Date:         Thu, 7 Mar 96 11:26:37 +0100
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         verbeek@the-hague.stbv.slb.com (brian verbeek)
Subject:      Re: CV Boots

>Do you mean that there is a cv kit from sears hat you can install without
>removing the shaft. I bought a boot seal and have been procrasyinating
>because of the effort of removing all those clogged up allen headed screws.
>if do please say where to get those kits

Split CV-boots exist, i don't know if Sears has them though,

I consider them a temporary fix, nice to have around while traveling.
The sets i have seen were of inferior quality, the light greyish rubber
was not very soft/elastic. The sets are more or less universal, so you get
a lot of spacers to choose from for your application. Glue is included.
The idea is to cut away the old boot, put the new one over the axle,
apply glue, put it in place and ty-wrap it to the cv and axle.
Of course, the glue must be applied to a degreased surface, but how do
you do that while wrestling with all the old and new grease in there?
Also, these boots are so hard that the glued parting line won't last very
long. After finishing the job you'll notice that wasn't so much time gain
after all, that you ended up with inferior CV-boots , and that you couldn't
repack the CV properly while you could have if you'd done the job right.

The boot replacement is an easy task, three things:

-1) Buy the correct socket, Hazet # 990 Lg-8 is what VW uses for the
    Triple Square bolts, (1/2" drive) if you're buying another brand: the
    Hazet one is 100mm long. For the bolts with the regular hex you should
    have a 6 x 100mm allen-socket (is 'allen' correct? we say imbus).

-2) Take the time and a small screwdriver to remove all the crud out of there.

-3) Use the correct pliers for the CV retainingclips on the axle, Hazet#
    1847-3 or equivalent. You can use screwdrivers and the like, but it
    really helps to have the right tool.

The rest explains itself

Brian.