Member Since: 25 Apr 2022
Location: London
Posts: 246
Front Driveshafts - Replace torn boot, or replace shaft?
Hi folks, looking for your thoughts on this...
I noticed by NSF outer cv boot was torn at the weekend and grease has been sent flying over the brake lines and the inside of the wheel. It wasn't like that 2 weeks ago, and I've driven about 250 miles with it leaking I would guess. Not in wet conditions.
I need it fixed this week ASAP as have some long journeys coming up. Busy with work and have no access to garage or driveway this week as back in London, so need to take it to my local mechanic.
My question is: do I just go and get the boot replaced (mechanic sucked his teeth a bit and said could be about 3 hours labour, I do trust him though, never had an issue yet), or should I look to just bite the bullet and get both front driveshafts replaced given the car has done almost 250,000 miles and is still on the originals?
How much longer could I expect the driveshafts to last?
Thanks,
Chris
14th Aug 2023 8:58 am
Marshall8hp
Member Since: 05 Dec 2022
Location: Townsville
Posts: 32
Mine did a boot about 4 weeks ago. Just did the boot, no issues, 90 mins labour.
14th Aug 2023 9:54 am
PROFSR G
Member Since: 06 Mar 2017
Location: Lost
Posts: 4668
Re: Front Driveshafts - Replace torn boot, or replace shaft?
disco chris wrote:
My question is: do I just go and get the boot replaced (mechanic sucked his teeth a bit and said could be about 3 hours labour, I do trust him though, never had an issue yet), or should I look to just bite the bullet and get both front driveshafts replaced given the car has done almost 250,000 miles and is still on the originals?
How much longer could I expect the driveshafts to last?
Thanks,
Chris
Complete shafts are not expensive but you wouldn't ordinarily change them complete without having due cause. Lifetime varies wildly depending on how the vehicle has been used, so asking "how long will they last" is like asking how long is a piece of string!
You could just replace the boot and refill the grease, but there may now be further wear on the already worn cv joint as it was exposed to grit and elements. So given you have to disassemble the shaft anyway, a wiser choice would be to replace the complete CV joint. If preventative maintenance is your thing, and given you do have "due cause" you could opt to replace the complete shaft on that side and be done with it hopefully for many years. A Britpart shaft is around £100 or so and will be a bit quicker than replacing the boot or cv joint.yµ (idµ - eAµ) ψ=mψ
14th Aug 2023 3:13 pm
loanrangie
Member Since: 18 Jun 2017
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 605
I found a split boot on a Saturday so with no chance of getting a set before Monday i went to a self serve wrecker and got a good shaft out of an RRS and fitted it on my drive, i'm going to order a full boot set then change them out later and keep the shaft as a spare.
15th Aug 2023 4:29 am
disco chris
Member Since: 25 Apr 2022
Location: London
Posts: 246
Thanks all, and thanks PROFSR G for the explanation of the other options. I wasn't aware that you could change the CV joint separately from the whole driveshaft. This time round I have just replaced the boot and will see how I get on - if things deteriorate I will probably look to replace the CV joint myself. Went for the lower cost option this time though as I think I have a few larger items coming up!
This one was fairly urgent as it's got the MOT in a couple of weeks and I'm not sure the tester would have liked the look of the grease everywhere...
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