Torn CV Boots... Replace boot or entire CV?
 

My recently purchased 2000 986S has two torn inner CV boots. I'm not sure whether I should clean, repack the grease, and replace just the torn boots or replace the entire CV joint.

When I last drove the car there was no clicking or noise from the CVs at all, however I know that it has been driven at least 1500 km with damaged CV boots. Given this distance, and the fact they're completely torn, I'm leaning towards replacing the joint.

What does the rest of the forum think?

Total replacement.....IMO.

I replaced my completely torn boots at the weekend and the CV's were fine. I also went for the method that doesn't involve dropping any part of the exhaust, seemed a lot easier to me.

The fact that you will be going through all this work to replace the boot, you might as well replace them all and the joints while your at it.

NOTE: once you replace your axle you will need to torque your bolts down and then recheck the setting as THESE WILL BACK OUT. Trust me on this you do not want to drop an axle.

My Toyota Pickup eats cv boots. I've replaced the boots only around 6 times without issue, and have 186,000 miles on the original axles. Aftermarket axles aren't as good as OEM, and OEM are expensive ( for Toyota or Porsche ).

I had decent luck with “split” replacement boots. I replaced all four boots several years ago. I had no problems with them leaking whatsoever. Two of the replacement boots are still in place. I had to replace one axle for unrelated reason.

At the time I installed the split boots, there was not a really good fitting boot available. There may be some better options now.

It depends very much on your environment.

If you live somewhere dusty and the grease is full of grit when you strip them apart, then replace them, whereas if the grease looks intact/clean then clean them out and repack them.

There's no straight yes/no answer.

I only replaced the boots. I'm told the 6-speed places the shafts at a steeper angle. That, combined with the heat, stress the rubber. The joints themselves were in very good shape, with no pitting.

I would suggest you do both ends though.

You should be able to determine the state of the CV joint through careful visible inspection and simple testing;

• Prior to doing anything, was everything associated with the CV joints working ok (no noises or grinding or clicking or anything else)?
• After removing the old boot, is the CV joint still thoroughly and completely encased in grease?
• Is the grease clean and not contaminated with sand/dirt and not dried out?
• Does the CV joint operate smoothly and easily without any grinding or flat or rough spots?
• Does the CV joint move without any play or slop in the joint?
• Does the CV joint operate without any audible clicks or creaks or other weird noises?

If yes to all of these, then you can probably get by with repacking the CV joints with new grease and replacing the old boots. Of course, replacing the CV joints is always good insurance for the future as long as you're in there.

If the answer to any of these is no, then the best bet is to replace the CV joints.

I've decided that since I'm in there I might as well replace the CV's as it's not that much more money.

One question, I can't seem to find which size bolts to order for my 2000S. Pellican doesn't seem to list a part for a 2000S and pcarspecialist.ca says 10mm. Elsewhere I've read it should be the 8mm. Can anyone firm which size?

the bolts you need are M10 mm. most likely 50 mm. you can confirm by measuring the ones you removed.
(10 mm refers to the size of the tread and not to the socket you use to remove it)
also take in mind the torque value (during installation) is 81 Nm/60 ft-lb.
use blue loctite. make sure treads are clean of grease, and don't forget to re-torque after 500 miles.

good luck.

Should I plan on removing the entire axel and replacing the CV on the work-bench? Some of the write-ups I've read say people have been successfull replacing the inner CV without removal of the axel... This sounds like it could save alot of work/time, but is there really enough room to do this?

Thanks for the info on the bolt size. I'm hoping to order all of the parts ahead of time and complete this job in one day... So I'm not really able to pull a bolt out to measure. Are the specific sized spec'd somewhere that I can reference?

Here in Kelowna, Canada we don't have a local dealer, so I don't have the luxury of buying same-day parts.

I plan to order:
2 inner CV's
Outer boots & new clamps
New bolts (10mm)
Exhaust manifold to head gaskets
Exhaust manifold to cat gaskets
32mm axel bolts for both sides (In case I have to fully remove from car)


Am I missing anything?

Take the axles off. Replace CV boots, boot clamps and joint lock rings. No need to replace bolts. Maybe order a couple just in case! Make sure to re-pack cv joints with axle grease as recommended. You will need new axle nuts too! Follow the instructions on pelican.

looks like you are covered.
i also ordered a tube of swepco grease from pelican. the new joints will come with two small bags of grease, but i also cleaned up and re greased the outer joints that is not replaceable.
i took the decision to remove the axle from the car and work on it on the bench. wasn't an easy task in my case.
take in mined that if you want to remove the axle, you will need a huge barker bar and a very large torque wrench to tighten the new axle nuts.
i went to a local truck tire shop.

You don't think it's necessary to replace the bolts? This is something I wasn't sure of either, so I figured I might as well er on the cautious side and replace them.

i replaced main, and don't regret it.
some of the old bolts were a little bit rounded at the Allen style head.
believe me, you don't wont the socket to slip out of the bolt when you are doing the final torque.
if you are using your old bolts, make sure you clean them very well with a wire brush and crab cleaner, or you gonna end up like a lot of the guys hear, with the axle on the road.

So here's my final parts list... This should allow me to replace both inner CVs, new boots on the outer, replace the bolts, and new axel nuts... Hopefully I have everything I could possibly need?


999-084-641-01-M100 Quantity 2
Wheel Hub Nut 22 X 1.5 mm, Rear Left/Right (2 per car, sold individually), Boxster/Boxster S (1997-04), Each Brand: Genuine Porsche


900-067-123-02-M260 Quantity 12
CV Joint Bolt, 10 X 50mm (6 per joint), Manual, Rear - Boxster S (2001-02), Each Brand: OEM


911-332-030-01-M60 Quantity 2
CV Joint, Inner Rear, Boxster S (2000-04), As Needed, Each Brand: GKN Loebro

911-332-257-00-M395 Quantity 2
Axle Boot Clamp (73 mm), Boxster (1997-02), Boxster S (2000-04) Rear Inner/Outer (4 per car, sold individually) Brand: Oetiker


928-332-257-01-M395 Quantity 2
Axle Boot Clamp (34 mm), Boxster (1997-02), Boxster S (2000-04) Rear Inner/Outer (4 per car, sold individually) Brand: Oetiker

SWE-101
Swepco CV Joint Grease, enough for four joints, 14.4 oz

928-332-293-02-M60 Quantity 2
Axle Boot, Boxster/Boxster S (1997-02) Rear Inner/Outer (4 per car, sold individually), Boxster S Tiptronic (2003-04) Rear Inner/Outer (4 per car, sold individually), Boxster S with Manual Trans (2003-04) Rear Outer (2 per car, sold individually) Brand: GKN Loebro


996-113-113-00-M30 Quantity 2
Gasket, Exhaust Manifold to Catalytic Converter (2 per car, sold individually) Boxster/Boxster S (1999-04), Each Brand: Elring Klinger


996-111-107-55-M17 Quantity 2
Gasket, Exhaust Manifold to Head (2 per car, sold individually) Boxster/Boxster S (1997-04), Each Brand: Victor Reinz

Looks like you good to go.
Just out of curiosity. What are the gaskets for?

The gaskets are in case of have to lower/remove the exhaust in order to remove the axels.

Does it require a special tool for tightening the clamps?