A couple of weeks ago I had some brake work done on my 2003 Accord, V6-4DR sedan. Being a curious person I noticed there were lumps of grease on the wheel well so I asked the mechanic where it was coming from, he said it was from the axle shaft and the rubber boot had sprung a couple of leaks. Of course my next question was, what needed to be replaced and how much, I was then told I needed a new axle shaft. I asked, couldn't the rubber boot just be replaced? No, you have to replace the entire shaft.
After doing a little research I've learned there is such a thing called a CV Joint Boot Kit and the parts look exactly like what I need and a whole lot cheaper than what I was quoted.
I feel I'm being bamboozled.
I've had some doubts concerning the honesty of this dealership which is why I am doing my homework on this one.
Also I was told riding around on a greaseless boot would not cause harm to the wheel bearings, etc.
I appreciate any thoughts.
Thanks
Joan

 

from personal experience the boot is changeable, but the labor on changing it is horrible. its pretty difficult and messy. changing the axle is the easiest and quickest way to do it. most shops would rather just change the whole axle instead of the boot.

you can ride around for a few months without grease, but sooner or later the axle will cease and you'll be stuck with an even higher bill if it ceases on the highway and you lose control.

 

Thanks, that's something to consider.

 

If the grease has all leaked out the joints have started to rub dry. That wears away the metal and even if you install a boot with new grease it can still fail since the damage has already been done. And most parts store axles have a lifetime warranty now, so it's easy to do it.

It's also highly unlikely that anybody would drive a bad axle to the point where it failed. It would start making so much noise you wouldn't be able to hear yourself think.
Unless it's making noise or leaking I wouldn't replace it though (i'm cheap)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jonevere &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks, that's something to consider.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree you need to find out if the axle is acutally bad, most cases it is not. And a CV boot replacement is fine.

 

It started making a thumping noise a day ago, very noticeable while going slow over bumpy roads.
The funny thing is, when the car was in the shop and the wheel was off
(brake was being re-repaired) the boot was the cleanest, newest and shiniest part to be seen. Go figure.
Every year I spend a small fortune keeping these chronically complaining brakes quiet. What's up with this model's brakes?

I guess it's time to feed the dealer again.

 

"I agree you need to find out if the axle is acutally bad, most cases it is not. And a CV boot replacement is fine."

The rubber boot was pointed out to me as to where the leaks were coming from, nothing was said about the axle shaft.
Though ugly, the metal shaft seemed to be intact.
Wouldn't the labor involved replacing the boot outweigh the cost of replacing of the entire axle shaft as mentioned above?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jonevere &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">"I agree you need to find out if the axle is actually bad, most cases it is not. And a CV boot replacement is fine."

The rubber boot was pointed out to me as to where the leaks were coming from, nothing was said about the axle shaft.
Though ugly, the metal shaft seemed to be intact.
Wouldn't the labor involved replacing the boot outweigh the cost of replacing of the entire axle shaft as mentioned above?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Aftermarket axles are cheap for a reason. A rebuild includes slapping on boots and cleaning the cv joints. If they happen to find a wasted cv joint, they will throw it away. But if the problem isn't obvious, like a vibration under load, the company rebuilding the axle will usually reuse a bad joint by mistake. It's a hit or miss deal. I have warrantied several aftermarket axles due to vibrations.

As long as you catch the torn boot early, factory axles will last forever.

 

Update:
Today I took the car to another mechanic, local and someone we use for our Ford truck.

As I said before, I had brake work done and also a stab link replaced on that side within the last month.
Anyway my (new) mechanic examined the axle shaft and found several neat pinprick holes in the boot...draw your own conclusions.
Not only that, get this, he discovered the caliper was not bolted to the rotor! ( I think he said rotor) The missing bolts were rubbing against some other part and causing the thumping noise I was hearing not the CV joint.
My suspicions concerning the dealer have been confirmed.

Fortunately no damage was done by the missing bolts but my judgment of character has certainly taken a hit. I liked those guys, they were nice and charming perhaps a little too nice.
I'm concocting a theory, grumpy mechanic = competency and honesty. My (new) mechanic is pretty damn grumpy!

Does anyone have an opinion on patching the boot with silicone? The boot apparently still has a lot of grease in it and I was wondering if a patch job would hold up for awhile.

By the way unless you're willing to do it yourself, no one wants to replace a boot. The labor involved seems to outweigh the cost of replacing the entire shaft.

 

just get a new axle. its not worth the hassle to change the boot. i had a torn boot on both sides so i changed both my axles and it only took me 2 hours.

 

I've never seen or replaced a boot on that model accord and I've been working for a Honda dealer for since 2001. Honestly replacing a boot isnt that hard of a job. I would always stick with an oem axle if it wasn't damaged. Boot kits arent that exspensive but the labor usually is pretty high. We charge 1.5 a side to replace a boot and the whole job can be done in under a half and hour. Just the way it is.

I would recommend an oem boot kit and a shop you feel comfortable with doing the work. Good luck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jonevere &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does anyone have an opinion on patching the boot with silicone? The boot apparently still has a lot of grease in it and I was wondering if a patch job would hold up for awhile. </TD></TR></TABLE>


I've never heard of someone wanting to patch a boot... replace a boot yes, patch no. Honestly, axles are so inexpensive its better to just pop the old on e out and pop a new one in...

 

If it isn't that hard of a job why doesn't anyone want to touch it? I'm guessing if you're careless you'll hear the sound of ball bearings dropping all over the place and end up with a massive greasy mess on your hands. One of those simple and potentially very annoying jobs.

I'm with you when you say "stick with an oem axle". Since the axle is not damaged I feel the OEM part will have more integrity than a knockoff that's why I posed the original question.
The boot has a few pinholes in it and still has plenty of grease so the mechanic plugged it with silicone. It may or may not hold if anything it will be an interesting experiment. I'll keep an eye on it and if it holds I just saved myself at least $150.00 for now.

Can anyone tell me simply, what problems I would have run into driving around with missing caliper bolts? After the "brake work" I had done I drove the car for a month without a symptom until I went over a few potholes. That's when the thumping started and I attributed to the axle but turned out to be the caliper's missing bolts. The bolts were put on and the car runs smooth.

Thanks to all who have responded to my questions it's really given me a better understanding of what I'm dealing with.

 

There are no ball bearings in a CV joint...

And no caliper bolts... WOW... just WOW

 

A couple of days ago I watched a video of someone replacing a boot and it sure looked like under the boot, in a metal cylinder there were metal *****, call them what you like.
Maybe the terms I'm using are incorrect. Look, I'm not an expert, far from it, if I were, I wouldn't be here discussing the problem with the likes of you.
As far as the caliper goes, the nuts, bolts, screws, nails, glue, brackets, spit or whatever else holds the caliper in place was missing.

Car runs smooth.
Dealer sucks.
Local mechanic doesn't.
End of story.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jonevere &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Car runs smooth.
Dealer sucks.
Local mechanic doesn't.
End of story.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Okay then...

 

Toyota brand silicone sealer is black and will bond to almost anything, as long as you clean it first (and sometimes even when you don't). I've used it to patch "oops" pinholes in cv boots with good results.

As far as the loose caliper bolts go, what can you say? It happens. You have humans working on your car, not robots. A good dealer will have very few mistakes, but no dealer on the planet will have zero mistakes.