Replacing CV Joint Boots

[Dohertycm]

Alright you guys, I just finished doing the boots on my 2000 Boxster S (six speed)....and I say that because there might be some size differences between the 5 speed and the 6 speed.....I will explain later...

Looking at your steps while doing this I decided to modify the proceedure to fit my needs....and add to the notes...kinda like nice to knows... And as a note all of my boots were fully torn...

The first thing I want to mention is before doing this is go and get a 32mm socket with a cheater bar....I got mine from Harbor Freight Tools you will need that to get the axle nut off....I had the cheater bar AND an impact wrench...they were stubborn.

Next thing is I dont know what this driveshaft puller is, so I unbolted the brake and brake line clamp an moved the brake out of the way and took the hub off.
when the time came I used a bearing puller to push the axle out of the hub, This worked great. I didnt want to pull against the hub for fear of warping it.

I only jacked up the rear of the car, instead of unloading all of the wheels. The most important thing here to me was it was necessary to remove the sway bar bolts to allow full motion of the arm. So i had a jack under the car and a jack under the axle to raise it during the removal of the shaft.

The passenger side came out easy once the axle was loose, but the drivers side was a complete different story.
I didnt want to remove the exhaust, so I backed the axle out as far as it would go and seeing that it only lacked about 1/4 inch to be free, I lightly tapped it.... with a short handle 5lbs sledge, and it came right out. There was just enough give in the combined parts to allow for the deflection. Going back in, I did the same thing, got everything lined up, the shaft on the splines and got to that 1/4 inch spot and did a deflection shot back into position.

I have over 20 years experience as a jet engine mechanic so dont blast me about the 5lbs sledge hammer, It has taken me a long time to learn what takes a whack and what needs a deflection tap...And maybe there is a size difference in the case which what makes this worth a deflection whack vise exhaust removal. I dont know, but it worked for me.

I didnt have anyone to help me with the tightening of the cv joints so i got 3 long extentions and put a torque wrench on the end and went around shaft tightening it.


I will say this, i ONLY looked at the Bentley manual for the Torque specs on the CV nuts... you did a good job of describing the procedure.
Nice job Jack

Chris

[Sputter]

Super Information both JackG and Dohertycm.

I'm going to try the passenger side likely tomorrow or Friday.
Dohertycm, what size of bearing puller did you use? 8" or 6"?.

The drivers side sounds like the toughest for clearance. Did you guys find that you didn't need to drop the exhaust (header) on the passenger side?

I'm going to try and take pictures as I go.

[JackG]

Originally Posted by Sputter

Super Information both JackG and Dohertycm.

I'm going to try the passenger side likely tomorrow or Friday.
Dohertycm, what size of bearing puller did you use? 8" or 6"?.

The drivers side sounds like the toughest for clearance. Did you guys find that you didn't need to drop the exhaust (header) on the passenger side?

I'm going to try and take pictures as I go.

Hi Sputter,

The axle puller is a device that mounts to the lug bolt pattern, and has a center threaded bolt that pushes the axle out of the hub. I borrowed one from Advance (I think). They are common for working on front wheel drive cars.

The drivers side on an "S" is the tighter side, and requires dropping the header. The passenger side does not require this step on an S.

Good luck with it, and make sure you get those CV joints clean and greased back up. Don't want to have to do it again anytime soon, huh?

[Sputter]

I've got my boots/mobil1 grease. I'm just waiting for the new axle nuts. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that I don't snap a header bolt.

Originally Posted by JackG

Hi Sputter,

The axle puller is a device that mounts to the lug bolt pattern, and has a center threaded bolt that pushes the axle out of the hub. I borrowed one from Advance (I think). They are common for working on front wheel drive cars.

The drivers side on an "S" is the tighter side, and requires dropping the header. The passenger side does not require this step on an S.

Good luck with it, and make sure you get those CV joints clean and greased back up. Don't want to have to do it again anytime soon, huh?

[Frodo]

Nice write up.

You said they quoted you 10 hours labor. Any idea what it took you?

[JackG]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Nice write up.

You said they quoted you 10 hours labor. Any idea what it took you?

From the time I drove it into my shop until I backed it out, I had just over 10 hours of my time invested. I think now that I've done it once, I could do both sides, innner and outer, in 6-7 hours.

[Sputter]

(passenger side)
I had to move the wheel carrier out of the way. It might be due to having the PSE option but I couldn't get enough room to drop the shaft out.
I used a brass drift to tap out the shaft. I spent more time sorting it all out than actually doing work. So far, i don't see this job being more than 4 hours with experience. (maybe less,for both sides as I was really taking my time)

I think I can do the same thing on the drivers side when I get there.

I'm still sorting out how exactly the end caps come off to install the new boots.
Is it both ends that come off or just the inner and slide the outer all the way up?

Too bad Bentleys doesn't really cover the boot replacement.

[danfranzetta]

Originally Posted by Dohertycm

Alright you guys, I just finished doing the boots on my 2000 Boxster S (six speed)....and I say that because there might be some size differences between the 5 speed and the 6 speed.....I will explain later...

Looking at your steps while doing this I decided to modify the proceedure to fit my needs....and add to the notes...kinda like nice to knows... And as a note all of my boots were fully torn...

The first thing I want to mention is before doing this is go and get a 32mm socket with a cheater bar....I got mine from Harbor Freight Tools you will need that to get the axle nut off....I had the cheater bar AND an impact wrench...they were stubborn.

Next thing is I dont know what this driveshaft puller is, so I unbolted the brake and brake line clamp an moved the brake out of the way and took the hub off.
when the time came I used a bearing puller to push the axle out of the hub, This worked great. I didnt want to pull against the hub for fear of warping it.

I only jacked up the rear of the car, instead of unloading all of the wheels. The most important thing here to me was it was necessary to remove the sway bar bolts to allow full motion of the arm. So i had a jack under the car and a jack under the axle to raise it during the removal of the shaft.

The passenger side came out easy once the axle was loose, but the drivers side was a complete different story.
I didnt want to remove the exhaust, so I backed the axle out as far as it would go and seeing that it only lacked about 1/4 inch to be free, I lightly tapped it.... with a short handle 5lbs sledge, and it came right out. There was just enough give in the combined parts to allow for the deflection. Going back in, I did the same thing, got everything lined up, the shaft on the splines and got to that 1/4 inch spot and did a deflection shot back into position.

I have over 20 years experience as a jet engine mechanic so dont blast me about the 5lbs sledge hammer, It has taken me a long time to learn what takes a whack and what needs a deflection tap...And maybe there is a size difference in the case which what makes this worth a deflection whack vise exhaust removal. I dont know, but it worked for me.

I didnt have anyone to help me with the tightening of the cv joints so i got 3 long extentions and put a torque wrench on the end and went around shaft tightening it.


I will say this, i ONLY looked at the Bentley manual for the Torque specs on the CV nuts... you did a good job of describing the procedure.
Nice job Jack

Chris

I'm not that cheap.. but I'm in a pinch here. What are the torque specs for the Axle Nuts, 8mm hex bolts and others?