I have a 1996 Honda Accord w/ 160,000 miles on it. I was just informed that the right front axle boot is torn. My mechanic told me it needs to be replace in a few thousand miles. My brother has advised me that the safety risk is so low that I can just let it go for many thousands of miles until I hear a popping noise & then get it fixed. I like my brother’s answer better, but wanted to check to see if it is truly safe to wait. I’m always looking to save money. Thanks for any advice!
If it just tore than replacing it now is what will save you money. If you wait until you hear noises from there than the axle half shaft will need to be replaced as well, and replacing the half shaft and the boot is much more expensive than just the boot.
Once a CV-boot is torn, there’s no way in telling how much debris got into the CV-joint. So if the boot is replaced now, the CV-joint can still fail. I would follow your brothers advice and just continue to drive it until it started making loud noises while cornering. Besides, if you just do the boot now, the halfshaft still has to come out.
Tester
Iagree with jsutter. I had a torn boot & didn’t listen to the mechanic until I had the popping noise. It cost me more than just changing the boot. Your mechanic can always clean the CV joint before applying the new grease & installing the new boot.
Then here’s a question to you. Would you rather pay me the labor to remove the half-shaft, disassemble it, clean it, regrease it, reassemble it, and reinstall it with no guarantee that the CV-joint is going to last at all, or pay me the labor to remove the old halfshaft and install a remanned unit? It’s your money!
Tester
A new Honda half shaft is around $500. I’ve never had any luck with remans, they just don’t last. The CV joint on my wife’s Honda only lasted about a month after the boot got its first tear. I wished I had replaced the boot right away but I thought I had a little more time.
I had changed the oil in Feb and checked the boots at that time. A week later, my wife complained of clicking noise in corners, I checked the boots again and one was torn. Due to bad weather, I didn’t do anything right away. By march, both outer boots were torn and the CV joints were popping on corners. Had to replace both axles, not cheap. However, having someone else change the boots is not cheap either, probably about $200 per side but you have to act fast.
The OP has a 1996 Honda. Not a NEW Honda.
What’s your point?
Tester