Well I broke my front end on my 1990 chevy. I noticed that the the cv boot was messed up and i found little ball bearings in there. What broke? What will it take to fix this thing?
Oh yeah shouldve mentioned, its plural cause your other side is going to go very soon too if youve been driving around with bad boots. If the boots good on that side the CVs probably OK, but might want to put new boots on it anyway or keep an eye on them.
its best to replace those both in pairs. yes, it is expensive, but normally they last a long time unless you are lifted. at stock height, with stock tires they normally last a long time. it is kinda involved to replace 'em, but not too complicated. just get a good manual and tear into it. you will also end up replacing ball joints and possibly tie rod ends as most of them will end up spinning in themselves from wear when you go to put the nuts back on them. they most likely need to be replaced anyhow. i went through this experience with my '89 Z71...that truck taught me to Just Say NO! to IFS and to 1/2 tons. they work GREAT for some people, but i break 'em.
that's the beasts! even though the boot is good, you should try grabbing the shaft part and shaking it around...if it has slack in it, it's bad. even if it isn't...no reason to do the job twice...might as well replace 'em both at once...even if you really CAN'T afford it, better to do it now than to HAVE to make money available for it later on...
I would just pull the whole CV and take it to someplace like Advance...you can get a reman'ed one for about $75. You'll need a 36mm socket to get the big nut off the end. There are also 6 bolts holding it onto the rest of the axle. You'll also need to disconnect the tie rod and usually the upper control arm from the knuckle, and the take the shock out to have room to get it free. It's really not that hard.
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