I took the wheel off, got the strut off and everthing but I don't know ho to get the new boot on... Please help...

 

Oh good god!!! This is PAIN!. I've replaced both boots on my Max, the first one I attempted to do myself, but screw that. When I brought it to the shop, they had to put it on a machine to seperate CV from the socket :\

I'd reccomend doing it at a dealer (it's only like 40.00 at Brake King if you have one around you).

Or do it yourself if you want the biggest headache imaginable

 

bump

 

You didn't say if the car has automatic or 5-speed.
You didn't say if you are working on the left or right axle.
You didn't say if you have already removed the axle.
You didn't say if it is the inner or outer boot you are replacing.
You didn't say if your replacement part is a split boot or the factory style boot.

One of our Maxima.Org members did this repair recently and reported on the job in some detail. Unfortunately the Search Engine seems to be broken and I am unable to find it for you. Fooey on the Search Engine!

Do you have a manual? Which one?

 

Both the Haynes and Chiltons manuals have decent writeups on CV boot/joint replacement. They are $20 at your local autostore, or buy then off amazon.

 

i just got mine replaced... driver side on my 95 auto. my mechanic charged me 80 bucks for the boot and the labor, nto bad i guess

 

I should have known better, here is more info.

-95 Automatic
-Drivers side
-Outer boot
-I have a chilton
-Factory style boot, not the speedy boot
-I had the axle out trying to work on it, but it's back in now.

Chilton says that the outer ball assymbly doesn't come apart. (unless I misunderstood) Does that mean that I'm supposed to take the inner boot off, take that apart, slide the new outer boot on, and then put the inner boot back on? There is also a dampener on the axle that would have to be removed also, if I have to slide the boot past.

I've decided to just replace the whole axle, but haven't done it yet. But I would still like to know what I need to do to replace the boot.

Again I appologize for the lack of info...

Thanks for the help.

 

Hey MadMax95,

How did you remove the wheel bearing lock nut, did you use power tools? I've been trying to get that off with hand tools but it won't move. Thanks for any info.

 

Yes. I don't know of any shortcut.

Replacing the whole axle is usually the right choice. That way you end up with two new boots, two remanufactured Constant Velocity joints, and less heartburn doing the job.

I recommend replacing only a boot in the exceptional case, such as a new car which had the boot torn by a piece of sharp road trash, and the damage was noticed right away.

 

Do not use an air impact wrench on the axle nut. Doing this is harmful to the Constant Velocity joints.

Loosen the axle nut before raising the car. Put a 36mm socket on the nut and your biggest breaker bar on the socket. Orient the breaker bar so it is horizontal. Have an assistant sit in the driver's seat and step on the brake pedal. You stand on the breaker bar handle and the nut will turn. If need be, put a cheater (a length of steel pipe) over the breaker bar handle and stand on that.

If the car is already up on jackstands and the wheel removed, you can put one end of a tire iron or long pry bar between two adjacent wheel studs and rest the other end on the ground. This immobilizes the wheel and you may use the breaker bar as explained above.

For more information please refer to the Chilton repair manual (page 7-4) or the Haynes repair manual (page 8-7).

 

thanks Daniel

 

If you know someone who says replacing a boot is easy,. they are full of sh... (On a Max anyway) The labor involved to replace the axle isn't bad. I personally think it's a whole lot easier then taking the CV joints apart and hoping that things are fine when they get put back. (without dirt in there)

I used the handle to a hydraulic floor jack as a cheater bar...

DBM:
- Should the spindle nut be torqued to a certain spec?
- Is it necessary to remove both of the strut bolts in order to get the axle in and out? The only problem I had with doing that was after working on it a while the strut expanded and didn't line up easily with the mounting holes. Is there a simpler way to do it or is this just one of the problems associated with this job?
- What is the name of the piece that the strut, A arm, steering linkage, and Caliper bolt to?

Thank you for your help...

 

The 36mm axle nut torque spec is 174-231 foot-pounds. I use 200 foot-pounds. The spec is given in the Chilton repair manual (page 7-4) and the Haynes repair manual (page 8-1). Which repair manual are you using?

I think so. I don't face this problem because I prefer the Haynes disassembly technique which does not call for removing those two lower strut bolts. Which repair manual are you using?

In this situation I use a long tapered line-up punch.

The Steering Knuckle. Please refer to the Chilton repair manual, page 8-9, Figure 24, Item #24, or the Haynes repair manual, page 10-3, Photo 1.1, Item #9. Which repair manual are you using?

 

I recently replaced the boots on my '95 5spd drivers side half shaft. Overall kind of a pain in the a$$. After the time it took to do the drivers side I decided to just replace the whole half shaft on the passenger side while the car was apart and my wife was out of town (i.e. didn't need the car for the week). But I found that I couldn't get a rebuilt half shaft at my local parts stores. Those that could get it (about 2 out of 5) would have to special order it and it could be 3-5 days. I called the dealer who also had to special order them and he quoted me a price of $564 ouch. I think all could get half shafts for automatics. So I just replaced the boots on the drivers side.

The manual I have (don't remember if it is Chiltons or Haynes) says on one line that the outer CV joint is not made to be disassembled then on the next lines says to use a slide hammer to disassemble it. Fact is it does come apart and a slide hammer would probably make it a little easier.

First cut the old boot off. Then you can hang the half shaft in some kind of a vice. I clamped it to a saw horse. Hang it with the outer joint down. Put the nut on the spindle bolt to protect threads and place something under CV joint to break the fall. Then take an old board and place on the inner part of the outer joint and give it a solid hit with a heavy hammer. I tried regular hammer and beat the wood to death to no avail. Then switched to a 10lb. sledge and it took one blow to pop it off. The outer joint is held on by a wire clip and it simply snaps on and off.

Once the joint is off then put it in a vice (protecting spindle threads) with the inside facing up. You then rotate the inner race(?) as far to one side as you can and remove the ball from the opposite side. Do this for all of the ***** and then the race will rotate on its side and you will be able to remove it from the housing. Clean all parts, fill the joint with 1/2 of the grease (from boot kit) put race and ***** back in then put rest of the grease on the back of the joint. Put band(s) and boot on the shaft and then put shaft back in the joint and slide boot back in place lock down bands with a CV boot banding tool (can be found at some parts stores for around $10).

You can see a good example of how to do this at:
http://www.vfaq.com/index-main.html
This VFAQ is for a DSM and parts are somewhat different but the techniques are the same. If you have a digital camera and are good at documenting procedures this site needs a good VFAQ like this one as I see this same question over and over.

 

BobK,

I just want to say thank you for your write up...you saved me. I have both Chilton and Haynes manual and it didn't help much in the detail portion of this job such as disassembling the outer joint. I just wished I had followed your directions from the start rather than the books. I only did the right side and it was hell. I was stuck on removing the outer joint until time I just did exactly what you did...thank god I had a sledge hammer too. Then it took me forever to take out the ***** and put it back in...my hands are all tender now. I still need to do the driver side which I plan on doing the same so I can keep my orig joints, but on the next change I'll just swap them.


Thanks,

 

big breaker bar and 36" socket, have someone push the brakes

 

brodaiga meant to say a 36MM socket. Make sure the car is secure on jack stands. I had a 18 inch breaker bar and had to stand on the end to get it started. Good luck.