Why do I suck at installing CV boots?
Discussion
I've not had a great track record installing CV boots and am hoping for some suggestions on what I'm doing wrong.
Original (AFAIK) driveshaft, boot and clamps. I removed the end clamp (only), regreased the joint and re-installed with an aftermarket clamp.
~10 miles later and it's come off, clamp still attached
Done the job again taking extra care to ensure the clamping surface is clean
Clamp came off after 2 miles
Front axle of a BMW X5 btw.
I was using £5 eBay clamps so will try to find some alternatives but hoping there's some common mistake I'm making.
Original (AFAIK) driveshaft, boot and clamps. I removed the end clamp (only), regreased the joint and re-installed with an aftermarket clamp.
~10 miles later and it's come off, clamp still attached
Done the job again taking extra care to ensure the clamping surface is clean
Clamp came off after 2 miles
Front axle of a BMW X5 btw.
I was using £5 eBay clamps so will try to find some alternatives but hoping there's some common mistake I'm making.
stinkyspanner said:
The clamp isn't done up tight enough, you need to squeeze that sucker with some proper pincers, long handled if your grip isn't that strong
I used mole grips with all my strength, mm at a time. Admittedly the picture doesn't look that tight, but the previous one was.Smint said:
I bought a selection box of natty little stainless jubilee clips.
They've worked really well.
Do you mean jubilee as the brand? Or the design (i.e. worm drive)?They've worked really well.
I've just bought the special tool and some quality jubilee-branded clips for 3x the price. Here's hoping!
Don't think they were branded, they're thinner than standard Jubilees and the screw thread housing hasn't interfered with the boots.
Had success with heavy duty cable ties before now too, sometimes when you get a slightly noisy CV joint its a case of a quick repack of grease for another few years of useful life, not easy getting the proper tool in with the shaft in place.
Had success with heavy duty cable ties before now too, sometimes when you get a slightly noisy CV joint its a case of a quick repack of grease for another few years of useful life, not easy getting the proper tool in with the shaft in place.
Smint said:
Don't think they were branded, they're thinner than standard Jubilees and the screw thread housing hasn't interfered with the boots.
Unfortunately in this application there's very little clearance that would stop a wormdrive clamp from working - I half wonder if the clamps are too proud and they are catching and that's the issue - hence buying the special tool to prevent it.Agree with the others, not tight enough.
The first step is to get the teeth engaged as far around as possible - if you have the joint at 90 degrees to you with the loose end facing away, use your middle to fingers to hold the clamp on the side away from you and your thumbs to push the loop as far around as possible, then give the toothed bit a gentle tap to make sure they are properly engaged.
Then I use a pair of carpenters pincers to crimp the bottom of the loop, so that both sides of it are touching.
The first step is to get the teeth engaged as far around as possible - if you have the joint at 90 degrees to you with the loose end facing away, use your middle to fingers to hold the clamp on the side away from you and your thumbs to push the loop as far around as possible, then give the toothed bit a gentle tap to make sure they are properly engaged.
Then I use a pair of carpenters pincers to crimp the bottom of the loop, so that both sides of it are touching.
ds to get sorted, last job on mine involved new outer cv boot, the thing was on and off like a wIf you still have the old boots that came off, take note of how deeply the clamps had bit into the boots. These clamps are designed to apply a high clamping force. Every 1mm of radial compression needs about 6mm of circumferential clamping. You'll want at least a couple of mm of compression. The clamps do give you enough travel, but you do need to start with no slack, and use all the travel on the clamp.
Jakg said:
stinkyspanner said:
The clamp isn't done up tight enough, you need to squeeze that sucker with some proper pincers, long handled if your grip isn't that strong
I used mole grips with all my strength, mm at a time. Admittedly the picture doesn't look that tight, but the previous one was.Something like this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/BGS-161-CV-Joint-Boot-Pli...
They squeeze the clip while also tamping it flat to lock it.
Was having similar issues on my Saab. I replaced the CV joint with a GKN one I think and used the boot it came with which was plasticky and not very flexible, came off within a few miles. Reattached with a different clip and tightened as much as it would go, same again. Bought a new old stock Saab (GM) CV boot, again quite hard and inflexible, same again. Bought a stretchy Bailcast boot that's designed to be put on with one of those finger stretch tools and it was much softer and much more pliable and it's still attached multiple thousands of miles later.
Proper tool, proper clamps and it looked much better
But still came off. The real root cause is lack of clearance between the hub and the CV joint clip - you can see the witness marks where it was making contact and it's getting knocked until it pops off.
The boot is in pretty much the right place compared to the (presumably original) other side, I think the clip just needs massaging to make it sit as flat as possible.
But still came off. The real root cause is lack of clearance between the hub and the CV joint clip - you can see the witness marks where it was making contact and it's getting knocked until it pops off.
The boot is in pretty much the right place compared to the (presumably original) other side, I think the clip just needs massaging to make it sit as flat as possible.
stevemcs said:
X5's are a pain, we normally use stretchy boots but on these genuine because of how they sit in the hub.
tl;dr it's the cars fault, not mine.In that case, you need to use these as they are lower profile.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266884312487?_skw=cv+bo...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266884312487?_skw=cv+bo...
Gassing Station | Home Mechanics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff