I wouldn't even consider it.

Over the last couple of months, I replaced all four boots on the two half shafts after discovering that three out of the four had torn. After researching my options regarding replacing the entire axles or CV joints, or boots, I determined that replacing the boots were all that was required in my case.

Following the excellent guidance on Pedro's site and other forums, I removed the half shafts R/R the boots with boot kits from Autohauz. Now having completed the job and thinking about it I began to wonder about a few time saving steps to consider. Please keep in mind I have access to a lift which certainly makes this job easier and I am addressing R/R boots and at most the inner CV joint.

Since the outer CV joint cannot be removed for complete cleaning, why bother removing the half shaft from the wheel hub? If one removes the transaxle side of the half shaft, there is enough clearance to swing it out of the way. Once the half-shaft is clear of the transaxle, the inner CV joint, both boots and clamps can be removed and worked with just as well as having the axle on the bench. Granted, you are doing the work under the car (hopefully on a lift) as opposed to having the half shaft in a vice on the bench, but the time savings of not having to disconnect ball joints on the control arms, the axle nut or even the tire seems to make this approach worth thnking about.

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

I can't answer your question, but I'm curious about what causes the boots to tear (obviously age plus wear and "tear") I have checked mine regularly (99 w/106k mi.) and haven't noticed any tears, yet your car with similar age and mileage has had 3 fail.

I live in the SF Bay Area, so temp swings are fairly mild and not terribly dry. Mine is a daily driver, rain or shine. Also, does the S seem more susceptible than the Base?

Just curious

therefore as they rotate the boots cycle through one expansion and contraction at any given radial* along their length. After a bazillion times they become fatigued and split. Breakdown of the material from oxidation or whatever might also contribute to their eventual failure, but I think the mechanical flexing is the main culprit.

*Not sure about my use of the geometric term here.

Apparently, The half-shafts on the 'S' model are more suseptable to trearing due to the more severe angle between the transaxle and the wheel hub.

For what it's worth, I bought my car 3 1/2 years ago with 76k miles. I've checked the boots every time I've had the car on the rack for various maintenance (oil changes, fuel filter, wheel bearing last fall etc.) The last time I'd had the car up in the air prior to discovering the problems was last January. No issues noted.

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

Well, I guess I need to increase my boot checks.

I bought my 2000S a year ago with 48K miles. When I got it it had rebuilt 1/2 shafts in it already. At 52K one outer boot ripped. I removed and rebuilt both 1/2 shafts. No problems to date and I don't expect any. I believe I picked up the boots etc from ebay.

Do you think you could have done it with the wheel hub end of the axle still attached? If one of mine rips again, I'm going to try it.

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

Interesting. I've been researching this the past couple of days. Bill, on another board, mentioned this but I was under the impression the exhaust system would get in the way. I'm thinking of doing the boots as a DIY once I get motivated. I've been driving with at least one of my outer boots torn for about a year. That was the last time a dealer looked it. They had a long list of repairs I should make. My wallet couldn't afford it. Maintenance starts to get expensive on a 2000 Boxster S with 123k miles. The other thought I had was should I just replace the half axle? Auto Haus Texas had one for $175 vs. Pelican Parts $800. I have no idea about the quality or who manufacturers it.

Kermit

The exhaust will get in the way in completely removing the axle. If you consider what I was suggesting, you only remove the inner side on support it on either the suspension or the exhaust.

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

I had to replace one earlier this year and didn't have time to "shop around" and wait a week for cross country shipping. The mechanic said that the part was a dealer-only item, and it was very expensive ($800 or so). Later, a friend suggested checking Raxles as a lower cost alternative with good quality -- I would definitely check them out next time. (No affiliation nor experience yet -- anyone else here worked them before?)

Raxles

It is such a messy job that it is just easier to take off the shafts and work on them in the basement. When I wrench my car is on jack stands. Its not comfortable doing anything underneath the car. When I did the axles I also did the front mount change, coolant change and oil change. As far as the exhaust goes, I disconnected the cat by the muffler (slide clamp) and at the exhaust pipe (2 bolts/nut and a stud/nut). I also reused the muffler gasket with no leaks. Someone has a write up on it - I don't think its Pedros method but it worked for me. A trick on getting the aluminum tranny covering plate back on is to install it on the rear studs with 1 or 2 turns of the nuts. Then I believe I put one of the sides in the stud(s) and to get the front holes to line up I used a large screw driver for prying leverage and with a little effort the front holes lined up. I don't remember if I had the studs for one side or both sides on before I did the screw driver trick. Another item to watch out for is where the bands on the boots align. One is in the "normal" track and the other is not. Have fun.

I can stand under the car and have access to stands and supports. You and I took two different approaches. I left the exhaust in place and removed the hub from the control arms.

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

i just finished doing my boots and axles. some notes:

i too had three torn boots. as you know, the inner cv's can be removed, but the outer are attached to the axles. i decided to replace the two inners and just service the one torn outer. getting the inners off the xmission flange is easy; if you need help, just get your floor jack under the wheel carrier to compress your suspenion and make room to swing the axle around.

i found that the inner cv's did not come off the axles easy. apparently they can work on the axle, gouging it and making it very difficult to remove them. after hammering on them no no avail i decided to just remove the axles altogether. as stated, axles are easier to work on when out of the car.

to remove the axles on the 's' model you need to get the axle nuts off - you'll need your car on the ground and a long breaker bar to do it (so best make the decision to remove the axles or not before you get your car on stands and the chassis braces removed). the passenger side axle comes out ok (w/ help from the floor jack on the wheel carrier) but you do have to lower the exhaust on the driver side to get clearance to remove the axle. having heard horror stories on breaking the bolts holding the manifold to the block, i chose instead to just lower the midpipe. it doesn't have to come right out, just drop 1" or so - easily done.

once the axles were out i thought to just replace them. i was lured by the call of cheap jobber axles ($200 vs $800 for oem). DON'T DO IT!!! what a nightmare. the dust caps on the transmission flange end were wrong and didn't fit into my flanges. the wheel carrier cv did not have any plunge, only the transmission end. the oem axle nut actually milled the thread on the shaft due to the softer steel, there was only a thin, easily scratched layer of paint on the shaft; not the heavy, corrosion reducing amount of paint on the oem unit. finally, the oem unit uses reducing rings to mate to the boots so that there is less rubber to wear and fail; the jobber units used big boots that mated direct to the cv - lots rubber and opportunity for failure.

once i got the jobber axles returned i chose to rebuild one of my original axles (the one with the good outer cv) and replace the other as the outer cv was shot. i bought an oem axle from a low-mileage wrecked boxster for the same as a new jobber axle. a liberal coating of rubber protectant on the boots will hopefully keep me worry free for a while longer. ps, watch when you order boot kits; you tend to get whatever the parts guy grabs when he reaches into the cv boot band box. they all will work fine, but different styles of clamps require different types of tools to install.

How did you determine your CV joints were 'bad'? Where they making noise?
My boots were tore but I had no noise or strange behavior from the axles, hence, I opted for the boot kits.

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

when i had the axles out i could feel resistance when i articulated the outer cv that had the torn boot. i repacked the cv but could still feel it catch as i rotated it through its range of motion.

Radium,

What brand were the jobber half shafts?

Peter

the cvman, but he was just drop-shipping them from a shop in the southern us someplace. when you go on ebay there's a number of folks selling them, and they all look to have the same origins (compare the outer cv boots to those on an oem axle). in all fairness, the cvman gave me a complete refund including shipping both ways.

thx,

from my standard online supplier's I've seen "First Equipment Quality" as a supplier.... looks to be between $99 to $110. Up in the Great White North ( I saw snow on Saturday) I use autopartsway dot ca or autopartsonlinecanada dot com

I'll see what the ebay offerings are.

So far, I think my outer CV joints are still ok.

P