Drive shaft outer boot fitting

[Alan 480]

Anybody used a 'Qunitin Hazel' boot? QJB197
I went to swap the winter tyres from rear to front today and was met with a completly shredded outer boot and a very sticky alloy wheel

quick call and the local motor factors had a pair in stock (from 1993, judging by the amount of dust & date stamp on the large clip !!!). so no questions asked regarding cost etc (turned out they were ONLY £6! )

howver when I got drive shaft re-assembled and pulled the boot onto the outer end it was 'affy ticht' and studying the other one in the kitchen over a cuppa it seems to have extra ridges on the inside which , i guess, are meant to help with the sealing but as they are not at the extreme edge mean that the clip looks as if it wants to slip off I tightend up best I could and will check it again 'very soon'; possibly adding a section of wire 'inboard' so that it sits between the ridges

made the school boy error of putting the grease into the CV and some into bellows BEFORE assembly, I reckon it would have been less messy to assemble it dry and then apply the grease into the bellows!

just for info the HBOL says to expand the circlip and insert a 6mm screwdriver whilst you pull off the outer CV joint, you ACTUALLY need to use the circlip pliers to expand the clip to maximum and it will then wiggle free.

[jifflemon]

You have my upmost sympathy.... I HATE driveshaft boots!

Have you tried cable ties instead of the clips? They tend to grip a little better.

[Alan 480]

I was planning on leaving it 'as is' for a week or so, checking still grease tight after each time SWAMBO uses it and if all tight then nip up a bit more as long as it is holding. . .. .

maybe get it wiggled further up onto the lip so more secure?

I have a bundle of SS clips that I bought after the original clip failed couple years ago , and got an advisory on rear drive shaft of the SS1 , it uses a diff from a Sierra. really should buy the proper tool rather than using the 'nippers'

The inner end clip seems to be digging into the rubber as well so I reckon that I'll cut it off and put on a pair of cable ties as they will be more forgiving against the rubber than the edge of the steel clip.

[Alan 480]

I had a 'light bulb' moment , which I'd rather NOT had

I put grease into the boot, pressed a load into the ball races with a putty knife, but MOST I put into the hole where the splines go in.

now I'm got a wee niggle that this might not have been the best place , I'd reasoned that the outboard side of the drive cup hub in the flange would also be open so the grease would get from outer side to inner side, well actually within the balls area

for info a mate with MINIS (old style) confirmed that was how he would apply the grease

I 'thought' the outer side looked fairly clean, when I had drive shaft apart but that could just be due to the centrifugal force flinging it all to outer edge,.
I saw this diagram (http://www.cvjoint.org/cv-joint-diagram/)

which would allay my fears but can any others confirm that I don't need to apply more grease within the boot area

[jifflemon]

Allay your fears!

You have done just fine, do NOT go adding any more grease! In fact more grease is potentially a “bad thing”. You know how they give you those little sachets of grease? That’s how much grease needs to go in.

If you have those “there’s no such thing as too much grease” thoughts, we’ll, there is. The grease gets hot in use, it will coat, it will distribute itself, and it will also expand and get gaseous.

You see the issue yet? Too much grease will actually pop your driveshaft boot off - and if you’ve done the clips up good and tight, it’ll do so by splitting/bursting the rubber.

Go and make yourself a nice big cup of tea, and stop your panicking. (Biscuit optional)

[Alan 480]

Allay your fears!

You have done just fine, do NOT go adding any more grease! In fact more grease is potentially a “bad thing”. You know how they give you those little sachets of grease? That’s how much grease needs to go in.

If you have those “there’s no such thing as too much grease” thoughts, we’ll, there is. The grease gets hot in use, it will coat, it will distribute itself, and it will also expand and get gaseous.

You see the issue yet? Too much grease will actually pop your driveshaft boot off - and if you’ve done the clips up good and tight, it’ll do so by splitting/bursting the rubber.

Go and make yourself a nice big cup of tea, and stop your panicking. (Biscuit optional)

Thanks for your reply

was snowing at week-end so left it alone . .. . .
but I put most of grease probably 'out-board' of the coupling and thought 'it might be open, it might be closed!!

but rational thought suggest that if I could SEE the inside of the stub shaft then the grease MUST be able to get from the 'cup' area within the stub shaft over all the balls /coupling etc !! (MAYBE not when straight ahead, but every time lock is applied )

some will get across to boot area.

so all I need to do now is check clip is still 'gripping' and nip up a wee bit now that the rubber has 'conformed'