While replacing the control arms, I decided to replace the cv boots as well.
The left cv joint came off with no problems using the wheel bolt.

The right one, however, was not so cooperative.

I torqued the bolt with so much force that it busted the joint housing.

Now, the housing is off, but the inner portion is still attached to the driveshaft.


What is the best way to get this thing off?


Thanks.

 

hammer

 

Here is a BIGGGGGG tip. Once the boots start breaking I realized that even if you change the entire cv joint they are never the same. Something is probably wrong with the inner cv joint also. I say you are better off getting the entire axles from partsgeek.com the empi are perfectly fine axles! (they may not be as good as the original GKN, but I'm sure they are close enough for no1 to be able to tell the difference)...
I finally decided to get new axles because I had ENOUGH of changing those cv joints all the time, I was debating with myself over raxles or empi and I went with empi and I am VERY HaPPY!

 

I would beg to differ. The empi are Chinese junk!. I am a professional in this business & have been burned many a time due to cheep Chinese Crap like empi axles!
Don't mean to stir shitake but you are much better off with the factory joints. The outer joints are available separately or you can buy remans from the dealer. The Chinese stuff is a crap shoot!

 

So, we're saying I have to replace the entire driveshaft?

That's not the answer I wanted.

Is there no way to get just the outer joint off?

I have just purchased new tires, febi ca kit, wheel bearings... and would really not love to buy a new shaft too.

man.......

 

In my situation once the boots started blowing, I kept replacing the outer cv joints and they always kept on blowing and the cv joints eventually got worse, something could be wrong with your inner cv joint too and replacing the entire axle would be easier and less of a PITA. SOMETIMES for certain models you could find the GKN axles on partsgeek or ebay or other site (just make sure they are NEW) for less than $100 a piece.... So if you find that, I'd just go that route...

M5S5 I dont know if you used the axles from empi particular to the A6-c5 but they look almost identical to the original axles especially the actual cv joints. I have read that many people were happy with the empi axles for the A6-c5 but for other car makes and models their axles are not up to par with what other cars came with originally... I think with partsgeek you get a 1-2 year warranty or something...

 

The biggest problem i see whith the Chinese crap is the boots not lasting much more than a year & the actual metal material they are made from wears out too quickly.
Yes they will look identical because they are made from copys of the originals , but the quality is not there.

As far as replacing the whole axle , the outer joints are available seperatly.

Any joint that is driven with torn boots will have a shortened life due to road dirt , water , salt & sand introduced to the internals of the joint it self.
This problem will be worst in the cold climate areas where salt & sand are spread out on our roads.

 

well, so far I am very happy with mine.
I have been through 3-4 cv joints (first time gkn, then I tried other brands) and another extra 2-3 boot changes and I've replaced them PERFECTLY each time and had the boots blow on me within 6 months each time. I'm already on these empi axles for about 2-3 months and so far so good, I dont expect them to blow.
I used to have grease all over my brakes and wheel well and on the insides of my rims, it was crazy, now everything is clean and dry.

 

Something was not done correctly or the axle was bad if you you had so many problems with boot & joint replacement.
You wont get 2 years use out of those Empi's before failure. You are only on 2 to 3 months. Time will tell.
Been there done that many times with many different vehicles.

 

I had the same decision to make last summer. I avoided the Chinese crap because of some of the reasons M5S5 mentioned. I bought them from Raxles and have almost a whole year on them, still no vibrations; noise or signs of excessive wear