auditech79
09-03-2007, 05:53 PM
Ive been doing a lot of cv boot installations around the shop for both the A4 and S4. So im gonna give you a step by step installation instructions for a front cv boot repair.
Special tools needed: 17mm allan socket, slide hammer or gear puller, breaker bar, torque wrench and a bungee cord. Most of these tools you can rent at autozone.
REMOVAL:
Ok here we go, first take off the center cap of the wheel, insert your 17mm allan socket into the hub bolt and break it loose with your breaker bar. Once its loose, break all the wheel lugs loose. Rack up the vehicle and take off the wheel. go ahead and remove the hub bolt thats already loose. Un-bolt the pinch bolt that holds in the upper control arms, (they get rusty so using pb blaster will help) then bang out the upper links with a hammer or mallet. The last thing you have to take off is the tie rod end, un-bolt the 16mm nut and take out the 13mm bolt on top of the link, then bang the tie rod end out of the steering arm. Now you should have enough room to pull the axle out of the hub. This is where your bungee cord comes into play, you can either use the cord to pull the steering arm out of the way, or you can do what i do and use it to suspend the axle to give easy access to the cv joint. If you want to take your time go ahead and pull the entire axle out but its a waste of time.
Now cutt away the old clamps on the boot and peel the boot back. Install either the gear puller or slide hammer onto the joint and pull it off the axle.
Pull the crush washer off the shaft and pay attention on which way it is positioned, then pull the rest of the boot off the shaft.
INSTALLATION:
Installation is pretty straight forward but you must get all the new parts installed in the correct order.
First put the small clamp on the shaft and push it all the way back, followed by the new boot. (lube it if necessary) Install the new crush washer the exact same way the old one came out. Now make sure the large clamp is on the boot before putting on the cv joint, install all the new grease into the boot and axle joint. BE VERY CAREFUL PUTTING THE JOINT BACK ONTO THE SHAFT! The best way to bang it back on is to use the old hub bolt and screw it into the joint, then line the joint up with the axle and try to wiggle in on there as far as you can by hand. With the old hub bolt screwed onto the joint bang on the joint hitting on the old hub bolt, when you hear a thud stop hitting the joint. Remove the old hub bolt and discard it. Pull the boot over the cv joint and tighten the clamps with some crush pliers or dykes.
Remove the bungee cord and install the axle back into the hub, screw in the new hub bolt hand tight so it doesn't fall out. Then re-assemble the suspension in reverse order. When you get the wheel back on tighten the hub bolt to 175 ftlbs, then use the breaker bar and give it another quarter turn. Test drive it and make sure there aren't any abnormal noises.
Special tools needed: 17mm allan socket, slide hammer or gear puller, breaker bar, torque wrench and a bungee cord. Most of these tools you can rent at autozone.
REMOVAL:
Ok here we go, first take off the center cap of the wheel, insert your 17mm allan socket into the hub bolt and break it loose with your breaker bar. Once its loose, break all the wheel lugs loose. Rack up the vehicle and take off the wheel. go ahead and remove the hub bolt thats already loose. Un-bolt the pinch bolt that holds in the upper control arms, (they get rusty so using pb blaster will help) then bang out the upper links with a hammer or mallet. The last thing you have to take off is the tie rod end, un-bolt the 16mm nut and take out the 13mm bolt on top of the link, then bang the tie rod end out of the steering arm. Now you should have enough room to pull the axle out of the hub. This is where your bungee cord comes into play, you can either use the cord to pull the steering arm out of the way, or you can do what i do and use it to suspend the axle to give easy access to the cv joint. If you want to take your time go ahead and pull the entire axle out but its a waste of time.
Now cutt away the old clamps on the boot and peel the boot back. Install either the gear puller or slide hammer onto the joint and pull it off the axle.
Pull the crush washer off the shaft and pay attention on which way it is positioned, then pull the rest of the boot off the shaft.
INSTALLATION:
Installation is pretty straight forward but you must get all the new parts installed in the correct order.
First put the small clamp on the shaft and push it all the way back, followed by the new boot. (lube it if necessary) Install the new crush washer the exact same way the old one came out. Now make sure the large clamp is on the boot before putting on the cv joint, install all the new grease into the boot and axle joint. BE VERY CAREFUL PUTTING THE JOINT BACK ONTO THE SHAFT! The best way to bang it back on is to use the old hub bolt and screw it into the joint, then line the joint up with the axle and try to wiggle in on there as far as you can by hand. With the old hub bolt screwed onto the joint bang on the joint hitting on the old hub bolt, when you hear a thud stop hitting the joint. Remove the old hub bolt and discard it. Pull the boot over the cv joint and tighten the clamps with some crush pliers or dykes.
Remove the bungee cord and install the axle back into the hub, screw in the new hub bolt hand tight so it doesn't fall out. Then re-assemble the suspension in reverse order. When you get the wheel back on tighten the hub bolt to 175 ftlbs, then use the breaker bar and give it another quarter turn. Test drive it and make sure there aren't any abnormal noises.