Two piece CV boot - experiences?

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Howdy again friends and fellow oil lovers:

Again, a post on my daughters 2004 Kia Sedona.

Aside from other issues, one of the CV boots is slinging grease all over the inside of the wheel and the wheel well and tire.

I REALLY don't want to spend tomorrow taking that bad boy apart, but a search on the internet revealed they do make two piece CV boots, some of which glue together, others bolt or screw together.

Have any of you wrench twisters ever used one of these two piece CV boots before? If so, had did it work? Was it worth it? Do they last a reasonable amount of time? Any tips on the instillation?

Thanks again - GreeCguy
 
I think its hard to glue the edges together, without getting your greasy finger prints on the edges where it needs to be glued. I think i tried one about 20 years ago on a friends car, it was a pain. A new cv joint is faster for me.
 
They are unreliable. Even if they work, there is a good chance that the cv joint itself is damaged. Rebuilt fully loaded shafts are the way to go. I would only use a split boot to get home during a long trip. They suck.
 
I had a CV boot torn and I certainly wasn't going to replace it. I bought a new cv axle with 2 new boots and so far so good 9,500 miles later. It was a lot cheaper too and I got TWO new boots out of it.
 
I didn't know they still sold these. As mentioned a new reman halfshaft is the way to go. The split boot isn't even a bandaid, it's a total waste of money.
 
Originally Posted By: asand1
I have not, but the glue together would be better than bolts. balance


I had the same concern - but from what I can see on the pictures, there are an equal number of little bolts on opposite sides of the boot.

As far as the condition of the CV joint, it appears to be in good shape as this just started happening in the past few weeks and the van has been driven only about 50 miles in this condition.

As posted, I am somewhat wary of the "glue" type for reasons mentioned, trying to put this thing together while laying under the van with greasy fingers.

Remember when you were kids and you watched the really cool G.I. Joe commercials where the "action figure" did all kinds of nifty, cool things. And then Santa brought you one for Christmas and it never worked out like it did on the television.

Yeah, that's like the little "youtube" adds for these two piece jobs.

Hence, the "usefulness" of those commercials years ago - they taught us disappointment at an early age.
 
Originally Posted By: Spartuss
Junk. OEM with cv boots is the bst way to go in most applications for longevity


Very true. The few I have seen failed.
 
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Okay, just checked prices - 2 piece CV boot is 20 bucks. New shaft with two new boots is 63 dollars.

If I were to go with the entire shaft, how long can I expect the old one to last before it dies?
 
My car had a torn CV boot for several thousand miles and had no clacking nosies. I actually still have the OEM one and might replace the boots someday and keep it as a spare. But YMMV. I'd fix it asap.
 
Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
Okay, just checked prices - 2 piece CV boot is 20 bucks. New shaft with two new boots is 63 dollars.

If I were to go with the entire shaft, how long can I expect the old one to last before it dies?


depends on how much dirt is in there. I would drive it until it clicks when you make sharp turns.

I guess i'm lucky, i've never had a torn boot on any car. even my 93 has the orginal boots intact.
 
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Originally Posted By: spasm3
Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
Okay, just checked prices - 2 piece CV boot is 20 bucks. New shaft with two new boots is 63 dollars.

If I were to go with the entire shaft, how long can I expect the old one to last before it dies?


depends on how much dirt is in there. I would drive it until it clicks when you make sharp turns.

I guess i'm lucky, i've never had a torn boot on any car. even my 93 has the orginal boots intact.




That's because CV boots on domestic cars is virtually an unknown issue for some reason. They must use a different type of rubber. Anyways, watch out who you get your shafts from. There are a lot of junk ones out there.
 
I'd save your old oem shaft by replacing the torn cv boot with an oem one from the dealer. A $63 shaft doesn't sound like its a quality piece that will serve as long as oem
 
Originally Posted By: Spartuss
I'd save your old oem shaft by replacing the torn cv boot with an oem one from the dealer. A $63 shaft doesn't sound like its a quality piece that will serve as long as oem


You can do that if you disassemble the bearings, tripod and clean all the dirt and grit out, then regrease and put the boot on it. It would be time consuming and a pain. You could just put the new boot on the orginal shaft, but it will fail in time from dirt already in there.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
It's quicker and easier to just change out the axle assembly.


+1

the labor involved in changing the boot properly (no split boot garbage) is far more than simply just changing the whole CV shaft. Often times you'll get a lifetime warranty with it too.

FWIW My 88 bmw still has it's original CV shafts and boots
 
I've never used two-piece boots. Just finished replacing mine the old fashioned way...new boots. Though a greasy job, it's a sure fix. You could also replace the entire axle. Definitely faster that way.

For a temp. patch:
  • Get a roll of UL181-grade duct tape, clean off the boot with degreaser, split the tape down the middle or trim so it'll fit down in the grooves. Then overwrap with wider pieces.
  • Wrap the torn boot with a piece of heavy plastic or a contractor-grade trash bag, securing the ends with zip ties.
 
I have used the 2 piece CV boots.

I spent almost as much time trying to get that 2 piece boot on as I did replacing a new half shaft. And the 2 piece boot blew apart after a short period of time. Not worth the trouble.
 
How high is up? As long as you are planning and keep it on the to do list you should be fine. they get growly , and then I had one that sounded like someone had stolen the lug nuts. I replaced that one as soon as I had figured out what the noise was
 
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