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Car CV axle rebuilding and boot replacement

I had difficulty finding instructions online on how to replace the CV axle boot, so the following page was made. I have plenty of pictures that are worth a thousand words here.

The following was a CV axle from a 2000 Chrysler Voyager but obviously anything that looks similar will be exactly the same.

1) At least for a 2000 Chrysler Voyager, the axle on the driver side is hard to be taken out without taking the bolt out of the brake line brace and carefully pulling it up and away.

2) If you find a boot on E-Bay for about 15 dollars, you might be able to find it just for 10 dollars from a local parts dealer, with probably stock or much faster shipping. Look around. The replacement boot must look exactly the same, especially if you buy from E-Bay. I had a completely wrong part shipped to me.

3) It is beyond the scope of this article for me to try to describe how to take apart the wheel assembly to take out the axle. But you can if you have any trouble.

4) After you have taken the axle out and cut the old boot off you will have to pop out the compression ring holding the CV joint to the axle. This is how it looks like from the inside:

just like on the transmission end of the axle

and just about as easy to pull out as the transmission end! Do not follow the advice on hammering on the axle like other websites say. Just put the axle in the workbench vise, slide to flat screwdrivers or crowbars between the vise and the CV joint, and pop it off!

5) Keep in mind that when you take the axle out of the transmission, it will leak slowly on the ground. Place something below the transmission to prevent it (if you will do the reassembly within a few hours it probably will barely leak at all.

6) Now all you have is the CV joint itself. If your boot was ripped or if dirt got inside, I recommend you clean out and regrease the boot especially since the grease comes free.

7) You will need to take out the ball bearings one by one. First, orient the two parts like so:

and take the first ball bearing out. Repeat this procedure to take out all of the remaining balls.

8) Then, take the "ring" out by placing it vertically inside the "cup", like so:

9) Take the inner part out by again rotating it inside:

10) Next is the messiest part. Get a rag and clean off as much grease as possible while putting as little on your hands as possible. You can use a brake degreaser spray can, or a similar degreaser to help along. Note that if you use something other than the recommended brake degreaser, you should still spray it on anyways to take away stains and leftover coating on the metal, otherwise the grease might have a problem adhering to the metal.

11) "Assembly is the reverse of disassembly", but I will still illustrate:

12) This is the "easiest wrong way" to install the ring:

it goes in the same exact way it was taken out:

13) Watch the pressure ring orientation on the "inner part". Wrong orientation:

correct orientation:

14) Before the ball bearings go in, everything should look like this:

15) Bearing balls are inserted from OUTSIDE of the "ring", by orienting the parts like this for every ball:

it will be easy for first ones, but somewhat difficult for the last few. You will need to apply some pressure to the inner part to make it stand almost vertical like in the picture above. You might need to even tap slightly. Without the lubrication everything will not be moving smoothly.

16) Cut a notch in a corner of the grease bag, and apply grease all over ball bearings first. Then, push the rest inside the hole in the middle where the axle goes, and around in a circle above the ball bearings. Try to keep area above the axle hole with no grease piled over otherwise you will not see the compression ring.

17) Place the boot on the axle.

18) Place the CV joint in the vise again and orient the notches on the axle. While someone holds it upright, have someone else take flat screwdrivers and compress the compression ring on the axle. It will pop down very easily, just watch for splatters of grease.

19) All you have to do is position the boot correctly, and apply the compression bands properly. The boot goes on the raised area, but does not slide beyond it on the wheel side of the axle, and goes into the notch on the transmission end. Watch the transmission end notch, the boot will tend to slide beyond it.

20) I do not know what tool should be used to compress the compression bands correctly, but you might want to find out.

21) Put the wheel assembly back together, and do not forget to put back that brake line that was obstructing you.

21) A thank-you note to either yourself or me is recommended.

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