both my front CV boots are cracked & leaking grease. 2 questions:
1. is it much easier to just replace the whole axle(s)?
2. in general, how bad of a job is this? my skill level is intermediate (i've done the TC tensioner, EGR tube, etc).

motorvate CV boot instructions do not look fun.

 

boot kits are cheaper, but im not sure its something you want to get into. i had an axle fall apart when i lowered my gf's 97. i had the hardest time trying to get them to stay together. with the time i spent trying to fix the outter cv, it was much easier to to replace the axle. advanced auto has brand new (chinese) axles for cheap. i bought 2 new axles for my 01 for about $107 with tax. google for online promo codes for advance auto. the code i use most in "Visa". gl with your decision.

 

1. I would say just replace the entire axle. It's sometimes cheaper, and the labor is still the same, but when you take out the axle you still have to remove the clips, disassemble the parts to replace the boot, clean, regrease, reassemble and install. You eliminate the hassle of fixing the boot for a lot less time. Doing an axle job should be about 30-40 minutes tops with airgun tools (you can sometimes borrow from autozone) and it's your basic slide out/pop in the axle and you're done kind of deal.

2. As I stated, doing the job isn't hard. At all. We used general tools with the help of breaker bars (which, ironically broke ) so the air tools did wonders instead. If anything you'll still have to pay for an alignment later on after you're done installing new ones in.

From experience though dude, I had mine's rebuilt off the originals, with labor, and alignment all for $234 ouf the door with a year of warranty. In all honestly, if I knew that it wasn't going to be a hard job I would have opted for autozone's lifetime warranty for the best ones for $$$ less, even if it meant I would have had to get the alignment for about $30-45 everytime I did it. But that's just my .02

Hope this helps!

 

thanks guys. one last question - how do I know if I have a locking differential? AZ shows parts for both locking and non-locking. I didn't even know these ares came with limited slip.

 

Easiest way to tell (especially if you're not sure if it's been VLSD swapped) is have the front-end of the car off the ground completely and spin one wheel while watching the other, if they spin in opposite directions it's a non-locking if they spin the same way it's a locking (VLSD) and you should be glad that you have one.

Another way is check the plate under the hood on passenger-side firewall and match the last character for "Transmission." IIRC if the last character for the "Transmission" section ends in "V" it's a VLSD, otherwise it's an open diff (please correct me if I'm wrong).

 

you might as well just replace the whole axle. you gotta take the whole thing out to re-do the boot anyways. so spend a little more and save a little time. plus you pretty much get a brand new axle.

 

i would recommend the seals as well, get oem ones as they're just made better. i got a napa axle and they come with a lifetime warranty and have had no problems in 4 months so far.

 

than do mine