1996 Mazda Protégé, 128,821 miles, in town driving 5000 miles per year in recent years.
How does a cv boot get torn? Is it costly to repair? Is it a safety concern or a concern for car integrity? ie, what happens if I do not repair it?
Thankyou!
@Juanita
Since you can’t repair this yourself, have a new or remanufactured cv axleshaft installed
I assume the outer joint is torn?
I recommend staying away from cheap chinese made new axleshafts
I have nothing against Chinese products, as long as they’re high quality, by the way
If you’re pinching pennies, you could keep driving the car, until the cv axleshaft starts making clicking sounds. And then you replace the axleshaft
If you want to save the CV joint, have the boot replaced. It tears because it is always flexing.
Yep, every time the wheel goes around the bellows type cover is turning and flexing, plus rubber ages. Eventually they give out. When that happens, dirt and water get into the joint on the axle that the boot was covering, and can wear the joint out. When the joint goes, you will have no drive movement. It just will not go anywhere. So its not a safety factor unless you consider getting stalled somewhere. Normally there will be some warning that the joint is going like clicking on turns.
There are two ways to fix it. If you catch it right away, the boot can just be replaced, or you just replace the entire axle with the two new joints and boots. Its actually more work to just replace the boot but the parts cost is less. Probably around $300 to have it replaced.
Thanks to all. Just the detail I needed to make an informed decision.