oscar
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so had a spare drive shaft cutting around in work. not got a clue what it came from, but it's not important as all drive shafts share the same type of outer cv joint within reason. this how to is also based on the assumption that if you're doing this job yourself, you won't need to know how to remove the driveshaft from the car as you'll probably have done that already! you can also use this how to guide as an universal ''how to'' for replacing the outer cv joint gator / boot or whatever you wish to call it. note that this is an Rzeppa type cv joint, the most commonly used cv joint on fwd cars and i will show you what this comprises of also. pm me if you're doing this on your car and you get confused at any points and i will help you out any way i can.
1 - lets get the driveshaft clamped into a vice (cv joint = the side of the drive shaft that connects into your wheel hub) so that it can't move when removing the cv joint
2 - your driveshaft will come with a metal clamp of sots on the gaitor. these can be a pain in the backside to remove, sometimes requiring better tools ; forget about these clamps and special tools, cut them with snip pliers and remove (i realise this has a cable tie on it, you'll understand why a bit later on. you'll like it, stay with me!)
3 - removing the cv joint gator might be tricky with perished rubbers, best bet is to wedge a screwdriver into the inside of the lip and run it around and then. once you've broke the seal (if this is required) simply pull the gaitor down as far as you can to gain access to the cv joint or if replacing it to make it easier to remove the cv joint, you can just cut it off with scissors.
4 - to remove the cv joint, angle the cv joint to 45 degrees like below, and with a copper mallet give the cv joint a hard tap or 20 untill it overcomes the lock ring and it will slide up and come free from the drive shaft splines.
5 - the end result should be the first image below, angle the race / cage by pushing it down so that it's like the 2nd and 3rd pictures below and remove the ball bearings one by one by applying some pressure from behind, they will pop out.
6 - it should end up like this
7 - now lets pretend that this is your BRAND NEW cv joint, you'll need to pack it with grease (use the correct grease) i used the first grease i had available for demonstration purposes only. pack the inside of the cup with a fair amount of grease
do the same for the cage
and do the same for the race
7 - time to build the race and cage. start by putting the race into the cage sideways, can be fiddly at the best of times but a little playing around will get it in. like below, you want to reinsert it into the cv housing so that the ball bearings can be reinserted into the cage one by one.
finally you should end up with this
8 - apply some grease to the driveshaft splines, gently does it with the grease.
9 - put the new gator onto the driveshaft before you refit the new cv joint by sliding it onto the driveshaft splines and use a gentle coating of rubber lubricant to help it slide down the driveshaft and past the lock ring. for the cv joint fitting, place the cv joint splines onto the driveshaft splines and push it down untill it contacts the lock ring anduse the copper mallet to push it over the lock ring by tapping the hub end of the driveshaft as seen below, don't be shy with the strength of the taps. once it's down as far as it'll go, it's going nowhere! you can use special tools for these little lock rings but in all my years, i've never seen one fail by removing / refitting like this and neither have those around me so let's get too caught up on the slightly barbaric approach here. if it work's, don't fix it right?
should end up like this
10 - pull the gator up onto the cv housing, and clamp it onto it by using whichever style of clamps / bands that you choose for the top and bottom of the gator. note in the first picture we used a tie strap (or whatever you choose to call it?) this does the same job as a metal clamp.
1 - lets get the driveshaft clamped into a vice (cv joint = the side of the drive shaft that connects into your wheel hub) so that it can't move when removing the cv joint
2 - your driveshaft will come with a metal clamp of sots on the gaitor. these can be a pain in the backside to remove, sometimes requiring better tools ; forget about these clamps and special tools, cut them with snip pliers and remove (i realise this has a cable tie on it, you'll understand why a bit later on. you'll like it, stay with me!)
3 - removing the cv joint gator might be tricky with perished rubbers, best bet is to wedge a screwdriver into the inside of the lip and run it around and then. once you've broke the seal (if this is required) simply pull the gaitor down as far as you can to gain access to the cv joint or if replacing it to make it easier to remove the cv joint, you can just cut it off with scissors.
4 - to remove the cv joint, angle the cv joint to 45 degrees like below, and with a copper mallet give the cv joint a hard tap or 20 untill it overcomes the lock ring and it will slide up and come free from the drive shaft splines.
5 - the end result should be the first image below, angle the race / cage by pushing it down so that it's like the 2nd and 3rd pictures below and remove the ball bearings one by one by applying some pressure from behind, they will pop out.
6 - it should end up like this
7 - now lets pretend that this is your BRAND NEW cv joint, you'll need to pack it with grease (use the correct grease) i used the first grease i had available for demonstration purposes only. pack the inside of the cup with a fair amount of grease
do the same for the cage
and do the same for the race
7 - time to build the race and cage. start by putting the race into the cage sideways, can be fiddly at the best of times but a little playing around will get it in. like below, you want to reinsert it into the cv housing so that the ball bearings can be reinserted into the cage one by one.
finally you should end up with this
8 - apply some grease to the driveshaft splines, gently does it with the grease.
9 - put the new gator onto the driveshaft before you refit the new cv joint by sliding it onto the driveshaft splines and use a gentle coating of rubber lubricant to help it slide down the driveshaft and past the lock ring. for the cv joint fitting, place the cv joint splines onto the driveshaft splines and push it down untill it contacts the lock ring anduse the copper mallet to push it over the lock ring by tapping the hub end of the driveshaft as seen below, don't be shy with the strength of the taps. once it's down as far as it'll go, it's going nowhere! you can use special tools for these little lock rings but in all my years, i've never seen one fail by removing / refitting like this and neither have those around me so let's get too caught up on the slightly barbaric approach here. if it work's, don't fix it right?
should end up like this
10 - pull the gator up onto the cv housing, and clamp it onto it by using whichever style of clamps / bands that you choose for the top and bottom of the gator. note in the first picture we used a tie strap (or whatever you choose to call it?) this does the same job as a metal clamp.