The passenger front CV boot in my 1995 Subaru Impreza needs to be replaced (it’s starting to click on turns). I stopped in at Pep Boys to get some other things and asked the service guys what the ballpark would be for labor to replace the boot. I was told they would have to replace the entire axle instead of just replacing the CV boot. I guess I’m okay with that, especially if it really cuts down on the labor cost. But does it really make sense to replace the entire assembly or even the entire drive axle? Looking online shows both remanufactured passenger axle assemblies as well as entire axle assemblies, all at very low prices (under $100.)
If I get the axle replaced, will it be just the passenger side assembly or will the entire drive axle have to be replaced? Considering the car has 135,000 miles on it and I don’t think either CV boot has ever been replaced, I don’t mind paying a bit more to replace both if it makes sense to do so.
I am not a mechanic, but when I had my first FWD car, this happened. I was told that the clicking was due to wear in the CV (constant velocity) joint - a fancy-schmancy version of the old universal joints that used to be on each end of the driveshaft of the rear-wheel-drive cars I grew up with. The boot is just a rubber sleeve or wrap that protects the CV joint and keeps the schmutz out of it. When it wears out or tears, it lets dirt and gunk into the joint, which quickly wears down the tight tolerances. Parts then bump and rub, causing the clicking.
My understanding is that if the joint is clicking, then replacing the boot is like painting the barn after the horse is gone. (Or some such metaphor - I was never a farm kid). The new boot won’t fix the worn joint, and it will still click with a new boot. I think you’ll have to replace the axle and joint to make the noise go away.
But as I said, I’m no mechanic. If your local Subaru garage tells you different, trust them first.
The halfshafts have to be removed for the boot and joint to be repaired/replaced anyway, so in terms of labor costs it really is more or less a wash, and generally recommended for the whole assembly to be replaced.
Note that they’re also supposed to be replaced in pairs. Did they mention that?
I’m also not a mechanic, but had this done on my 2003(125K miles) Toyota Camry, by my main mechanic who I trust implicitly. He said you replace the whole axle assembly, but he replaced just the left front. No need to do both. Just my experience.
They did not, but as I said before, I’m not against it. Especially with an AWD car. I live in constant terror (well, not really, but it does worry me from time to time) of wrecking the differential.
It’s visually obvious that the boot is having issues. I’m not sure the joint has actually been affected, but at this point I’d rather not take a chance considering I don’t know.
Clicking when accelerating during tight turns indicates an outer CV joint is worn. There is no point in just replacing its protective boot, the damage has already been done. The typical repair is to replace the drive axle with a remanufactured unit, which will have a reman outer joint, a reman or reconditioned inner joint, and new outer and inner boots.
Drive axle = halfshaft = a shaft that goes from the transmission (transaxle, technically) to the wheel hub, with a CV joint on each of its ends. There are two, one for each side (left/right) in typical front wheel drive cars and in the front of some all wheel drive vehicles. (Some vehicles also use them in the rear, coming from the differential, but the wear/failure rate there is very low as there’s no steering motion.) There is no need to replace them in pairs if only one is worn. This is case where “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies. Just make sure if only one is worn, the correct one is replaced. :dubious:
This is not an urgent situation. It will have to be fixed, because eventually the joint will come apart and the car will act like it’s stuck in neutral…BUT…I have seen several cars go for a year with clicking CV joints that hadn’t come apart yet. I don’t recommend waiting a year (it might not last that long), but you certainly don’t have to rush into it. It’s a pretty safe bet you could go several months with no further consequences.
A little aside on boot replacement: Before reman front drive axles were available, the way to repair a worn joint was to replace it with a new one (as in BRAND NEW, = big bucks). It absolutely made sense to replace a torn CV boot, as it was signifcantly less expensive than replacing the joint. Nowadays, though, on many cars it costs from 1/2 to 2/3 as much to replace a boot as to replace the axle. Factor in that a boot may be torn for months, often over a year, before the noise starts, and the noise may go for months, sometimes over a year, before the joint breaks. It’s often questionable whether it’s worth replacing a torn boot. You wouldn’t know that from the way some shops make a torn boot sound like imminent doom and destruction MYGODYOU’REGOINGTOBREAKDOWNYESTERDAYIFWEDON’TDOITNOW!!!, but that has more to do with sales goals than with sound mechanical judgment.
The boot is there to keep the grease in, and keep dirt and other abrasive particles out.
Once the boot is compromised, the actual CV joint is on its way out.
That is why it is almost always replaced when the boot is, and the labor involved is the same, so it’s worthwhile to do.
There is no reason to change them in pairs, unless an inspection of the other one shows a problem. CV joints can last from as little as 50,000 miles to over 200,000.
A word to the wise…after having the assembly replaced, do yourself a favor and look behind the wheel within a couple of days. I had a replacement once and they didn’t fasten down the band that holds the boot on. Most of the grease had now made its way out of the axle and onto the inside of the wheel.
We had the clicking in the right wheel of our 2000 Nissan Quest. The boot was worn on the left side, also. We went ahead and replaced both axles and it was about $250.
This was a common problem on the Honda Civics I and some friends owned over the years. Especially in very cold climates, the boots rarely lasted more than 2 years.
One piece of advice was - don’t park with the wheels turned in winter. Stretching a cold rubber piece makes it crack sooner.
Basically, the dealer would recommend replacing just the boot when there was a crack developing. Once the boot is cracked through, road dirt gets into the CV joint. Then it will wear and eventually fail, so once the boot is cracked through, you should replace the whole assembly. They look like a cylindrical accordian, so the peaks and valleys of the “V” are most susceptible to crack.
I suppose the “replace both at once” theory comes from the idea that if the road and weather conditions have done in one boot, odds are the ther one is not far behind. It’s not mandatory, but the other boot should get a good inspection if the car is on a hoist (or its annual checkup) to save the cost of eventual joint replacement too.
it’s a simple procedure, a friend of mine did his own Civic axle replacements as a teen. Just unbolt a few points and take the wheel off, pull out the axle, put the new one in. The boot is almost as simple and cheaper.
There is a simple logic in just letting it go once the boot is broken, until the wheel noise when you turn gets so loud as to suggest the assembly is about to completely fail. AFAIK you can’t hurt anyting by driving around with a dying CV joint, you’re just putting off an inevitable expense. Don’t plan on any long trips…
I drove around for several years with a split CV joint boot on my old Citroen XM, and despite the slight knocking on a hard steering lock it hung in there rather well. Once or twice a year I would slap a bit of CV grease into the wreckage and make a mental note to sort it out soonest; it was still on the list of things to do when the car got totalled by a vanload of melons one day. Rather shockingly, it would pass the annual MOT safety test despite this (a split boot is cause for failure), possibly because the joint was partially obscured. The grease spatter was fairly visible though.
But don’t follow my bad example - best go with the flow and replace the halfshaft.
Anyone had any experience with those wrap-and-glue CV boots that don’t require the driveshaft to be removed? Only good if the joint itself isn’t worn of course, but they look like they save a load of hassle, as they can be fitted in situ and glued down the seam. It’s been a few years since I had to remove a driveshaft, but I remember it being no fun, involving draining the gearbox, dismantling wheel bearings, and separating balljoints.