Newer car tech question (FWD problems)

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MopaR&D

MopaR&D

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Sorry I know this is a non-technical forum but I wasn't sure where to post and I know there are lots of experienced technicians/mechanics on here... SO we have an '05 VW Passat in the family (only got it because it's a diesel, don't worry I'm not a VW fan lol) and the dang CV boot is already torn on the cheap parts-store axle I replaced less than a year ago (learned my lesson there :mad:). It's just a small hole but there's grease coming out now and I want to fix it before it gets worse and at least hold off as long as possible before getting a new CV axle (again). Looking on YouTube I've seen people use superglue, Shoe Goo, rubber tire patch kits, and even a bicycle inner tube zip-tied tightly around the outside. Anybody here have any good cheap "fixes" for this issue? I'm definitely going to pump some more grease inside and clean off the outside first.
 
If, IF, it is the same as the 05 gas pass at I had you can just pull the axle and put a new booth on there

Pretty straightforward if you have the socket to get the axle out
 
diymirage said:
If, IF, it is the same as the 05 gas pass at I had you can just pull the axle and put a new booth on there

Pretty straightforward if you have the socket to get the axle out
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I thought about doing that but isn't it a pain getting the small end to squeeze over the CV joint? And I feel like it'll just tear again, the genius VW engineers designed the steering to have a super-tight turning radius which in turn flexes the CVs too far and pinches the boot. I guess going by that logic it would be a waste to even bother but I don't want to be buying a new CV axle every year or 2.
 
Ddaddy said:
Flex tape?
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LOL you mean the stuff from those obnoxious info-mercials? I did pick up a roll of the self-fusing silicone tape but I don't think that will stick to the rubber, it only sticks to itself (???) Heck I might just use some duct tape...
 
MOPEkidD-3 said:
LOL you mean the stuff from those obnoxious info-mercials? I did pick up a roll of the self-fusing silicone tape but I don't think that will stick to the rubber, it only sticks to itself (???) Heck I might just use some duct tape...
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If it sticks to itself and is tight enough, it should work. It’s not like the grease is under pressure.
 
Ddaddy said:
If it sticks to itself and is tight enough, it should work. It’s not like the grease is under pressure.
Click to expand...

Good point, I guess I'm overthinking it. It's not like it's hard to get to either, if one method doesn't work I'll just try something else.
 
just take the cv joint apart and slide the boot on and put it back together . it's just a big snap ring .
 
jimjimjimmy said:
just take the cv joint apart and slide the boot on and put it back together . it's just a big snap ring .
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So you're saying the joint comes off the axle shaft fairly easily and won't fall into a million pieces? Obviously I've never done one before (just replaced the whole assembly) and working on newer cars in general is intimidating lol.
 
So this 96 Camry I'm spiffing up for grand daughter needed right/long axle replaced and a outer boot on left axle. I went to Advance auto parts and priced their right axle and the Dorman Uniboots they carry. Flimsy overpriced light blue colored silicone. About 20 more dollars got both entire axles from RockAuto. No brainer.
There was a time when a company called CV Masters made a lot of coin replacing CV boots. It isn't so common today. I was talking with Randy at the Carquest store who said he doesn't recall how long its been since they sold a CV boot.
 
Quick boot.

Just slip it over where the split side is 180° out from the hole.

Screenshot_20180128-110559.png
 
RedFish said:
So this 96 Camry I'm spiffing up for grand daughter needed right/long axle replaced and a outer boot on left axle. I went to Advance auto parts and priced their right axle and the Dorman Uniboots they carry. Flimsy overpriced light blue colored silicone. About 20 more dollars got both entire axles from RockAuto. No brainer.
There was a time when a company called CV Masters made a lot of coin replacing CV boots. It isn't so common today. I was talking with Randy at the Carquest store who said he doesn't recall how long its been since they sold a CV boot.
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I know for this car I will eventually be needing better axles anyway, stock it puts out 247 lb-ft and after I buy it from my dad I plan on getting a tune which will bump it up to 310+ lb-ft, quite a bit for a FWD car and it already easily spins the front tires which I also plan to upgrade to something wider. There is a company called Raxles that does high-quality rebuilt OE CV axles for import makes which I will be getting new ones from, from now on.

Interestingly this car doesn't have torque steer due to the front suspension design, it shares the same front end from the late '90s-early 2000s Audi A4/A6. Very sophisticated but not very rugged :rolleyes:
 
As Kim mentioned,the ones i sell are lifetime warranty.
Those speedy-boots are junk. But thats coming from a northern climate.
I flat out refuse to change a boot.
Axle shaft or nothing.
 
Look into warranty before you start tampering.off brand boot will void it.
 
On one hand, it's as much work to remove and disassemble an axle shaft as it is to swap in a reman unit. Problem is the aftermarket parts are seldom as good as the OEM stuff. Why not go to the dealer and order 4 OEM boots. Remove the shafts, clean, re-lube and install new boots. That's all the "rebuilders" do, and they put them together with crap boots so you'll buy more shafts from them in a couple years. VW factory CV boots commonly last well over 200K miles before they split. Spend the cash for good parts and fix it less often. It's really cheaper that way in the long run. FWIW, the original boots were just fine on my wife's 03 TDI Jetta with over 300K miles on it when one of her dipsh*t students destroyed the cylinder head changing injectors.
 
C130 Chief said:
On one hand, it's as much work to remove and disassemble an axle shaft as it is to swap in a reman unit. Problem is the aftermarket parts are seldom as good as the OEM stuff. Why not go to the dealer and order 4 OEM boots. Remove the shafts, clean, re-lube and install new boots. That's all the "rebuilders" do, and they put them together with crap boots so you'll buy more shafts from them in a couple years. VW factory CV boots commonly last well over 200K miles before they split. Spend the cash for good parts and fix it less often. It's really cheaper that way in the long run. FWIW, the original boots were just fine on my wife's 03 TDI Jetta with over 300K miles on it when one of her dipsh*t students destroyed the cylinder head changing injectors.
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I'm looking at it that way now too, I *could* pull the axle from that side, take it in and get a replacement under warranty but it's quite a pain getting them out and I don't want to just put in another cheap one to have it fail again. I think for now I'll just "patch" it up and keep an eye on it, if/when the boot tears completely I'll just replace the boot. I also need to figure out a way to limit the steering travel, the real issue like I said earlier is these cars have too much steering angle at full lock for the CVs to handle and it pinches the boot. It's not a problem on the Jettas, only the B5 Passat/Audi A4/A6.
 
MOPEkidD-3 said:
I'm looking at it that way now too, I *could* pull the axle from that side, take it in and get a replacement under warranty but it's quite a pain getting them out and I don't want to just put in another cheap one to have it fail again. I think for now I'll just "patch" it up and keep an eye on it, if/when the boot tears completely I'll just replace the boot. I also need to figure out a way to limit the steering travel, the real issue like I said earlier is these cars have too much steering angle at full lock for the CVs to handle and it pinches the boot. It's not a problem on the Jettas, only the B5 Passat/Audi A4/A6.
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So don’t turn the steering wheel to full lock. The way to limit the travel is behind the steering wheel.
 
I really dont see the boot getting damaged from turning the steering wheel.debris damaging it i can see. A crappy towtruck operator recovering a vehicle can rip a boot.
 
Ddaddy said:
So don’t turn the steering wheel to full lock. The way to limit the travel is behind the steering wheel.
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I try to but sometimes it's difficult; I recently started working as a driver for Lyft (one of the ride-sharing companies, like Uber) and I commonly have to make fairly tight U-turns when I get a ride request. I think I will try to "replicate" the issue with the front of the car on jackstands (supporting the front suspension, not from the "frame") by running the car up to a low speed and working the steering from one end to the other; hopefully I will be able to see how far the CV actually flexes and at which point I should stop turning. Also my younger brother shares the car with me and he's not "mechanically inclined" by any means, he can turn a wrench if I give him detailed instructions but he has no interest in cars like I do; I'll have to be very specific about how to NOT turn the wheel all the way when making a tight turn. Maybe I'll just put some colored tape on the steering wheel to show when to stop turning, it would be much better just to add some kind of steering stops to the knuckles though.

Also I just looked through my personal car repair records and it turns out I replaced that CV axle exactly one year ago. I might still be able to get a replacement but again I'm not keen on replacing one junk part with the same exact thing and having it fail in a year again.

@Ddaddy it's a fairly commonly known design flaw of these cars, when I first got it I read some repair articles about it and didn't really believe it myself until this happened. The boot got a small tear no more than 1/4" long on the smaller-diameter part of one of the "bellows" on the boot, leading me to believe it did in fact get pinched between the internal parts of the CV joint... I have no idea how else it could have happened that way. The car has never been towed since we got it 2 years ago.
 
Is that a B5 or a B5.5?
I seem to remember my B5 still had a handle in between the two front seats for "fairly tight U-turns"

My B5.5 they had replaced that handle with a button
 
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