Drive Shaft CV boots

[biffobear]

Ive had a look on wiki But nothing much on this subject and got totally confused on a post here. So I'm looking for and outer drive shaft CV boot and from what A can gather the part number is A100R6004S (A lotus part number) and an Item still available. Can anyone give details of where to order from. Thanks

[Fredjohn]

I expect most Lotus parts specialists will stock it.
A quick google search for example shows http://www.sjsportscars.com/parts-and-a ... R6004S.htm have it as available.

[biffobear]

I expect most Lotus parts specialists will stock it.
.

Thanks, found one at PNM

[flynn23]

Picking up on this thread, I'm about to embark on a restoration of my M100. One of the issues I know needs to be addressed is that the CV boots are split on both axles, more for the insides than outsides, but nonetheless. Grease doesn't appear to be in much supply from what I can see although I'm not hearing any noise and no indication of binding or rough travel. Car has been sitting for more than 10 years and probably did not have a lot of driving with the boots open/grease gone.

Question for the experts: should I just replace the boots and lube appropriately or should I replace the axles and CV's completely just to be safe? I'm used to 4x4 axles, which typically require nuclear detonation to cause any kind of severe wear. But these seem somewhat fragile and I wouldn't want them flying apart while doing some spirited acceleration.

Thanks in advance.

[dapinky]

There are many schools of thought on this, and all of them are 'right' for certain circumstances.

First, although you say there is little evidence of grease leaking, it is important to know that any cut or split will empty the boot over time, as the grease is actually oil when assembled at the factory.... thick oil (or maybe it is thin grease???) admittedly, but certainly runny enough to escape over a period of inactivity and leave the internals protected at stand-still, but not good for driving.

As such, only you can decide if there is likely to be any damage to the internals..... and I suspect that the only way to tell is to remove them for inspection.

The good news is that it is quite possible to do the inner boots without removing the shaft from the gearbox (although it will be easier if you do - and if you send them away for reconditioning, they'll have to come out anyway) - I have just got the boots to do mine, and it is scheduled for this afternoon. By removing the big metal securing band on the boot, the whole outer shaft assembly will slide out of the 'tulip' (obviously, you need to remove the outer shaft from the hub first!).

The inner bit of the joint is a simple tripoid mechanism, which is an 'off the shelf' part with the part number GKN MS3H002 (it has a 1" diameter with 30 splines) and is held to the shaft with a single circlip. This is the part which will be worn (if anything is worn) and is a simple remove circlip, slide unit off shaft, remove old boot, put on new boot, fit new tripoid, replace circlip add grease, refit driveshaft to car, slide boot into correct place, add new clips...... and it probably took longer for you to read that than it takes to do the job!

However, if there is a possibility that the tulip is rusted/worn/damaged then I would suggest sending it away to be inspected/machined/repaired and then get the whole lot balanced.

As with anything, early repair is quite simple, but if it gets left until it is far worse, then it may need a specialist (and we all tend to leave stuff until it is too late, it's just the way things are!).

[flynn23]

Thanks so much for the thorough and quick reply! More to come. Cheers!

[dapinky]

Just as a quick addition, I changed one of mine this week (some clumsy twat decided to fit the raft bolt past the boot assuming it would go in without damaging the boot ) and used a 'universal' one from J&R driveshafts.

They don't list one for an Elan, but if you look for a boot for an Elise it is the part you need (you also need to replace the hub nut when you refit it) - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130807587073 is what I used. The thin end of the boot is fine as it is, the fat end needs trimming down 1 level, and then it all fits fine.

[lotusflasherman]

I've got an inboard O/S boot to replace so was looking for any threads and parts.. SJSportscars have all boots for the M100 to save cutting down an oversize boot.
Net price for A100R6004S is £6.85 but after P&P & VAT it's £15.36..

I note the driveshaft I'm dealing with is secured with a square section circlip ... any tips on pulling those out?

P.S. My boot has arrived with a large sachet of new CV Joint Grease, so that's handy.

[dapinky]

Hi Phil

4 things you need to know......

1) The square-section circlip is (according to the book!) a 'single-use' item and should be replaced.... they are half a quid from SJ's, and if you're already getting a boot from there, it makes sense to use a new clip..... otherwise the P&P makes it silly money.

2) To remove the clip, I usually rely on the traditional method of "Don't force it, use a bigger hammer", together with the principles of leverage...... ie, I find a couple of old screwdrivers, chisels, iron bars or whatever I can find on the day, that fit between the gearbox and the shaft, and then strike them both simultaneously with my hands, hammers, bricks or whatever else I find.... I never seem to do it the same way twice, and one of my most successful goes it came off first time - using a bar that i was pushing against, and then an opposing-side bar which I struck with a hammer to 'jar' it free. Not a huge force needed, but it does need to be squarely applied.

3) When you remove the shaft, most of your gear oil will follow it - I try to drain the box first to reduce the mess, but don't always remember!

4) You may well knacker your output seals on the gearbox - they are about £20 from the usual suspects, but are a 'common' part, so try a gearbox specialist in the UK, or buy from Rock Autos for £4.

....BUT.....

The most important question I can ask is "Why are you removing the driveshaft?" - I appreciate that it is far easier to change a boot on the workbench, and it is accepted as the 'proper' way to do it, but if you slip the boot off the female tulip, you can pull the male tripoid joint out from the housing, and simply lift away the outer half of the shaft (obviously, you need to have removed the shaft from the hub first.... ).

You can then remove the external circlip that holds the tripoid onto the shaft and slip the joint off. This means that you can now remove the old boot and (if you want to) lift the shaft off the car as it will pass through the shock yokes.

A nice clean-up and refitting is the reverse of removal:- Fit shaft through yokes, fit boot to shaft (slide it up out of the way), fit tripoid, fit circlip, squirt the sachet of grease into the female tulip evenly. slip outer shaft into tulip, slide boot down to correct place, refit outer end to hub, fit the new snap-rings to the new boot - job done!

This way you keep all the oil in the gearbox, don't disturb any seals and don't do as many steps as it otherwise takes (all these things need to be removed/replaced anyway - just that on the bench may be easier......

If there is any wear in the driveshaft joint (the inner ones are the bits that wear, the outer ones don't seem to), then a new tripoid joint is £60 from Raceparts.co.uk........ and, according to a bloke I spoke to a couple of months ago, this is the only new part they fit as a matter of course in a "full" driveshaft rebuild....obviously, it will get cleaned, new grease, new boots and new clips etc, but the outer CV joint doesn't need anything (usually!), and they will paint it for you.... but spending £60 on a joint, £20 on a pair of boots, and £1 on some paint is better than paying someone £200 for the same thing.

[lotusflasherman]

Thanks Dave, I'll read & digest .. SJS couldn't supply square section circlip but I might go down " the split boot route" for getting an MOT renewed .. https://www.amazon.co.uk/CVS18-Universa ... B0080DLLIY

[Giniw]

Hi Everyone!

As far as I know the square section clip is NLA and SJSportscar was unable to source one, so ... I had to reuse mine.
But it was a few years ago so, maybe Steve from SJS has has some new infos (although apparently not according to lotusflasherman)

As for pulling/prying the tulips retained by the round or square clips, a sharp blow is preferable, and it's quite easy to pry as long as you pry it longitudinally. If you try to apply a lever from one side, you may think it's almost all right on this particular side, but as soon as you will try to extract the other side the clip will get back in its groove
So, just apply some sort of sharp blow longitudinally and it's easy and quick to do.
My issue is that I didn't (and still don't) have an inertia puller, so I had to improvise something with some sort of crow bar and a hammer, but it's annoying to do since it's never really well as well placed as you would want. Plus I am lucky enough to work under a four post lift, and it's still annoying, so ...

P.S. My boot has arrived with a large sachet of new CV Joint Grease, so that's handy.

It may not be enough though. You should check the sachet contains the quantity stated in the workshop manual.


Also, please, please don't forget to mark properly the tripod orientation relative to the tulips, and to put them back properly.
The steel is pretty tough so it was hard for me to mark it clearly, I used some sort of marker/tipex (can't remember) and obviously it got erased when I cleaned it ... Shame on me.
I would think a pair of rilsan collars could be a good alternative to mark the orientation, but whatever you choose, please be careful. Otherwise it may be damaged after a short while.

The most important question I can ask is "Why are you removing the driveshaft?"

Yes I concur with this, especially as the square section clip is NLA.

[dapinky]

Just as a bit of an update to some of the recent information....

SJ's are still listing both the square and the round section snap rings for the inner end of the driveshafts, so I ordered some to see if they are in stock.

Today I had an email to say that they have been dispatched (3 of each), so I can only assume that Steve has now sorted out his supply issue - obviously, I will only know for certain when they arrive - but it's looking good at the moment.

[Giniw]

These are some great news, thanks Dave!
I will add a couple of them in my next order

[dapinky]

Just to update - they arrived today, 3 square profile and 3 round profile - so they are clearly back in stock!

[Giniw]

Neat, thanks a lot Dave!

(and also I am a bit envious at the fast shipping you have in England guys ^^)

[TorqueHorse]

Just to keep talking about circlips, and in my case the outer CV boot now...

So the circlip holding the CV onto the driveshaft got pulled over the splines and broke during removal. I knew something was up because it was a monster to get off, while the others had just been OK.


Anyways, the shaft is like ~3/4 mm smaller on the CV side vs the regular driveshaft to tranny connection side. I didn't realize this until I put one of my many driveshaft circlips that I had bought from SJ (thinking I was prepared) on and saw it hanging way out. I then started to measure, worried about the same thing happening again in the future and saw the discrepancy.

Anyone have a source and/or spec on the circlip that holds the outboard CV joint to the driveshaft?
TIA

[dapinky]

We had this question a couple of weeks ago (maybe on Facebook?) and the consensus was that it requires a 1.6mm circular section spring 'C' clip...... and the old clip was 26mm in outer diameter.

.... however a DIN "standard" for a 26mm clip has a 2mm wire thickness ....

... then I thought about it and realised that we weren't looking for a 26mm clip, we are actually looking for a clip to fit a 22 or 23mm shaft, with a 1.6mm wire thickness.

....and 22/23mm external circlips are cheap as chips! (I can't see any reason for it to need to be a round-wire clip, as Vauxhall use a standard external circlip on the Cavalier/Astra of the era.

I would suggest that you take an accurate measurement of the shaft groove to establish the correct diameter, and fit a standard circlip.

[TorqueHorse]

We had this question a couple of weeks ago (maybe on Facebook?) and the consensus was that it requires a 1.6mm circular section spring 'C' clip...... and the old clip was 26mm in outer diameter.

Thanks Dave! I was on the beach that week and missed all the FB stuff.

....and 22/23mm external circlips are cheap as chips!

ehhh, except shipping kills me. Any time I put "millimeters" in the search box, all the shopping results seem to then ship from the UK and add $20 for something the size and weight of a postage stamp
Searching for "Drive shaft clips" never resulted in actual specs either; folks list an obscure part number or a specific car model. Just list the stupid part dimensions and I can check for myself if it will fit

I can't see any reason for it to need to be a round-wire clip, as Vauxhall use a standard external circlip...

The "standard" profiles I saw seemed to have tabs sticking out, or were rectangular in section, and I wonder if the round section helps it compress when it gets the shock force to release next time?

Anyways, I finally started getting some luck looking at Piston lock pins. Got something that should be close to 23mm ID, round section, shipped fast, and it was cheap. Cheap enough that I can cross my fingers hoping that the thickness is right too.

thx again

[dapinky]

The "official" designation (at least, in the UK) appears to be a 'shaft snap ring' - but I'd never have known that if I hadn't been looking for some last week!

[Tuga2112]

We had this question a couple of weeks ago (maybe on Facebook?) and the consensus was that it requires a 1.6mm circular section spring 'C' clip...... and the old clip was 26mm in outer diameter.

Thanks Dave! I was on the beach that week and missed all the FB stuff.

....and 22/23mm external circlips are cheap as chips!

ehhh, except shipping kills me. Any time I put "millimeters" in the search box, all the shopping results seem to then ship from the UK and add $20 for something the size and weight of a postage stamp
Searching for "Drive shaft clips" never resulted in actual specs either; folks list an obscure part number or a specific car model. Just list the stupid part dimensions and I can check for myself if it will fit

I can't see any reason for it to need to be a round-wire clip, as Vauxhall use a standard external circlip...

The "standard" profiles I saw seemed to have tabs sticking out, or were rectangular in section, and I wonder if the round section helps it compress when it gets the shock force to release next time?

Anyways, I finally started getting some luck looking at Piston lock pins. Got something that should be close to 23mm ID, round section, shipped fast, and it was cheap. Cheap enough that I can cross my fingers hoping that the thickness is right too.

thx again

if you find out what you need exactly and let me know, i can buy one and put on a normal letter to the US. cant imagine something that cheap to be a problem with the border, specially if posted as a "gift" ?