cv boot trouble.....help asap

89si · #1 02-02-2005, 07:31 PM

ok, i park my car in my driveway, and i had to crank the wheel all the way to straighten out, then i left it like that and hopped out, i look into the wheel well just cuz i can because the wheels are turned so far, and what do i see... my cv boot is torn right open!!!! then i go to the other side, and that one is exactly the same?!!!!!!!

needless to say, im not impressed, and all my money is tied up with my sub and amp right now. what i dont get is that i just had an oil change and that was only about a month ago, maybe a little more than a month. and they do the check on all the parts underneath, they said "cv boots are fine"

well they arent f***ing fine now. anyway, i see that there is oil still there, so im wondering what my options are if they would still be good enough to just replace the boots and maybe get it cleaned out or do i need entirely new axles?? also would that cause shifting to be a little rough too? i've noticed roughness going from 1st to 2nd especially.

how much is this gonna cost me? has anyone else gone through this?

anyway, thats a lot to read. thanks everyone.

what a great way to finish off my day...

civickiller · #2 02-02-2005, 08:11 PM

well it all depends. i mean when i got my civic the cv boots were torn and had spiders going in them so it must have been awhile. but i just changed the cv boot and no clicking no play, its all good. i havent busted those axles yet.

everyone is gonna say get a new axle, i am gonna say if your realy strapped for cash then i would compare the price of 2 cv boots with the price of a new axle and see how much the difference is. it also depends on whether your doing it yourself or not. i think a mechanic would charge less for labor for changing an axles and more for cv boot change because the cv boot is gonna take longer.

so if your gonna have a mechanic do it then find out how much labor is gonna be for cv boot change vs axle then compare that with the price of cv boots vs axle. and see which one comes out more

91civichatch2571 · #3 02-02-2005, 09:14 PM

^^I like this guy, what is he new?

Are your axles clicking while taking turns at all? if not, and they dont look dirty and grimey, just go ahead and replace the boots, its not that hard and it will cost a lot less. Just make sure that if you plan to do that, you do it soon because if you wait too long, theyll get to the point where your going to need to get new axles. but as he said, check around for prices if your not doing it yourself. on an average, new axles with a core are about $50-70 where i live. A boot cost my friend like 12 bucks or something and i put it on for him. feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

midrange · #4 02-02-2005, 09:45 PM

all good answers here.. i can't relay any more then these guys,, besides the fact that here.. most of the time when you have an oil change.. the 20 point insection rarely occurs.. Mechanic bastards. LOL Also here, drivers side axle is 90 bucks with trade in, passenger side 70 with trade in..

SiZ · #5 02-02-2005, 10:01 PM

Axles are cheap, and you can drive on them a long time usually while they're clicking. I've drove over a whole season on a ripped boot, even going to to track 10 or so times for lots of runs.

Generally CV boots rip when people are accelerating hard on the gas with the steering wheel cranked in either direction. Make sure that when you're accelerating from a stop you go easy on the gas until you wheels are straight, it will make your axles last a lot longer.

I think thats the most common reason for boots ripping.. Hard acceleration while steering. Its just a lot of stress on that area.

icE_x · #6 02-02-2005, 10:10 PM

^ aka donuts and burnouts

89si · #7 02-02-2005, 10:31 PM

i think my driving habits definately contributed to the tearing. those things are wide open, im gonna be getting them fixed at my mechanics place, he's very reasonable with pricing, so i'll see how much it will cost me and get back to you guys on the situation.

btw, there is no clicking, and my boots have definately not been torn longer than a month, i've been thinking about changing them tho, it really kills me that im now forced to do it now that its a problem...

thanks everyone for the help and info, glad to hear its not gonna chew through my bank too much!

SiZ · #8 02-02-2005, 10:52 PM

Keep driving on them till they click, and go easy on your axles or get used to replacing them a lot.

When I was young, in my first car (golf) I would go through axles every 3 months. I stopped driving foolishly, and started to make a concious effort to go easy on them and I rarley have any problems with them at all anymore. Bouncing them at the track doesn't help either, but the rest of the time I baby my tooth-paxles on my Honda.

civickiller · #9 02-03-2005, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 91civichatch2571

^^I like this guy, what is he new?

who the fuck are you ? if you knew about car. then youd know that your axles arent gonna start clicking only after a month at most, driving them without cv boots. i answered that question without knowing if hes gonna do the work or have a mechanic do it.

he says hes strapped for cash,i tell him find out which one is cheap and go with that. i personally can do it myself so i woudl just change the boots but a mechanic would charge mroe for boots than just changing axles but then the cost of axles might make it more, which ever is cheap. if you dont know what you are talking about or what other people known then you shouldnt answer questions that are beyond your knowledge

Onimacus · #10 02-03-2005, 12:51 AM

91civichatch2571 knows his shit man...

89si · #11 02-03-2005, 10:40 AM

k, i dont want this to turn into a big arguement over who is the most intelligent and knowledgeable when it comes to cv boots and joints, lol.

i appreciate everyone's help, cuz i need it!
i'll be finding out what the deal is today, i'd like to just replace the boots cuz im sure the joints are still good, but we'll see about the pricing.

also, would these torn boots contribute to slight grinding/roughness in gear shifting? im noticing roughness going from 1st to 2nd especially. or would this be my clutch or something else transmission related?

i cant believe im just getting onto this forum, this place is awesome!

civickiller · #12 02-03-2005, 11:36 AM

check to make sure you tranny fluid is ok

89si · #13 02-03-2005, 11:45 AM

how do i go about that? at my last oil change i was told it was good.. i dont really trust that, so how much would it cost me to change it? i want it to just be fixed and fine again!!

turtlecrxsi · #14 02-03-2005, 11:51 AM

Search. This was just talked about. There's a write up on crxsi.com but you have to be a "preferred member" to access it (and I cancelled). Anyway, here's a link to the page in the manual... http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual...es/91-13-3.jpg

The picture is weird but looking at it, the things that are on the left side of the pic are toward the firewall in reality...
(oh yeah, Honda MTF is supposed to be the best)

civickiller · #15 02-03-2005, 01:29 PM

gm sycnromesh is the best.

theres 2 bolts on your tranny. theres one at the very bottom, i believe its a 3/8" bolt, you pretty much jsut stick the rachet right into the bolt, it is square like hte rachet. then theres one right behind the axle, thats hte fill hole which i believe is 17mm. fluid should be filled up to the fill bolt, open it up and stick your finger in there, if there fluid good, if not add some and check for leaks

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