i found out today that my boot of my left shaft on the axle is broken.i have a 97 a4 1.8t how long can i leave it like that and how much will it b

 

dont leave it that way long. the grease leaks out leading to failure.
i think repair kits are available

 

wut would happen? would it mess up the braking system?

 

You would potentially push all the grease out of the boot and destroy the axle. IE one day you will see a lot of smoke and then you will hear a clunk and then you will not drive any further. I guess there is potential to take out anything the axle goes into (wheel side or tranny/diff side)

This is a as soon as you find out, fix it sort of thing. I have heard from a couple people on here you can get new (or used) axles for about 180. Someone who has done it should confirm that, but pretty much that is what you will really destroy. Rebooting your axle should be a both sides same time kind of thing. (In other words your left and right are in the same condition and your other side is on the way out too.) Don't think (Quattros) that your fronts and rears will go at the same time though. Fronts being on the turning end of things will split a lot sooner than rears. There are really 2 boots on your car's axle, an inner and outer. Again, you could think it is easier to just replace the split one, but seriously, go for all the boots on an axle and all the axles at which ever they split (all though I would bet it is a front outside that split right?)

Your cheapest route (as long as you caught it soon enough) is to go with the reboot kit. 20$ on the outer and I think it was 25$ on the inner. Labor is a lot if you burn up an axle or for a reboot so if you have ever done boots before, these cars are pretty much the same. If you haven't, hmmm, happy spending (I think I was quoted 400 an axle which is 3.5 hours labor) (come to think of it, I think it took me 8 hours to do my boots).

 

Depending on how early you caught this, you may have to change the fornt axle. I had a Talon that had a ripped boot. I caught it a bit late so, when I changed the boot, the axle was starting to. Eventually I changed it. Even if the axle is going (rip has been there for a long time....), you can still change the boot and go on with it for a bit longer. But you also need to consider the labour or time for both fixes. Find out if your axle is getting into a bad shape too or not. If the axle is starting to go it makes a clunking noise when you turn at low speeds. Noise is hard to hear at first but will get louder as the axle is nearing its life time. Also ask a good mechanic about the axle's status.

Oh BTW I agree with Dan. Even though I changed one of the axles, the other was still going too. But The boots on the other one were in good shape. So I kept driving on it!!! Not a good idea though! That axle was getting pretty loud when I switched to my Audi.

 

so if the axle isn't bad yet i have to jus replace the boots?

 

if u guyz have changed boots b4 can ne any of you tell me the directions or any ways that'll help me