can anyone tell me how difficult it would be to replace the cv boot on my 94 integra, and perhaps a few tips on how to do it myself. Don't really have the loot to pay a mechanic. How dangerous is it to drive my teg with a torn cv boot, with all the grease shooting out.

 

it really isn't that bad, you gotta haynes manual and the basic tools? main things you will need are a 1.25" (or that supposed to be a 31mm?) socket a breaker bar, a pair of "side cutters" and the usual 10,12,14,17mm sockets. Once that grease is gone the bearings are going to kill themselves and then you will have to replace them as well, so do it asap.

 

it really isn't that bad, you gotta haynes manual and the basic tools? main things you will need are a 1.25" (or that supposed to be a 31mm?) socket a breaker bar, a pair of "side cutters" and the usual 10,12,14,17mm sockets. Once that grease is gone the bearings are going to kill themselves and then you will have to replace them as well, so do it asap.

 

It will become that bad. The cv boot needs to stay sealed or it becomes contaminated w/debris and other shit that will begin to cause a breakdown. You'll know when the full effect has taken place when you are driving and you feel your steering wheel begin shake so violently you will begin to pray, oh god please just let me make it off the off ramp and into that gas station down there, that is all I am asking please god please...

 

Just went through this same process myself. Finally got everything sorted out yesterday.

My humble insight:

Before doing any repair like this, make sure you have access to a real service manual.

Its a crap shoot as to whether or not your joints have already been "contaminated". If they have, its just a matter of time before the joint becomes damaged even if you replace the boots now. This means that you could end up going through a lot of trouble only to have to replace the axles in the not too distant future.

Replacing the boots yourself is a crap job and is easy to screw up if you don't have any experience with this type of thing. Catastrophic failure on the road is unlikely if you do screw up, but it will mean that you'll have to do the job over again.

Choosing to replace the whole axle with a remanufactured one is probably to most common solution. This is basically the equivilent of pulling the axles yourself and paying someone else to reboot them. You can get a pair of replacement axles from NAPA for about $130 (with exchange of your current ones). They come with a lifetime warranty and will cost you nothing for replacements should they be faulty or when the boots split (later, due to wear).

Replacing the axles yourself isn't too terribly difficult. The biggest problems you will have, in no particular order, will probably be:

- Removing the spindle nuts. You'll need either a big ass 32mm wrench, a 32mm socket and large breaker bar, or an impact wrench and 32mm impact socket. If you don't have access to an impact wrench, take the time to get the dimple fully out of the groove on the spindle nut before you bother trying to take it off. Having someone stand on the brake is probably the easiest way to keep the wheel from spinning if you do this while the car is in the air. Penetrating lube is also recommended.

- Removing the control arm from the lower ball joint. There is plenty of advice on how to do this in the forums. Most importantly, you do not want to damage the ball joint stud. The bottom of the stud can be disfigured easily and will require that you get new ball joints should it be irreparably damaged.

- Removing the axles from the transmission/intermediate shaft. To remove the right side, careful prying worked for me. The left side, pull on the inboard joint while whacking it with a plastic hammer should do the trick.

 

do not pull on the axle if the intention is to re use them.

 

As long as the bearing spin w/o any grinding and you get all the old grease out and put new grease in you will be fine. and really, if the boot is torn you should replace the grease anyway.
When I did it on my civic I pulled it all apart, used brake cleaner to get all the old grease out and then put everything back togeth w/ a ton of grease.

You can loosen the spindle nut with the car on the ground w/ a big ass breaker bar. The wheel is attached independently of the axle, so taking it off with wieght on the wheel is fine.

Yeah its only 130 for the rebuilt axles, but 3/4 of the work is getting the axle off which you have to no matter what you do, so if you are like me and you have a lot more time than money, just DIY.

 

hey guys thanks for all the awesome information. Sometimes i feel guilty asking questions when I haven't visited in a while. Silly huh? Well luckily the boot only has a slit in it as apposed to a big tear. This should give me an extra day or two, until i can muster enough "cojones' to attempt to fix it. It's always something that takes up any free time I might come across... lol
Thanks again everyone.