first time fixing outer cv boot

[ogatrulle]

06 V70 2.5T 130k miles

I apparently nicked the outer cv joint boot when I replaced a hub last month; now it's oozing grease.

VIDA has a whole teardown/rebuild procedure for each CV joint. I understand I have to remove the outer CV joint housing from the splined shaft in order to get the new boot on. Do I need to disassemble the joint further or can I just clean it out with brakleen and regrease?

Is it difficult to tap the outer joint back onto the drive shaft?

While I have the driveshaft out, do I need to secure the inner joint to prevent internal separation?

Looks like I'll need a brass drift. 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch?

Thank you for your wisdom!

[Mike Langlois]

I just did my first inner boot; not hard. I am sad I traded in a Volvo axle for an aftermarket part previously. Check reputable suppliers Like FCP for instructions.

[amblerman]

06 V70 2.5T 130k miles

I apparently nicked the outer cv joint boot when I replaced a hub last month; now it's oozing grease.

VIDA has a whole teardown/rebuild procedure for each CV joint. I understand I have to remove the outer CV joint housing from the splined shaft in order to get the new boot on. Do I need to disassemble the joint further or can I just clean it out with brakleen and regrease?

Is it difficult to tap the outer joint back onto the drive shaft?

While I have the driveshaft out, do I need to secure the inner joint to prevent internal separation?

Thank you for your wisdom!

I rebuilt my passenger side outer CV joint a year ago on my 1999 s70.
You can see why I did this here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=85193&p=470583#p470452

I do not know if my experience will help you at all given mine was a 1999 s70 and your's is a 2006 V70.
But with your VIDA info you should be able to determine if your car uses a similar type of joint.

If my CV joint is similar to yours, then here is my observations.

1) The clip holding my outer CV joint to the shaft can be seen in the third picture on the link above. I had to spread those ear apart and then tap the joint off. I found this easier with a helper. My son held the ears apart while I used a large flat bladed screwdriver and hammer to gently tap the joint off. It came off easily.

2) I think my rebuild it came with a new clip and I seem to remember the joint sliding back on fairly easily once I cleaned the splines. You just have to spread the ears to get the clip to spread wide enough.

3) because my joint was ripped apart, I had to completely disassemble and clean the joint. I practiced putting it back together without grease in it first. It turned out that reassembling it without grease was more difficult (but less messy) than when I did it for real. practicing the reassembly dry felt like I needed an 10 hands because of all the moving parts.

4) Inner joint: I don't remember doing anything special to protect my inner shaft while the drive shaft was out.

I started writing up a whole description about the rebuild process and then I remember the videos I watched that solved some problems for me.
part 1:
part 2:

In these videos, you'll be able to see the completely disassembled joint to determine if it is similar to yours. You'll hear the ALL IMPORTANT TIP about lining the narrow sections of the race to the wide sections on the cup. That is critical. I wasted a lot of time dealing with this issue because you naturally want to line it up wide to wide and narrow to narrow. However, it won't work like that.

You'll also see all the fiddling he does because he's demonstrating the assembly dry. He even warns about the balls falling into the cup. With grease in the cup, you effectively had a 3rd set of hands helping you. The grease holds a lot of things in place for you.

He talks about having a tough time removing the race from the shaft. I don't recall that being and issue for me but perhaps that was because my joint was violently ripped apart and maybe the shock of that loosened up the race on the splines.


If your outer CV joint is nothing like mine then ignore all my suggestions.

-A

[firstv70volvo]

06 V70 2.5T 130k miles

I apparently nicked the outer cv joint boot when I replaced a hub last month; now it's oozing grease.

VIDA has a whole teardown/rebuild procedure for each CV joint. I understand I have to remove the outer CV joint housing from the splined shaft in order to get the new boot on. Do I need to disassemble the joint further or can I just clean it out with brakleen and regrease?

Is it difficult to tap the outer joint back onto the drive shaft?

While I have the driveshaft out, do I need to secure the inner joint to prevent internal separation?

Looks like I'll need a brass drift. 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch?

Thank you for your wisdom!

To replace the outer cv joint boot you cut off the old boot, hold the axle in a vise and strike the inner ball race near the axle with a hammer to release it from the circlip (see photo). I used a brass hammer to to knock the outer cv joint inner race off the axle. The inner tripod joint is staked (see photo) and will not come apart unless the small ridges have been ground off previously, which is unlikely if the axles has never been apart. If you caught the bad boot early and it's not contaminated with dirt you should be able just clean, repack and install a new boot. Before you knock the outer cv joint off the axle clean and mark the inner race location on the axle so you know the depth when it's reinstalled.

[cn90]

Someone told me this trick for S60/V70 series...

- Leave the INNER Cup alone attached to the trans (unless you have a Trans Seal leak), simply b/c separating the axle from the Trans housing can be a nightmare.

- Undo the INNER tripod joint.

- Remove the circlip and separate the Tripod joint from the shaft (mark it first to be sure they go back to the same alignment).
See Step #6 in FCPEuro DIY:
https://blog.fcpeuro.com/learn-how-to-r ... joint-boot

- Now you can replace both OUTER and INNER CV Boots.

[oragex]

I am a bit lazy, I'd rather go with a used one that looks like a genuine and has no play on the CV joints and no cracks at the boot. Quite easy to find at the junk yards. Don't discard the old one until the replacement checks 100% fine. But of course you can also go replacing only the boot, just make sure to buy the correct brand as the cheap chinese ones are proud if they last 6 months.

[SuperHerman]

Couple thoughts, if the boot was only nicked and you are confident you don't have any contamination, you can try using a tire patch (or old inner tube and proper glue). I know it is crazy, but I recently saw a forum member post he used this approach and had success. At the very least you can try it while you figure out what you are going to do so that you stop the grease and prevent contamination. Just clean all the grease well and if you can use a couple zip ties and some kind of firmer overlay while the glue sets and dries. Then remove the zip ties and overlay, leaving just the patch.

Now to a proper repair, again assuming there is no contamination, you can try stretching the new CV boot over the hub. There are videos on this and there is a funnel/tube cone device to help the process. Some have used 2 liter plastic bottles. I have a pneumatic stretching tool designed for this, I bought it off Craigslist, but have never had the chance to try it out. Videos of it in action look like a nice solution. You just need to pull the axle out of the wheel hub, remove all boot, then put on new boot. No need to disturb the inner end or separate the outer joint.

To be honest, I have never tried either of these approaches, but have pulled the axle and gone the normal route. It is a pain, hence I bought the CV boot stretch tool. I would only do this when I know their is no contamination. I find the hardest part of the process is separating the CV joint from the axle. firstv70volvo's description of the process is spot on, although I usually hold the axle in my hand and hammer down. Putting it in the vice is probably a better approach as the hammer energy is not partially lost by your arms.

Napa is a good source for CV boots, but their clamps are usually too small. Try to keep your original clamp as you may need it.

[ogatrulle]

Thanks guys, boot kit on order. The boot spreader is interesting but looks like it needs a special inner clamp that can be opened to go around the driveshaft, and maybe special boots that won't break when stretched. Also like the idea of a salvage driveshaft, but the junk yards are far enough away that it would be less time for me to fix the current driveshaft.

From the various videos it looks as if I will need to completely disassemble the outer joint to clean before repacking with new grease. Will need to drive another 200-300 miles before parts arrive so keeping fingers crossed no dirt has gotten in.

[firstv70volvo]

Thanks guys, boot kit on order. The boot spreader is interesting but looks like it needs a special inner clamp that can be opened to go around the driveshaft, and maybe special boots that won't break when stretched. Also like the idea of a salvage driveshaft, but the junk yards are far enough away that it would be less time for me to fix the current driveshaft.

From the various videos it looks as if I will need to completely disassemble the outer joint to clean before repacking with new grease. Will need to drive another 200-300 miles before parts arrive so keeping fingers crossed no dirt has gotten in.

Yes, it would be best to disassemble to clean thoroughly and to also inspect the ball races for any pitting or any other damage. The boot and repack job is a messy one so have plenty of disposable gloves and shop towels handy. It's always good to save a genuine axle with new boots though since so many of the aftermarket axles are terrible quality and won't last or vibrate or both.

The boot kits usually come with grease but it if doesn't I would recommend Redline CV2 grease.

[abscate]

Cv joints make me smile , they are works of engineering art

Red grease to Port , green to starboard