CV Joint Axel Boots

88 Mondial 3.2 Cab:

It looks like my passenger side inner CV joint boot split, flinging grease on the engine (smelt a bit of oil burning smell so inspected and found the split right where the clamp meets the boot).

So looks like I have a winter project.

After reading various threads on the Mondial and 328 sections, a few details some might weigh in on:

Is it necessary to replace the differential seals "while in there"? Some say these rarely fail, others seem to just do it because of the labour involved with removing the axle's. I am sure mine are original, no sign the axels or boots with oem clamps have ever been removed. While I presume a 28 year old should be replaced, is this an "if it aint broke don't fix it moment? If no leaks, and there are no signs there were, I am tempted to leave well enough alone.

I notice no one seems to use the oem clamps for the boot replacement, although they are available. Has anyone used the oem clamps, is there some special tool to tighten them up, looks like there may not be? I would prefer to do oem just for the sake of "why not", nice to keep things original where there are benign choices to do so.

Looks like on the passenger side the exhaust pipes kind of get in the way of dealing the with the inner joint. Does anyone remove anything to get better access, or is it workable to leave things as is, use appropriate extensions and such to get at the bolts, and that works out fine? Also, I note some of the seal replacement threads look like the job is being done engine out, can I actually do this engine in? I have not looked at the drivers side carefully as it is the passenger side boot that failed, probably better access there.


Does anyone just get a rebuilt axle, and avoid the self rebuilding task? I know this would be for a price, but it looks like a real messy job, I may be better off focusing my labour on the seals, and just bolt off bolt on a rebuilt axle. I do all this as a hobby, and some tasks just don't appeal. I have seen no sign of anyone getting a rebuilt unit, nor any vendor that supplies a rebuilt unit. I may end up doing it all, but would like to know if there is an option. Would prefer not to have to provide a core, would rather just have the units ready for when I feel like doing the job.

(also posting in technical thread to get any further experiences from the 308/328 crowd)

 

Great advice all, thank you. Resting the breaker on the jack stand also makes a lot of sense, I would have not done that and would probably have increased the risk of stripping the allen bolt.

 

Anyone have the part number for the circlip that retains the CV joint? I have some correct boots, but did not order as part of a kit, so did not get the circlips. I can't find a part reference or number on any of the exploded parts diagrams on the various F part supplier sites.

 

Thanks for all the advice. As Bell might appreciate, I bodged a bicycle inner tube with a zip tie to keep around the boot to keep the grease from flinging while I get the last two weeks (when dry) of the driving season before winter hibernation time. Actually seems to do the job pretty well, at least for the low speed morning coffee run. Will report back on the boot replacement when I get to it.

 

I did actually find some split boots, at an autoparts place, you glue ("cold weld" I think the glue chemically melts and fuses the plastic) them together. They did not have a size for our cars, and with all the grease it does not look easy to get the glue to actually hold.

I also note that if my hillbilly repair flys off, it might well go right into the timing belt area., so I don't aim to drive fast or for much longer (but when you have a shorter driving season you want every drive you can get!) The zipper idea sounds plausible, but I think the centrifugal forces would conspire against an unbalanced unit spinning around at speed.

 

So I did the boot replacement on the passenger side of my 3.2 Mondial. All went smoothly, a couple of comments. Those bolts are really tight! I was very worried about stripping, or even breaking the allen socket, but they did crack and then came off easily. I could not get the ratchet extension to go outside the wheelwell like in the photo in this thread, Pero, were your extensions just plain old straight extensions, or did you have a ujoint or wobble extension? Can the U joint take the huge torque? I just used a shorter extension, but was under the wishbone of the suspension, and could not use the jack type of support. This increased the risk of stripping substantially.

Reused the old circlip, did not take too much stress to remove so I figured it was fine to reuse. The boots went on fine, but I am not sure I got the OEM retaining straps tight enough. I pulled them as tight as I could with long nosed pliers, but they still seemed a bit loose to me. Hopefully they will be fine, but I wonder if there is some trick to getting these things snug? They are a nice simple design.

Putting things back together was much easier, including torqueing to 57 lbs, I used new nuts and a bit of locktite blue (mostly to keep water out of the threads).

All in all, a bit scary with the removal, and my back is sore from wrenching such tight bolts. The threads on Fchat and Bell's video are invaluable for getting the confidence up to tackle a task like this, so thank you Mondial secret society members.

If I get the motivation during the winter down time I will tackle the other side, although not split, makes sense to clean and add fresh grease at this point.

 

Thank you for clarifying the use of the u joint. Also, re: the boot clamps, I appreciate the offer of the special tool, but the OEM clamp does not require such a tool, picture of the smaller end one attached. I think it is designed to just be pulled and tabbed, but I was not able to get it very tight.
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