Both of the boots on my car are torn, and one is bad (driver side, i can stick my fingers in there), and the passenger side is torn a little bit, (i can start to get my finger in it).. is this something thats worth doing yourself or taking to a shop to do? And what should i look for?

 

The axles can be removed and the joints rebooted IF the joint is still good; not clicking in tight turns when under power.
Remove the axle put it in a vise, get a big hammer, and smack the outer joint off the shaft. you have to hold it straight by the axle stub, so don't miss when you swing the BFH. when it pops off, you'll see the retaining clip on the axle shaft.
Put the new boot on the axle shaft, then use a screw driver to depress the retaining clip while you get the joint started back on to the splines. Then when you are sure you have the retaining clip squished,[careful not to drive the clip up the shaft] tap the joint stub with the hammer to get the joint back on the shaft. Refill the boot with grease and band clamp it into place. When you reinstall the shaft into the car put a smear of grease on the axle stub splines AND the lower 'wishbone' bolt.

 

yeah i was going to say i have no clicking at all.. but i was just curious why the boots would rip if the joint isn't bad

 

I would definately recommend doing it yourself. It is very easy to do and for your first time should not take you more than 30 minutes for each side. The first time I did mine, it took me about 1.5 hours. The parts are cheap and the job is easy.

Just jack up your car and make sure that it doesn't move while on the jack (put some bricks behind each wheel.

Take your wheel, and if you have to, brake assembly off, and when you get to the cv joint itself, grab it good with both hands (MAKE SURE YOUR CAR WILL NOT COME OFF THE JACKS!!!!!!) and yank it out. It is going to take a good amount of force to yank it out but that is how it is done. Replace with new one and snap it in. Next, put your wheel back on and your good to go.

 

but i don't think my joint is bad, its not clicking or anything like that. i just noticed the boots were ripped and the grease is coming out

 

would the cv joints make a whirling noise when in d4, but not when in reverse?

 

sooner or later if you leave it ripped it will start to click but you will be losing crease, so atleast replace the boots before the joints go bad, that wya you dont spend as much as new axles

 

but if i replace the boots wouldn't it be worth just replacing the whole thing since you have to take off so much stuff like the brake to get to the boot? Or is there some other way i could change out the boot? I've read of ones that are split so you don't have to take it off..

 

well i guess it depends on how long its been ripped, if it just ripped then getting boots and clamps woudl be much cheaper, but if u wanna clear your head of problems, then go ahead and replace the whole axle. whatever makes u sleep better.. i knwo with me im paranoid with my car lol so if i were to just replace the boot id be all paranoid thinking the axle wasnt good senes the boot has ripped.. blah blah but thats just me

 

well its not that it'd make me sleep easier haha.. its more that i don't have the money to waste if they don't need to be replaced. I have no clicking, the boots ripped within the last 3k miles, (i have 113,xxx) which was probably only 2 months if that