'm 99.7% certain that he's right about that. :D

My son & I did all 4 boots, servicing both axles. This was Fall, 2021, so details are a little fuzzy for me. As I recall, only 1 or 2 of the boots had tears, but even the ones that didn't looked dry and, as you manipulated the rubber, they had these little micro-cracks visible in them. So we decided to do all of them at once. And I don't recall having to keep straight "inner boot" vs "outer boot" when we went to replace them, ie I think they're identical.

If you were just removing and repacking one of the inner joints and replacing that boot only, I suppose theoretically you could do it without pulling the whole axle. But I think it would be kind of a PITA, especially if you're taking apart the joint to clean up the bearings (which is what we did). I thought that would be true even working with it on a lift—if you happened to be working on a car on jack stands it obviously would be even tougher. Much easier to do a good job cleaning it up, repacking, and replacing the boot with the axle off and away from the car. It wasn't horrible getting them out, but I had my kid helping me, and he's pretty good at this kind of thing. As I recall, we did have to unbolt parts of the exhaust to be able to fiddle one or the other of the axles out. It's also much easier getting the axle reinstalled with a helper. In fact I think it'd be pretty damn difficult to do solo.

I just had mine done as a "while you're in there" while the clutch was being replaced (did the IMS, too).

All 4 boots are identical, all 4 small clamps and all 4 large clamps as well.

I can't imagine this to be something you can do while the axle is in the car. More to the point, if one boot is tired, so are the other three.

Nearly impossible to do with the shafts in the car.

yikes. most of this job is going to be solo, so that might be a problem. i've also ordered the parts. looks like pelican parts has two different part numbers for the inboard and outboard boots, and the outboard ones are 3x as expensive. yikes

The Pelican Parts page for genuine Porsche boots...

https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/92833229302.htm?pn=928-332-293-02-OEM&bc=c&SVSVSI=0785&ByPassCat=Y

Note that it indicates:

Automatic Transmission;
Manual Transmission. Fits rear left outer, rear left inner, rear right inner, rear right outer, left or right rear outer of vehicle.

this is what i got:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/101P986P041D.htm?pn=101P-986-P041D&bc=c&SVSVSI=0791

i didn’t get the rein ones though, i got gkn for the -02 and porsche for the -00

SOLO OK a 70 year old was able to do it.
 

The only real challenge is the torque on the axle nuts.

I was able to do this in the garage on jack stands. If execution time does not matter, go for it.

David

good to know. how long did it take you for both axles? and you don’t think that dropping the exhaust to get the axle out was too much of a challenge? that’s the part i’m most worried about

I don’t see that the exhaust needs to come out.

That could well be true. I've only personally done this once.

We fiddled with getting the axle out for a while (IIRC it was just a problem on one side). But before long my son (who's never afraid to further disassemble stuff to gain access to other stuff) persuaded me that we should undo a few exhaust bolts to assist our progress. We didn't totally drop the exhaust—nothing that drastic. Just loosened it up, so things could be moved an inch or two this way or that.

It also helped that, from all appearances, the car's never been driven on salty, slushy roads. (Certainly never by me. It's an '01 that I bought in 2006, so I have no idea prior to that. But it looks like it never has been. There's virtually no corrosion visible whatsoever.) I think we used his impact wrench, and it came apart fairly easily.

Also, yours is a different year ('04, right?). I'm sure there's differences from one year to the next, so it may be totally unnecessary in your car.

Let us know how it goes.

I've replaced mine before with split boots but it wasn't easy. Since then I've changed axles several times and come to the opinion that it's better to replace the whole axle. I've also don't freak out if I see a split. I just replaced one that had had a split boot for months with no ill effects.

i’m sure it could be fine, but it could also get dirt and crap in the joint because of the split. that makes it an extra 350 bucks and a rebuilt joint. i think better to just replace the boots while i caught them early.

i’ll post some pictures of the job.

If you take the axles out (not a difficult to do), it is very easy to clean old grease out from axle joints, put new grease in and also all 4 new boots. Just did this on the 5-speed tranny 2001 Boxster.

i’m in the middle of taking the axles out right now. i’ve managed to get the axle pounded out of the hub, but i can’t drop the exhaust because one of the bolts on the flange is rusted and rounded. what should i do?

Power hacksaw or grinder. When you put it back together use stainless steel nuts and bolts. You'll thank yourself next time around.

Who made the axles you put in? The Porsche ones are ridiculously pricey, and I've heard some of the others are pretty hit or miss as far as quality.

The axles are (I'm pretty sure—bought the car second hand with 19K miles on it) the originals. The joints were just cleaned up and repacked (admittedly kind of a messy job) and they're still going strong. If the Porsche ones were even somewhat more reasonably priced I'd totally agree with you.