How to: CV Joint/ Boot Replacement

The front wheels on a front wheel drive car have two purposes, one to pull the car along and another to steer the car. Because of this they need special joints in the drive shafts to be able to pivot with the wheels, these are CV (constant velocity) joints.

The joints are protected by a rubber boot which is packed with grease. Over time these rubber boots perish and split, causing the grease to fly out and allowing dirt and grit to get into the joint. Without grease the joints themselves begin to wear and may eventually break so it is best to replace the boots and grease as soon as they split or look like they may split.

What you need

My CV joints were fine so all I needed was the boot kit for the inner CV's which comes with a new rubber boot, a packet of grease, and two bands to hold the boot to the driveshaft. I'm not sure exactly what you get if you are replacing the joints as well so maybe someone can email me and let me know

You will also need to drain the transmission oil so you have to either replace it with new oil or catch the old oil in a clean container. I would recommend replacing it with Honda MTF if it is quite old.

Make sure they give you the right boot kit or you'll have to borrow a car to drive back to the shop.

Removing the drive shafts

Remove you centre caps (if you have any) and use a punch and hammer to punch out the notch on the axle nut (pic soon). Use a 30mm socket with a long breaker bar to loosen and remove the axle nut. You can extend the breaker bar with a metal pipe.

Loosen the wheel nuts, jack the car up and put it on jack stands. Remove the front wheels.

Place a container under the transmission and using a 1/4 drive ratchet remove the bottom drain plug in the right hand side of the transmission. Remove the 19mm filler bolt above the drain bolt to help it drain faster.

Remove the damper fork bolt then remove the split pin and castle nut as pictured. The lower ball joint will be very tight, you can use a ball joint remover but I just used a crow bar to pop it out.

Lift he hub up so the joint slides out of the lower control arm and swing the hub towards the back of the car, the shaft will slide out as you do. Be careful not to pull the cv joint out from the boot as the rollers may fall out.

Use a flat head screwdriver to pop the other end of the shaft from either the transmission (right hand axle) or the intermediate shaft (left hand axle) then remove the shaft from the car.

Replacing the boot/joint

Mark the spider and the end of the shaft so you can put it back on the way it came off, also mark the rollers as you remove them. Clean off all the old grease with a rag.

Remove the circlip holding the spider on with some pliers or circlip pliers. The spider may be quite tight so you may need to use a puller. With the spider removed you can slide the old boot off by cutting the band holding it on.

 

Slide the new boot on and check the distance between the bottom of the boot and the dynamic damper. There is a slight groove in the shaft for the bottom band. I found the metal bands annoying so I just used a zip-tie, I will see how well it lasts.

Now lightly grease the splines and slide the spider back on the way it came off checking your markings. You may have to put a socket over it and tap it down with a mallet. Replace the circlip and make sure it locks tightly. Lightly grease the inside of the rollers and slide them back on where they came off.

Pack the boot with the new grease that came with the kit and make sure you get some on the rollers and the inside of the joint. Slide the joint back onto the rollers, this may be a fiddle but it will eventually slide on.

Pop the large end of the boot over the joint and tighten the band or zip tie.

Reinstallation

Insert the shaft back into the intermediate shaft or transmission, you may have to give it a shove to make it lock in there. Insert the other end into the hub as you swing it back around and drop the ball joint back into the LCA.

Replace the damper fork bolt, castle nut and split pin. Loosely screw on the 32mm shaft nut.

Replace the transmission drain bolt with the 1/4 drive ratchet and use the top filler bolt to fill the transmission until it starts coming out of the filler bolt. It's a bit of a fiddle so you'll probably need a funnel and a tube.

Replace the filler bolt, replace the wheels, lower the car and tighten the 32mm nuts. Lock the nuts in place again using a hammer and punch.

 

If I forgot anything then email me.

 

 

This website has been gradually growing since I started it in early 2002. Originally I was simply documenting modifications and repairs to my car but I decided to publish it when I began to discover others were interested in the information. If you need help or have a how-to relating to Honda B series VTEC engines, or DA or DC2R Integras you can
email me.

While all care is taken to provide correct information, mistakes are occasionally made and I cannot be responsible for any damage that occurs to readers vehicles.