I've got a leaky CV boot (front left, outboard boot), leaking from under the clamp. Not sure how long it's been leaking, probably no less than 3000 miles (saw it on my last oil change). Anyways, I'm going to just replace the driveshaft. What special tools or extra replacement parts do I need? Any special "tricks" to getting the thing out/back together?

 

By drive shaft do you mean axle?

 

check out the Civic forum, recently (this week) there was a great howto on swapping out your axles.

The main things are the 32mm outer nut, and the ball joint. Just drain your tranny, get the ball joint (usually hammering helps a little) and then also lightly tap the shaft at the hub.

It seems like a daunting task but it's really not that bad..just labor intensive. One trick for if you're on jackstands...use the jack to lift the rotor (helps lift the assembly free from the balljoint).

Hope that makes sense!

 

With regards to the ball joint...are there any special tools to get the thing apart or is it just brute force/hammering? Also, I read in the service manual that the transmission fluid only has to be drained if removing the right shaft...true?

 

I just did a clutch change...

If you don't pull the intermediate shaft then you won't lose fluid.

couple of tips...

Lower ball joint - don't mess up the threads on this...use plenty of PB and keep them clean. I'd recommend the balljoint splitting tool from Honda (big life saver) although many people seem to make do without it.

32mm axle nut - I couldn't budge this lose, even with a person standing on the brakes. A life saver was a cheap ebay special electric impact driver...took it right off. Highly recommend you pick one up if you don't have airtools (Christmas for me, not soon enough! )

When you take out the axle pry it, don't pull it. When you seperate it from the hub, just lightly tap with a hammer to get it lose.

 

for the 32mm bolt, try getting a really long pipe and a breaker bar with somebody standing on the brakes. Never fails

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by djbarber2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">With regards to the ball joint...are there any special tools to get the thing apart or is it just brute force/hammering? Also, I read in the service manual that the transmission fluid only has to be drained if removing the right shaft...true?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i have always used the ratchet handle between the spindle/LCA and it works perfectly almost every time. Make sure the shock fork is still bolted in place, raise the suspension w/ a jack, stick ratchet handle between the little tab on the lower back side of the spindle and the LCA, then release the jack and the ball joint should pop loose.